Uprooted in Central America and Mexico: Migrant and refugee children face a vicious cycle of hardship and danger
UNICEF (August 2018)
This issue of Child Alert examines the root causes of irregular migration from northern Central America and Mexico, and the challenges faced by migrant and refugee children throughout the migration journey. It concludes with a call to action to protect the safety and well-being of these youth.
Research and Policy Perspectives on Separating (and Reconnecting) Children and Parents: Implications for Families on the Border
Zero to Thrive, University of Michigan Center for Human Growth & Development (July 2018)
The report highlights research evidence on the science of early childhood development, stress and trauma, and implications of family separation and reunions for very young children.
The Science is Clear: Separating Families has Long-term Damaging Psychological and Health Consequences for Children, Families, and Communities
Society for Research in Child Development (June 20, 2018)
This Statement of Evidence highlights research and data on the damaging effects of family separation on children, families, and communities.
Who Is Caring for Latino Children? The Characteristics of Early Care and Education Teachers and Caregivers Serving a High Proportion of Hispanic Children
National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families (July 2018)
This brief examines three aspects of the ECE workforce that are linked with how children learn, their socioemotional development, and classroom environment and quality of care. 1. Training, experience, and education. 2. Attitudes, including motivations for working with children. 3. Linguistic and racial and ethnic diversity.
A Vision for Transforming the Financing of Early Care and Education
Foundation for Child Development (July 2018)
A new 2018 report, Transforming the Financing of Early Care and Education, by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), outlines a funding strategy that will provide reliable, accessible high-quality ECE for young children from birth to kindergarten entry. The report estimates that the total annual cost of providing high-quality ECE from both public and private funding is $140 billion, and provides a phased-in approach to a transition towards a fully implemented new financing structure.
The 2018 Edition of the Early Childhood Workforce Index: Tracking Changes in State Workforce Conditions and Policies since 2016
Foundation for Child Development (July 2018)
In 2016, the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) at University of California at Berkeley created the Early Childhood Workforce Index to shed light on the status of the workforce and to establish a baseline understanding of State early childhood employment conditions and policies in order to strengthen support for the early care and education (ECE) workforce. CSCCE recently released the second edition of this biennial report, which provides a comprehensive update on the progress, or lack thereof, made by States to improve ECE workforce conditions and policies since the inaugural edition in 2016.
Trump’s Family Incarceration Policy Threatens Healthy Child Development
Leila Schochet, Center for American Progress (July 12, 2018)
This issue brief outlines how the Trump administration is attempting to roll back important legal protections for children in detention and details how President Trump’s latest policy of detaining families will have negative effects on the health and well-being of immigrant children and their parents.
Data Tool: Measuring Hispanic Families and Households
National Research Center on Hispanic Families and Children (July 2018)
The National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families just released an interactive data tool to help researchers explore the capacity of 22 large, mostly national surveys to measure Latino families and households. The tool indicates what information is available on family and household composition, family formation and stability, relationship dynamics, and (co)parenting.
Fact Sheet: Top 10 Reasons Family Incarceration is Not a Solution
Human Rights First (June 2018)
The Trump Administration is attempting to replace its failed policy of family separation with the failed policy of family incarceration. ICE already detains families at three facilities in Dilley and Karnes, Texas and Reading, Pennsylvania, but the Trump Administration wants to lock up families even longer and overturn legal rules that protect children from lengthy detention.
