Robust state activity has transformed the prenatal-to-3 state policy landscape in just five short years. Children and their families are better off in 41 states that have each increased access to the resources known to support their wellbeing. As a result of states’ investments:
- Nearly 1.9 million individuals became newly eligible for Medicaid due to state expansions under the Affordable Care Act;
- More than 500,000 babies were born in states newly offering paid family leave of at least 6 weeks to all parents with a new child;
- Families’ wages rose up to $9,880 per year due to state minimum wage increases.
Five years ago, academic researchers from the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center combed through thousands of rigorous research studies, on a mission to understand what state policy solutions were proven to support the long-term health and wellbeing of infants, toddlers, and their families.
Their findings culminated in the first Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap released in 2020, which identified 11 evidence-based prenatal-to-3 state policy solutions and provided a detailed analysis of which states were implementing each policy. In December, the Center released a new analysis, 5 Years of Progress on the Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap, which charts the progress states have made to adopt and implement now 12 evidence-based policies. Since the inaugural 2020 State Policy Roadmap:
- 21 states implemented at least one effective Roadmap policy. Five of those states (Michigan, Missouri, Montana, South Dakota, and Virginia) implemented two policies.
- The number of states offering a comprehensive paid family and medical leave program doubled.
- Eligible families in six more states can now receive refundable earned income tax credits (EITCs) of at least 10 percent of the federal credit and many other states increased the generosity of their EITCs.
- Families in 17 additional states now have access to community-based doula services under Medicaid to support healthy pregnancies and births.
- Child care became more affordable for many families as 38 states increased income eligibility and 26 states reduced out-of-pocket costs.
Every state, including the District of Columbia, has increased their investments in at least one of the 12 effective Roadmap policies and strategies. However, the amount that states invested since 2020 varies considerably, as does which policies or strategies states chose to support. This variation in state policy choices has led to widening inequality in family resources across states.
Learn more about the trends in progress on evidence-based policies, and the challenges and opportunities states face in the years ahead, now accessible from within the report.
The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center
The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center aims to accelerate states’ equitable implementation of evidence-based policies that help all children thrive from the start. Based at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development and led by Cynthia Osborne, professor of early childhood education and policy, the Center’s team of researchers and nonpartisan policy experts works with policymakers, practitioners, and advocates to navigate the evidence on solutions for effective child development in the earliest years. Learn more at www.pn3policy.org.
