Blog

Have you been hearing all the buzz about Dr. Mona Delahooke's new book, Beyond Behaviors ? In my opinion, it’s the best new book of 2019. Dr. Delahooke is a practicing pediatric clinical psychologist of thirty years. She is gaining critical acclaim and grassroots support for challenging the prevalent and pervasive behaviorist bias in schools. As a result, she is an emerging authority in the growing revolution to re-interpret children's misbehavior. She highlights much of the books' content...

High-quality early childhood education (ECE) has an enormous positive impact on lifelong health, serving as a protective factor against adult disease and disability. Children who receive high-quality ECE stay in school longer and earn more income as adults, helping to close the income inequality gap. Yet parents sometimes struggle to access or pay for available programs, and only about 16% of children who were eligible for federal childcare subsidies in 2015 received them. Given the high...

“The number of family caregivers, including grandparents who are raising grandchildren, is significant and growing. They are the backbone of our country’s caregiving system, and supporting them is critical,” said Administration for Community Living (ACL) Administrator Lance Robertson. “ACL is proud to lead the implementation of the RAISE Family Caregivers Act and the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act. We are excited to announce the membership of the two advisory councils ,...

The Networks of Opportunity for Child Wellbeing (NOW) is excited to share the third episode of In the Arena with NOW , a podcast series that lifts up the voices of community leaders who are “in the arena” -- in classrooms, playgrounds, Congressional halls, hospitals, and neighborhood streets -- working to make sure that all children and families can live healthy, thriving lives. In our third episode, we speak with members of the California Consortium for Equity in Early Care and Education...

By Serena Gordon, Chicago Tribune, July 29, 2019 The start of school is just around the corner, but a leading pediatricians' group warns that many kids entering kindergarten lack the skills they need to succeed in class. To help parents get their young ones ready to start school, the American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a report on what helps boost success as well as what factors may hinder kids’ school experience. “We’ve kind of focused on the acquisition of pre-academic skills,...

By Steve Davis and Peter Laugharn, July 29, 2019 The Seattle Times The World Health Organization just unveiled an initiative that could improve millions of children’s lives and boost the global economy by trillions of dollars. The initiative, known as the Nurturing Care Framework for Early Childhood Development , [ PDF attached ] seeks to change how we raise infants and toddlers. Children’s experiences during their first three years of life heavily influence their well-being as adults,...

By National Academies of: Science, Engineering, and Medicine, July 25, 2019 Early experiences and life circumstances shape prenatal and early childhood development, with powerful impacts on the developing brain and body that shape health outcomes across the life course and can span generations. The preconception, prenatal, and early childhood periods are critical phases of development that help set the odds for lifelong health and well-being. All children deserve the opportunity to meet...

By Elise Gould, Marcy Whitebook, Zane Mokhiber, and Lea J.E. Austin, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, July 23, 2019. What this report finds: California’s child early care and education (ECE) system is underfunded, and California policymakers have not been willing to acknowledge the true cost of creating a comprehensive ECE system. Proposals for ECE reform have focused primarily on improving access and affordability for families but have ignored the elephant in the room: Early...

Community Resilience Initiative is seeking an innovative and passionate individual to join our organization as an Associate Director (AD). The AD reports to the Executive Director and to the Board of Directors. Job Overview The role of the Associate Director is to sustain the resilience-based, trauma-responsive capacity building work at the local, regional, state and national stage for which CRI is recognized. Success in this position will be evidenced by recognition of its exceptional...

For too long, American schools have had a default orientation toward measuring students' abilities and achievement, rather than focusing on the resources-such as engaging learning environments and high-quality, culturally responsive teaching practices-that empower students to learn new concepts and skills. When data reveal students' shortcomings without revealing the shortcomings of the systems intended to serve them, it becomes easier to treat students as deficient and harder to recognize...

From the Center for Law and Social Policy Early childhood programs play an important role in the lives of young children and their families. But in our current immigration policy climate, families across the country are questioning whether it’s safe to attend or enroll. Providers can take steps to protect families’ safety and privacy by implementing policies that designate their facilities as a safe space from immigration enforcement. This guide explains federal agency guidance related to...

By Peggy Barmore, The Hechinger Report, July 8, 2019. LEWISBURG, W.Va. — Shenandoah Cochran, 34, greeted the two teachers at the front door of her elevated house in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, like family friends. Her youngest children, 5-year-old Daniel Pearson and Shenabelle Pearson, 3, abandoned a late-morning snack of fresh-sliced strawberries and mandarin orange pieces to join the trio of adults at the door. “He’s been asking when you all were going to get here,” Cochran said as...