Early Childhood
A child’s brain develops most rapidly in the earliest years of life, building the foundation for learning, behavior and health. Medicaid, along with CHIP, serves four out of five young children in low-income families, serving as a logical place to reach these children and their families before kindergarten. Prioritizing young children and their families in Medicaid through cross-sector, innovative practice change has the potential to improve their lifetime trajectories, overall population health and long-run savings. Through blog posts, papers, and resources, CCF seeks to highlight ways Medicaid can do more to set our nation’s youngest children on a path of healthy physical, social, and emotional development.
Advancing Early Relational Health in Child Health and Communities: Opportunities for Medicaid Support
Early relational health (ERH) is a dynamic concept that has emerged in the last few years from leaders in pediatrics, public health, early childhood mental health, and child health policy. ERH elevates the primacy of the earliest relational experiences and interactions between infants and their caregivers that builds the foundations for health, learning, and social […]
Medicaid and CHIP Are Powerful Tools for Supporting Child Social and Emotional Development
The Center for the Study of Social Policy, with our partners at Manatt Health, are excited to release a new resource, Fostering Social and Emotional Health through Pediatric Primary Care: A Blueprint for Leveraging Medicaid and CHIP to Finance Change, which is designed as a practical guide for advancing action in the pediatric primary care setting. […]
Counting All Children in the 2020 Census Would Benefit Poor Children: State and Local Advocates Can Help
Being counted in the Decennial Census helps young children thrive. When they are counted, their communities get their fair share of over 800 billion dollars a year in federal funding that is allocated by formula using data derived from the federal Census. Those programs include many that remediate the harmful effects of poverty on young […]
State Policymakers Can Give Children the Best Start in Life by Maximizing and Aligning Investments
So much about a child’s health and growth is set in the years before their third birthday, when their brain is developing at a faster pace than at any time in life. As research continues to confirm, the early years of a child’s life set the stage for a lifetime of good health and well-being. […]
When Early Childhood Educators are Covered, Kids Win: Stories from North Carolina
If you, like me, have the peace of mind of knowing that your toddler or preschooler is well cared for and supported while you’re at work, you probably know already that you’re incredibly fortunate. I am grateful every day for the many early childhood teachers who make the safety, educational success, and wellbeing of a […]
Early Childhood
A child’s brain develops most rapidly in the earliest years of life, building the foundation for learning, behavior and health. Medicaid, along with CHIP, serves four out of five young children in low-income families, serving as a logical place to reach these children and their families before kindergarten. Prioritizing young children and their families in […]