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2021-01-14
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation;
The economic value women bring to their own households and to the broader economy is well-documented. In fact, nearly all of the economic gains that have occurred among middle class families since 1970 have come from the increased earnings of women. Mothers make substantial contributions to the finances of many families and households. In 2018, nearly half of the more than 30 million families with children under 18 in the United States had either a single mother or a married mother contributing at least 40% of a couple's joint earnings.Despite the importance of mothers' economic contributions, the broader economy fails to support mothers in a variety of ways. The costs of raising children fall largely on families – and disproportionately on mothers. In addition to the lack of support for combining careers with caregiving, mothers face a motherhood wage penalty, which accounts for much of the gender wage gap. Even entrepreneurship, an economic activity that can potentially offer more autonomy and flexibility, is made more difficult for mothers by child care challenges and barriers to entrepreneurship for women more broadly.Why is motherhood undervalued and unsupported economically?What does entrepreneurship support mean for entrepreneurs who are mothers? And how can we support mothers' access to opportunities to engage in the economy – and ease their access to opportunity through entrepreneurship?
2021-07-27
Columbia University Center for Public Research and Leadership;
The COVID-19 pandemic caused enormous disruptions to PK-12 school systems, including long-held beliefs about teaching and learning. After several months of unexpected virtual and hybrid learning, some school systems have emerged with a new understanding of the instructional core. Commonly thought of as the relationships between teacher, student, and instructional materials that support student learning, these leaders have expanded their understanding of the instructional core to include families.We conducted nearly 300 interviews with students, families, and educators from nine school districts and charter school organizations to learn more about the expanded instructional core. In "Fundamental 4," we share four lessons key to sustaining the expanded core. These lessons are:Expand the required dimensions of "high-quality" instructional materials to be educative for families, tech-enabled, and culturally responsiveLeverage high-quality instructional materials to coordinate academic co-production among the four anchors of the expanded coreSustain curriculum-based professional learning focused on the expanded core, with an explicit focus on implementing high-quality instructional materials in ways that respond to student, family, and community needsCreate systems and structures for families, teachers, and students to design, monitor, and improve upon learning experiences
2021-07-29
Center on Poverty & Social Policy (CPSP);
This report leverages data from the Early Childhood Poverty Tracker (see text box for a more detailed description), a Columbia University and Robin Hood study of more than 1,500 parents of young children in New York City, to provide a window into how families – especially low-income parents – managed their child care needs before the onset of the pandemic and what happens when families experience disruptions in their child care.PART I of this report focuses on accessibility and affordability of child care in New York City before the pandemic, specifically discussing what types of child care families used, including center-based, home-based, and informal care, and how they afforded that care.PART II explores both the extent and the economic cost of child care disruptions for New Yorkers, including an analysis of disruptions during the pandemic. To analyze the costs and impacts of disruptions, both to families and to the economy overall, the report replicates similar studies conducted in Maryland and Louisiana, which found that both states lost over $1 billion in a given year from parental absence and turnover due to child care disruptions. While the data we use for this analysis were collected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we can only expect that the impacts documented here were exacerbated due to the disruptions of daily life brought about by COVID-19.Together, these findings highlight the difficult trade-offs between access, quality, and affordability for families of young children, as well as the economic implications of disruptions to child care. This report can inform policymakers and practitioners as they lay the groundwork for reopening the city's centers and reimagine a better, more inclusive, and more accessible system.
2021-05-01
Edge Research;
When it comes to summer—particularly a summer that follows a year of pandemic-induced isolation—parents have three priorities for what they want summer programming to address for their children: their social and emotional health, providing them with physical outdoor activities and helping them discover their passion and purpose.A new, national survey by Arlington, VA-based market research firm Edge Research, in conjunction with Learning Heroes, a nonprofit dedicated to elevating the voice of parents in education, was commissioned by Wallace to explore the unique, differentiated role out-of-school time (OST) programs play in youth development compared with home and school, how parents assess quality in OST programs and the impact of COVID-19 for summer 2021—and beyond.Findings revealed substantial worries among parents about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many feeling their children are struggling academically, socially and emotionally: 40 percent worried that children were missing out on social connections and friendship; 32 percent about too much screen time; and 26 percent about falling behind academically. Similar concerns were voiced among teachers and OST providers, with teachers most worried about students falling behind academically (39 percent) and OST providers most worried about emotional well-being (26 percent).
2020-01-16
Institute for Child, Youth & Family Policy (ICYFP), Heller School For Social Policy & Management at Brandeis University;
Family and medical leave (FML) plays a vital role in helping workers balance their personal and family health needs. FML allows employees to take time off of work to address their own or a family member's serious health condition or to bond after the birth or adoption of a child. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is federal legislation guaranteeing job-protected unpaid leave to certain eligible workers to care for themselves or an immediate family member in times of illness, birth or adoption. However, access to the FMLA is limited by both eligibility and affordability, both of which are unequal across different racial/ethnic groups.
