National Center for Children in Poverty

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Contents

[edit] National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP)

Part of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) uses research to inform policy and practice with the goal of ensuring positive outcomes for the next generation. At the heart of NCCP’s effectiveness is a focus on the people who truly have the power to advance a family-oriented agenda. Often this means behind-the-scenes or mid-level personnel – the “insiders” who may not make headlines, but make things happen. Researchers and analysts at NCCP also work with advocates, legislative staffs and governors’ advisors to promote better outcomes for low-income children.

Just as there are many factors that contribute to childhood poverty, there are many approaches to alleviating it. These range from federal policies, to state-specific initiatives, to the support services offered by a small community center. The issues to be addressed are a complex web of concerns as diverse as inadequate wages, maternal depression, school absenteeism, childhood asthma, and many others. This is why NCCP’s role is critical. First, NCCP combines a big-picture scope – particularly focused on policy across all 50 states – with a focus on the tangible human impact of local programs and policies.

Second, NCCP addresses the whole child in the context of family and community. NCCP integrates issues that are typically studied in isolation, but in fact are profoundly related – namely: • economic security (including wages, barriers to employment, workplace policies, and the benefits that help working parents pay for child care and family health); • child development (including child care, early learning, and school readiness); and • child and family health (including mental health).

Because of the way NCCP researchers “connect the dots” across research and policy in these areas, the organization accelerates new thinking and new action on behalf of low-income children and families.

Finally, NCCP makes the link between research and real results. By calling attention to significant data, noteworthy trends, and promising practices, NCCP helps shape the development of pragmatic, effective policies and programs. The work at NCCP is done to ensure that: • governments and service providers “spend smarter,” maximizing the impact of limited funds; • researchers and policymakers target important emerging issues that might otherwise be overlooked; • best practices are identified, replicated, and brought to scale; • funders make more informed and efficacious grants; and • the general public and the media gain understanding of what it means to be poor in America, and how best to confront the challenge of childhood poverty.

[edit] Publishing Key Findings and Recommendations

Drawing on the exhaustive research NCCP conducts and on the expertise of its own staff, NCCP publications are valued resources for policymakers, advocates, scholars, the media, and the public. NCCP issues and strategically disseminates more than 30 influential publications each year. These range from succinct fact sheets to primers that provide detailed background along with an overview of key points, to issue briefs and full reports.

[edit] Making Research Accessible and Meaningful

NCCP’s website (www.nccp.org) is one of the most comprehensive and easily navigated sources of information in its field. NCCP monitors a vast body of demographic and policy research – from all 50 states and federally – and develops user-friendly systems for retrieving, analyzing, and comparing data. In addition to this comprehensive content, the NCCP website also houses data tools, profiles for each state, and other unique online resources.

The Family Resource Simulator is a research tool that demonstrates the complex interaction of low-income families’ earnings, expenses, and public benefits. Users create a hypothetical family, choosing characteristics such as place of residence, number of children, and support from various federal and state benefits. The Family Resource Simulator then calculates what happens as selected variables shift, such as wages increase, child care benefits are lost, and so on. The Simulator reveals how policies aimed at assisting low-income parents can actually be counterproductive, and also simulates better alternatives.

Since it was created, among other impacts, the FRS has influenced the passage and implementation of Connecticut’s Child Poverty Reduction bill, was used for a report by the Mayor’s Commission on Economic Opportunity in New York City, and for policy recommendations by the Alabama Governor’s Task Force on health and Human Services.

50-State Early Childhood Policy Review Although research documents the lifelong importance of early childhood development, and economic evidence shows that smart investments in early childhood yield long-term gains, many state policies ignore what is known about healthy early childhood development. Improving the Odds provides an in-depth picture of how each of the 50 states is addressing the needs of low-income children. While single-issue databases exist elsewhere, this project integrates information about child care, early learning, nutrition, health care, and parental supports, along with demographic data. www.nccp.org/projects/improvingtheodds_stateprofiles.html

In 2007 NCCP found that 80 percent of states provided access to public health insurance for young children in low-income families, but many children who were eligible for Medicaid were not receiving recommended dental and health screenings that are consistent with pediatric practice and can prevent or reduce future delays. Most low-income parents are not eligible for public health insurance. The study also revealed that access to state-funded pre-kindergarten is growing, but access to high-quality child care is still inadequate, and state child care licensing requirements are not promoting nurturing, high-quality care. www.nccp.org/publications/pub_725.html NCCP is now working with a small group of states to help them improve their basic policies for young children.

Research Connections offers a comprehensive, up-to-date, and easily searched collection of more than 12,000 resources from the many disciplines related to childcare and early education. Included are studies, analyses, data sets, fact sheets, and other sources systematically gathered from many sources, including over 200 journals and more than 245 websites. Research Connections is supported through an agreement with the Child Care Bureau, Office of Family Assistance, and the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation of the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and is carried out in partnership with the University of Michigan’s Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research. www.nccp.org/projects/rc.html

Project Thrive - Infants, young children and their families need access to integrated high-quality health care and medical homes; early care and education; social-emotional and mental health programs; family support; and parenting education. Project THRIVE is a public policy analysis and education initiative promoting healthy child development and providing policy support to the State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems initiatives of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Part of NCCP’s longstanding commitment to promote improved state early childhood policies and practices, the project helps states strengthen and expand their early childhood systems, paying particular attention to strategies that improve services for those at highest risk and that help reduce disparities in access and quality of care to early childhood health and mental health. The project’s Virtual Policy-Sharing Network links stakeholders with shared concerns on a regular basis. Project resources include documents responsive to field needs, policy-sharing roundtables, and online data and analytic tools. www.nccp.org/projects/thrive.html

[edit] Funding

NCCP was established at Columbia University in 1989 with support from private philanthropies. Today NCCP is funded primarily by foundation grants and support from federal agencies, including: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Program and Research Evaluation; Maternal and Child Health Bureau; and several foundations, including: A.L. Mailman Family Foundation; Annie E. Casey Foundation; Bernard Van Leer Foundation; Buffett Early Childhood Fund; California Endowment; Commonwealth Fund; David and Lucille Packard Foundation; Ford Foundation; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Marguerite Casey Foundation; Seattle Foundation; Third Millennium Foundation; and the Zellerbach Family Foundation. Other funders include the State of Louisiana and anonymous donors.

[edit] Contact Information for NCCP

National Center for Children in Poverty Mailman School of Public Health Columbia University

215 West 125th Street, 3rd Floor New York, N.Y. 10027-4426

646-284-9600 info@nccp.org www.nccp.org