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Policy Update: March 2019

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Spotlight on the SRCD Policy Fellow

Francesca Longo, Ph.D., is a first year SRCD Executive Branch Fellow whose placement is in the Office of Child Care (OCC) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Click here to learn more about her work reviewing the FY2019-2021 Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Plans submitted by states and territories.

Legislative Branch Updates

House Committee Hearing on Oversight of Family Separation Policy

On February 26, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing entitled “Oversight of the Trump Administration’s Family Separation Policy.” Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) opened the hearing by criticizing the lack of oversight so far of the “dramatic and damaging immigration policy changes” made by the Trump administration, noting that this lack of oversight “ends with this new Congress.” He then stated that the Judiciary Committee will “seek to hold the administration accountable for its indefensible and repugnant family separation policy and for the injuries it has inflicted on thousands of children and families.” Chairman Nadler outlined four fundamental questions he wanted answered during this hearing: 1) Why did the administration think that seizing children from the arms of their parents was an acceptable policy? 2) Who is responsible for developing and implementing the family separation policy? 3) What is the administration doing to reunify all of the families separated? And 4) What plans are in place to repair the traumatizing damage to the children and families caused by this inhumane policy?  

Ranking Member Doug Collins (R-GA) used his opening remarks to discuss enforcement and rule of law issues. Ranking Member Collins primarily addressed increased crossings and apprehensions at the southwestern border and other immigration issues not directly related to family separation. The Chair and Ranking Member of the Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee also gave brief opening remarks. Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) stated “I take no pleasure in holding this hearing and there will be no winners at the end of it,” but emphasized that many questions remain unanswered. Ranking Member Ken Buck (R-CO) stated that “there is a crisis on our southern border – one created by Congress’ unwillingness to act.” 

Witnesses from multiple federal agencies involved in implementing the child separation policy provided testimony. Witnesses included: Nathalie Asher, Acting Executive Associate Director, Enforcement and Removal Operations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Scott Lloyd, Senior Advisor, Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives, Department of Health and Human Services; James McHenry, Director, Executive Office for Immigration Review, Department of Justice; Carla Provost, Chief, U.S. Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection; and Commander Jonathan White, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Department of Health and Human Services. Click here to view the full hearing and read witness testimony.

House Subcommittee Hearing on Unaccompanied Children

On February 27, the Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies of the House Appropriations Committee held a hearing entitled “Reviewing the Administration’s Unaccompanied Children Program.” Subcommittee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) opened the hearing by expressing concern that the current administration has “attempted to turn Health and Human Services (HHS) into an immigration enforcement agency” and that “suffering children and overwhelmed caseworkers” are being used as “pawns in the administration’s immigration deterrence policy.” Representative DeLauro also used her opening remarks to refer to the important research on how detention impacts children, stating “studies have repeatedly shown that prolonged detention inflicts serious mental trauma, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, developmental delays, and compounds trauma experienced in the home country, including trauma from gang violence or sexual violence.” Subcommittee Ranking Member Tom Cole (R-OK) then provided opening remarks, stating “we’ve got a serious problem here that’s been festering for a long time…I take our congressional responsibilities of oversight seriously.” He continued by emphasizing that HHS does not separate children from their parents, but has a statutory responsibility given to them by Congress to care for children who are unaccompanied. Kay Granger (R-TX), Ranking Member of the full Appropriations Committee, also gave brief opening remarks, noting that this hearing should be “an opportunity for us to hear the facts, get the data, and help improve program operations in order to better protect our children.” 

Witnesses then spoke on a range of issues related to unaccompanied children, including: the dangers of detaining unaccompanied children in overcrowded, unlicensed, temporary influx facilities such as the one currently in operation in Homestead, FL; the large financial costs associated with placing children in influx facilities rather than smaller, state-run facilities; grave concerns about the memorandum of agreement between the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that allows information about adult sponsors of unaccompanied children to be used for immigration enforcement; that the memorandum between ORR and DHS has replaced the best interests of the child with immigration enforcement interests; and that many children in detention facilities are experiencing toxic stress, which can be exacerbated by their age, exposure to previous adversity, and the duration of the detention and separation from their parents or other caregivers. Witnesses included: Andrew Arthur, Resident Fellow in Law and Policy, Center for Immigration Studies; Michelle Brané, Director, Migrant Rights and Justice Program, Women’s Refugee Commission; Jonathan Mulligan, Clinical Fellow, UC Davis School of Law, Immigration Law Clinic; Jennifer Podkul, Senior Director of Advocacy and Policy, Kids in Need of Defense; and Altha J. Stewart, MD, President, American Psychiatric Association. Click here to view the full hearing and read witness testimony. 