2020-01-01
Institute for Child, Youth & Family Policy (ICYFP), Heller School For Social Policy & Management at Brandeis University;
In this Policy Equity Assessment, we assess the capacity of the FMLA to address racial/ethnic equity and whether the FMLA impacts economic and health outcomes and reduces disparities for U.S. workers. Significantly, some of the populations who are least likely to have access to FMLA leave are also more vulnerable to certain health conditions, which means that they may be the most in need of, but the least likely to access, worker benefits that can help address health issues. We particularly emphasize the impact of the FMLA for working parents, given research showing that when a parent is present to provide care, children recover faster from illnesses and injuries, have shorter hospital stays and are more likely to receive preventive care.
2020-01-16
Institute for Child, Youth & Family Policy (ICYFP), Heller School For Social Policy & Management at Brandeis University;
Federal agencies monitor child and family wellbeing and consider children living with at least one adult working full time, year round as economically secure. However, an economically secure environment for children depends on much more than the number of hours their parents work. Economic security also requires wages that are high enough for children and families to live healthy lives.A more meaningful definition of economic security for children considers whether full-time working adults earn enough income to meet minimum living standards for children. diversitydatakids.org defines economically secure children as those living with at least one adult working full time, year round only if family incomes are over 200% of the federal poverty level. For example, to be considered economically secure, children living with at least one full-time working adult in a family of four in 2019 need to have a family income over $51,500.
2020-06-05
The Pension Rights Center;
There is now a helpful new guide for individuals who are going through a divorce and have questions about dividing retirement benefits.The guide -- created by the Pension Rights Center, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges' Resource Center on Domestic Violence: Child Protection and Custody, and the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life -- highlights tips for individuals going through a divorce. Many people do not know that they can ask for a share of a spouse's retirement benefit at divorce, but retirement benefits are often the largest asset in a marriage. It is important to take the right steps during the divorce proceedings and after, or a divorced person may not receive the benefits he or she is entitled to.The guide explains different types of retirement benefits, discusses special considerations for individuals in controlling or abusive relationships, and describes how to get a special court order called a QDRO and what to do with it. Family courts, organizations that assist survivors of domestic violence, and other groups that work with people going through divorce can use this guide to help individuals understand their retirement rights at divorce.This guide is among PRC's many activities designed to make the process of dividing retirement benefits at divorce more accessible and easier to understand. We've launched an Initiative on Women and Retirement at Divorce to ensure that women and other vulnerable people going through a divorce know that they need a QDRO, and to make the process of getting a QDRO more efficient and less costly. We have brought together stakeholders from all sides -- retiree organizations, women's groups, pension plans, employers, financial institutions, family attorneys and judges -- to develop recommendations for making the QDRO process easier for consumers and less burdensome for retirement plans.Click "Download" to access this resource.
2020-09-29
Generations United;
Nationwide, older adults are being cautioned to keep their distance from children because of the heightened risk of infection from COVID-19. But for some families—grandfamilies—that distance is impossible.Facing a Pandemic: Families Living Together During COVID-19 and Thriving Beyond elevates the unique needs of grandfamilies amplified by the pandemic. These grandfamily caregivers are the first line of defense for children during the pandemic, having stepped in when parents cannot raise them for many reasons, including cases where children's parents have died from Coronavirus.The report contains solutions to connect grandfamilies to critical supports during this crisis and to create system that will continue to serve them well. These include:State, tribal, and local governments deploying the use of COVID response dollars with grandfamilies in mindAuthentically engaging kinship caregivers, birthparents, foster parents, and young people in the design and implementation of services that impact themInvesting in and increasing the reach of kinship navigator programs to help grandfamilies connect to resources and supportsImproving access to Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) child-only grantsLicensing more relatives as foster parentsThe 2020 State of Grandfamilies Report was made possible with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Casey Family Programs.Click "Download" to access this resource.
2020-12-07
Heartland Alliance;
Opciones Saludables was a public health pilot program of Heartland Alliance, engagingmarginalized and hard-to-reach pregnant and parenting youth (PPY) at a critical tipping pointin their lives, along with their families, schools, and community organizations, in education andempowerment programming. The program aimed to reduce health disparities and increase thequality of life for young parents and their children now and in the future through direct service andsystems change.
2020-01-01
Wilder Research;
Wilder Research worked with staff from Ampersand Families to design a post-adoption follow-up study that focused on the outcomes of youth adopted as older children and the families who adopt. This report presents the results of interviews with youth adoptees and adoptive parents.
2020-03-01
Wilder Research;
This report presents a description of the women and children served by Women's Recovery Services programs and outcomes for families during the third year of the five-year grant.
