Child Trends

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) implemented nearly 30 initiatives and distributed more than $2 billion in relief funding from March 2020 to April 2024 to stabilize the early care and education (ECE) industry and support young children and their families. Child Trends’ recent evaluation of the DECAL program found that stabilization funds helped programs remain open, that most teachers used workforce bonus payments for necessities, and that expanded child care subsidy eligibility and the temporary removal of family fees increased access to free child care. Relief funds also helped providers retain staff, avoid layoffs, delay or prevent closure, make facility repairs and improvements, and continue quality improvement activities.

Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning Research Learn about Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning Research, a Child Trends research project.

Nearly half of U.S. child welfare agencies’ spending is on out-of-home placements, according to new Child Trends analysis. This category includes costs associated with family-based foster care, congregate care placements, services for children in out-of-home placements and their families, and associated administrative costs. While this distribution of spending has held relatively steady over recent years, child welfare agencies have been trying, when possible, to prioritize prevention more than out-of-home placements.
https://www.childtrends.org/publications/the-largest-share-of-child-welfare-spending-is-out-of-home-placements

Child Trends' and RAND Corporation’s comprehensive study of a cohort of youth from economically disadvantaged backgrounds reveals how major public benefit programs and financial aid shape educational decisions and long-term earnings for this population. We analyzed data across nearly three decades, from young adulthood through approximately age 40. We found that:

1. Public benefits—specifically the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—increase the likelihood that young adults from low-income backgrounds enroll in education beyond high school.

2. Public benefits and financial aid shape educational pathways in distinct but complementary ways.

3. Receiving public benefits and financial aid while enrolled strongly predicts degree completion.

4. Facilitated by public benefits and financial aid, degrees deliver substantial mid-life economic returns.

Public Benefits and Financial Aid Support Education Beyond High School and Long-Term Economic Well-Being for Low-Income Young Adults Read Public Benefits and Financial Aid Support Education Beyond High School and Long-Term Economic Well-Being for Low-Income Young Adults from Child Trends.