Early Childhood

Early childhood is a time of rapid change and critical milestones during which the trajectory of a child’s development and well-being is shaped by their interactions with family, caregivers, teachers, and multiple programs and services. However, many children and families do not receive the supports they need to reach their full potential, especially those who have been marginalized by racism and systemic inequalities. Further, the fragmentation of the early childhood system—which includes early childhood policies, programs, services, and infrastructure—challenges the system’s ability to best support children, families, and its workforce. Child Trends’ early childhood research agenda focuses on the needs of young children and their families as they grow, learn, and access early childhood services in their communities and states.

We embed equity in our research by addressing the discriminatory structures and policies—both historically and at present—that have negatively impacted children, families, and members of the workforce. We work across sectors and levels of governance by considering the local, state, and nationally funded care, education, health, and social service programs and services in which children participate during their first eight years of life.

We also study factors that can positively impact young children, such as supports for engaging families, provisions for the well-being of the early childhood workforce, neighborhood resources, and high-quality systems of services that promote positive experiences and outcomes. Our focal research areas include:

Access to child care and early education, including care in home-, center- and school-based settings, and early elementary school
Early childhood data
Early childhood workforce
Child health, development, and well-being, including mental health
Quality improvement of early childhood systems, programs, and services
Supports for families with young children, including home visiting and economic supports

Our work includes research, evaluation, and technical assistance efforts to federal, state, and community leaders to support the early care and education field. Our public-facing products include briefs, blogs, reports, presentations, and graphics that have reached over 1 million policymakers, practitioners, and researchers. We also provide our clients with context-specific research, resources, and consultation through tailored briefings, memos, and presentations. We have partnered with more than 30 states and localities and lead national projects to support early childhood leaders at all levels of decision making; our comprehensive approach to projects has given us a reputation for translating early childhood research findings into actionable recommendations. We are proud that our work has informed federal agendas for research and funding, advanced state policies and programs, improved local programs and services, and supported foundations in moving the early childhood field forward.