Policies and programs designed to serve children and families are sometimes misaligned with developmental science research. Broad child neglect reporting laws, first adopted by the United States in 1974, have led to families being prosecuted by child protection authorities for allowing children to participate in everyday age-appropriate activities…

Based on case studies in three states (CO, RI, and TX), this brief examines promising strategies to address the developmental and mental health needs of infants and toddlers involved in Child Welfare (CW). Due to family adversities, trauma, maltreatment, and separation from primary caregivers, these infants and toddlers are at substantial risk of…

All children -- regardless of race, class, gender, or national origin -- deserve to fulfill their potential and have the opportunity to thrive. Over the last several years, Texas children and youth have faced serious challenges and disruptions to their lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Children of color, in particular, were disproportionately…

The aim of this article is to discuss the social justice implications for educational psychologists working with orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) who comprise 3.7 million of the population in South Africa. The author begins with a global conceptualisation of social justice and then discusses the nature of social justice in South Africa. This…

The Doris Duke Fellowships Equity Study assessed how staff members, national advisory board members, academic and policy mentors, and Doris Duke Fellows experienced diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) during their participation in the Doris Duke Fellowships for the Promotion of Child Well-Being. The study also identified future strategies for…

The child's right to play is specifically addressed in the framework of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The international recognition of this right is the central theme of this study. Through a documentary analysis of the reports of the States Parties to the Convention and the Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of…

Established in 2010, the Doris Duke Fellowships for the Promotion of Child Well-Being focused on two core ideas: that learning is best accomplished in interdisciplinary groups and that carefully crafted research can improve public policy and practice. The final cohort was selected in 2018. Since then, a fellow-led transition has begun to expand…

This article discusses why and how the "State of Babies Yearbook: 2019" was developed; identifies the indicators used to examine the well-being of the nation's infants and toddlers; and explains how the indicators align with the ZERO TO THREE policy framework areas of Good Health, Strong Families, and Positive Early Learning Experiences.…

The Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) initiative produces comparative data and knowledge on education policies and institutions, with the aim of helping countries systematically strengthen their education systems. SABER evaluates the quality of education policies against evidence-based global standards, using new diagnostic…

For more than a decade, the Foundation for Child Development, through the Young Scholars Program (YSP), funded studies about the early education, health, and well-being of children from low-income, immigrant families. Through YSP, the Foundation aimed to fill a gap in policy and practice-relevant research on young immigrant children. It invested…

Across the country, placements in foster care are rising. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that 273,539 children in the U.S. entered foster care. In 34 percent of those cases, parental drug abuse was one of the factors leading to the child's removal from their family. Additionally, the U.S. Substance Abuse and…

Children's exposure to violence is a national crisis. The high prevalence of exposure to violence in infancy and early childhood has implications for lifelong health and development because early experiences are most influential in shaping the structure and functioning of the brain, the quality of attachments and other relationships, and the…

Homelessness has a devastating impact on children. Research has shown that homelessness puts children at increased risk of health problems, developmental delays, academic underachievement and mental health problems. Homelessness also has a disproportionate impact on the youngest children, who account for more than half of all children in…

Since modern welfare reform began in the 1980s, we have seen low-income parents leave the welfare rolls and join the workforce in large numbers. At the same time, the Earned Income Tax Credit has offered a monetary incentive for low-income parents to work. Thus, unlike some of the other two-generation mechanisms discussed in this issue of…

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey was used to provide information on feeding practices, caregiving, discipline and violence, and the home environment for young children across 28 countries. The findings from the series of studies in this Special Section are the first of their kind because they provide information on the most proximal context…