House Subcommittee Hearing on Inappropriate Classroom Seclusion and Restraint Practices

On February 27, the Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing entitled “Classrooms in Crisis: Examining the Inappropriate Use of Seclusion and Restraint Practices.” Subcommittee Chair Gregorio Kilili Sablan (D- Northern Mariana Islands) opened the hearing by stating that all students deserve “a healthy school climate where they can learn and grow,” but that widespread use of unsafe seclusion and restraint practices in schools is undermining positive school climate in schools across the country. Subcommittee Ranking Member Rick Allen (R-GA) then gave his opening remarks, stating “improper seclusion and restraint practices should not have a place in education moving forward.” Representative Allen also discussed the role that states must play in ending these practices, noting “finding new, better ways to address behavioral problems in the classroom requires states to engage thoughtfully and meaningfully with parents, local stakeholders, disability advocates, school safety experts, and members of the community to ensure that students are safe and local needs are met.” 

Witnesses representing stakeholder groups then provided testimony on numerous issues related to inappropriate restraint and seclusion practices. Issues discussed in witness testimony included: that restraint and seclusion are not therapeutic interventions or practices, and that widely available positive interventions exist, such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PIBS); that every student and educator has the right to a safe, respectful, effective, and constructive learning environment; that the data collected by the Department of Education show that though seclusion and restraint overall are rare, the most vulnerable students are the ones most impacted; and that consistent support, training, and resources are fundamental to giving teachers the ability to create safe environments for all students in which they are able to thrive and learn. Witnesses included: George Sugari, Ph.D., Professor and Carole J. Neag Endowed Chair, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut; Renee Smith, Parent Advocate; Jacqueline Nowicki, Director of Education, Workforce, and Income Security, Government Accountability Office (GAO); and Allison Sutton, M.Ed, Special Education Teacher, Wichita (KS) Public Schools.  Click here to view the full hearing and here to read witness testimony. 

Senate Committee Hearing on Vaccine-Preventable Disease Outbreaks

On March 5, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a hearing entitled “Vaccines Save Lives: What Is Driving Preventable Disease Outbreaks?” In his opening remarks, Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) noted, “Today, I want to stress the importance of vaccines. Not only has the Food and Drug Administration found them to be safe, but vaccines save lives.” He mentioned many preventable diseases such as polio, smallpox, and measles that have been eradicated due to vaccines and the importance of vaccines to not only protect individuals, but also those around them who cannot receive a vaccine—a concept known as herd immunity. Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) followed, noting that the recent measles outbreaks “are a clear sign we have to do more to address vaccine hesitancy and make sure parents have the facts they need to understand the science.” She mentioned the “need to understand the role of social media and online misinformation to spread dangerous rumors and falsehoods [about vaccines],” and the “need to better prepare the full spectrum of health care providers who are often the professionals people trust most to counter vaccine hesitancy and promote vaccination.” 

A panel of public health experts discussed a number of topics, including: the challenges of addressing outbreaks, which involve highly time-consuming and costly investigations; the need for sustained federal funding to prioritize public and preventative health; the need for leadership at the federal level to lead a national vaccine campaign, spearheaded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the strong evidence that vaccines are effective and safe; the importance of physicians as communicators about vaccines to parents as they are often considered to be a trusted source of information; the challenge of state laws that allow parents to claim non-medical exemptions to receiving vaccines due to religious or philosophical reasons; and the role of social media and the internet in spreading misinformation. Witnesses included: John Wiesman, DrPH, MPH, Secretary of Health, Washington State Department of Health; Saad B. Omer, MBBS, MPH, PhD, William H. Foege Professor Of Global Health, Professor of Epidemiology & Pediatrics, Emory University; Jonathan A. McCullers, MD, Professor and Chair, Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Pediatrician-in-Chief, Le Bonheur Children's Hospital; John G. Boyle, President and CEO, Immune Deficiency Foundation; and Ethan Lindenberger, Student, Norwalk High School. Click here to view the full hearing and read witness testimony. 

House Subcommittee Hearing on Child Nutrition Programs

On March 12, the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services of the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing entitled “Growing a Healthy Next Generation: Examining Federal Child Nutrition Programs.” Chairwoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) opened the hearing by discussing the importance of children having access to healthy foods. She noted, “We know that many communities do face challenges in feeding their children…Under the president’s budget proposal, roughly 1.3 million children would go without free school meals. This hearing will be an opportunity for all Members to hear about why these [child nutrition] programs are vital to the health and success of communities across the country.” Ranking Member James Comer (R-KY) followed by mentioning “the crucial role that child nutrition programs play in supporting kids’ healthy development.” He also discussed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, noting the rise in cafeteria operating costs due to increased regulations, and ended by stating, “I am hopeful we can find a solution that helps lower program costs, eliminates food waste, and ensures that students have access to nutritious, enjoyable meals.” 

