Courtney Thornton, Project Manager Laura Freeman Cenegy, Senior Researcher Katie Nicolaou, Former Project Manager Casey Stockstill, Former Research Director In 2021, Colorado families dealt with social and economic hardships. These hardships were more pronounced for families of color, and those headed by single women.[1] A year later, the economy had shifted, with more job opportunities…
Child Care Costs Strain Families’ Finances
Katie Nicolaou, Former Project Manager Laura Freeman Cenegy, Senior Researcher Casey Stockstill, Former Research Director Courtney Thornton, Project Manager In 2022, many Colorado families were still financially stretched. Several boosts from earlier in the pandemic ended in 2021, such as stimulus checks and the expanded Child Tax Credit.[1] In our April 2022 survey, families were…
Moving the Needle: Parents Still Have Questions About COVID-19 Vaccines for Young Children
Katie Nicolaou, Project Manager Courtney Thornton, Project Manager Health care officials consider vaccines a crucial tool in preventing infections and severe illness from COVID-19. However, approved vaccines are not yet available for children under the age of five, and some families remain unsure about whether to vaccinate their children at all. The Centers for Disease…
Our Take: Supporting Single Parents is Essential to Post-Pandemic Recovery
Gerardo Silva-Padrón, Communications Intern The COVID-19 pandemic forced many parents to leave the workforce to provide direct care and education for their children. More than 5 million children under the age of five in America live in a single-parent household, and 19% of Colorado households are headed by a single mother. As schools shifted to remote learning…
Our Take: Diverse Language Households Disproportionately Affected by Pandemic
Gerardo Silva-Padrón, Research & Policy Intern Staying optimistic during a pandemic is a challenge for anyone, but the difficulties of finding appropriate child care and transitioning to remote learning have been especially hard for diverse-speaking families. About 28% of Colorado children under eight are diverse language learners (DLLs), and our 2020 survey of more than 11,500 families found that roughly 44% of diverse language households have experienced difficulty…
Our Take: Working Mothers Feel Increased Strain During the Pandemic
Katie Nicolaou, Research & Policy Intern The COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately affecting working women nationwide, as highlighted in a recent report from the Center for American Progress and the Century Foundation. In late summer 2020, Early Milestones and the Butler Institute surveyed over 11,000 Colorado families with children under the age of 12. Women represented…
Our Take: Racism is an Adverse Childhood Experience
Courtney Thornton, Senior Coordinator “Despite clear evidence acknowledging racism as a major life stressor for Black youth, theoretical models of early childhood adversity have largely neglected the multifaceted influence of racism on mental health outcomes.” Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) lead to increased health risks, mental health concerns, and other issues. In the United States,…
Our Take: It’s Time to Address Inequities Facing Mothers and Babies of Color
Vani Tangella, Senior Project Manager “When it comes to how mothers and their infants fare in pregnancy and delivery, race—or, more precisely, racism—matters.” —from Maternal and Child Health Inequities Emerge Even Before Birth The health and well-being of mother and baby are so tightly connected and inequities impact both. A new report from Zero to…
Stories from the Coronavirus Front Line
We are hearing so many inspiring stories about community members supporting one another right now. It’s important to share both the struggles and the great efforts to help one another that are happening all across Colorado. Click here to share your story with us. CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR PROGRAMS DURING CLOSURE I just got Pamela’s notification that…
Full-day kindergarten outcomes for Colorado
Why full-day kindergarten matters Full-day kindergarten (FDK) is beneficial for children, parents, and teachers. Last year, less than half (41.3%) of Colorado children met all kindergarten entry expectations. At later grades, academic gaps become increasingly harder to close, making access to early learning through full-day kindergarten and preschool a more affordable and effective approach to…