The panel of witnesses discussed a number of topics, including: the importance of federal nutrition programs as an investment to prevent long-term adverse health effects, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and to reduce healthcare expenses; the success of many local school food authorities in implementing the healthier nutrition standards required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, while also continuing to serve tasty meals and maintaining financial solvency; the administrative burden many school authorities face when implementing, monitoring, and reporting on multiple different school nutrition programs that often have only small differences in program requirements; the challenges for nutrition programs in reaching rural communities during the summer; and the continued importance of all federal nutrition programs in reaching children who are food insecure. Witnesses included: Dr. Eddie Ochoa, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Community Pediatrics Medical Director, Arkansas Children’s Hospital; Cheryl Johnson, Director of Child Nutrition and Wellness, Kansas State Department of Education; Donna Martin, Director of School Nutrition Programs, Burke County, Georgia Public Schools; and Nikki Berlew O'Meara, Parent. Click here to view the full hearing and read witness testimony. 

Congressional Briefing on Social and Emotional Learning

On February 27, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and Committee for Children hosted a congressional briefing entitled “Starting Strong: How Social and Emotional Learning Can Improve Teacher Education.” The briefing opened with moderator Dr. Tim Shriver discussing findings from the recent Aspen Institute report,  From a Nation at Risk to a Nation at Hope: Recommendations from the National Commission on Social, Emotional, & Academic Development. He highlighted the report’s focus on “integrating the child,” or understanding the ways in which social, emotional, and cognitive development are all related. He also discussed the need to rethink how teachers are trained, so that teachers are seen as experts in child development, rather than only subject matter experts. Two panels of researchers and practitioners then provided an overview of the current landscape of social emotional teaching and learning.  

The researcher panel addressed a number of topics, including: how neuroscience research has helped us better understand how learning is integrated with emotions in recent years; that research shows that teachers who teach social emotional learning (SEL) in their classrooms also show improvements in their own well-being; and that while there are programs that work really well in teaching SEL to teachers, they are not available at scale. The practitioner panel also discussed a diverse set of issues, including: that research has shown improvements in test scores when schools use evidence-based SEL programs; the RULER program as an example of an evidence-based approach for integrating SEL into schools that is being used by some large districts; and that teachers and teachers-in-training are eager for guidance on how to better integrate SEL into their classrooms, as many understand the need for it but do not feel prepared to teach it. All panelists emphasized that we are currently in a time of transition, where most educators see the importance of teaching SEL, but need additional training and resources to appropriately do so. Speakers included: Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, Director, Human Early Learning Partnership, University of British Columbia; Dr. Mylien Duong, Senior Research Scientist, Committee for Children; Dr. Scott Brabrand, Fairfax (VA) County Public Schools; Ray Lozano, Executive Director of Student and Family Empowerment, El Paso (TX) Independent School District; and Dr. Wendy Burke, Director of Student Teaching, Eastern Michigan University. The briefing was moderated by Dr. Tim Shriver, Co-founder and Board Chair of CASEL. An archived livestream of the briefing is available here.  

Congressional Briefing on Reducing Child Poverty

On March 14, the U.S. Child Poverty Action Group, First Focus, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives hosted a congressional briefing entitled “Cutting Child Poverty in Half Within a Decade.” The briefing was held in collaboration with Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, and Congressman Danny Davis. The event largely focused on findings from a recent consensus study report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty. A summary of the report is available in the Executive Branch Updates section below.

Speakers discussed a range of issues related to the goal of cutting child poverty in half over the next decade, including that reducing child poverty not only makes moral sense but also financial sense, as child poverty costs the U.S. approximately $1 trillion every year and that the UK and Canada saw substantial reductions in child poverty after they set child poverty targets. The panel then turned to discussing specific issues related to the NAS report, including: that the study committee paid close attention to existing programs that have shown evidence of working to reduce child poverty (including the Earned Income Tax Credit, food assistance programs, housing vouchers, and Social Security); that the committee explored how modifications to the  Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, the Child Care and Development Block Grant, minimum wage increases, food assistance, Supplemental Security Income, housing vouchers, a child allowance, and numerous other factors would impact child poverty rates; and that based on the committee’s simulations, there are multiple packages of resources that would not only cut child poverty in half, but would also cost significantly less than the $1 trillion that the U.S. spends on child poverty each year. The briefing concluded with the speakers emphasizing that child poverty is a solvable problem, so long as there is the political will to do something. Furthermore, many Americans do not realize the extent of the problem, but the release of this congressionally-commissioned report provides an outstanding opportunity to spread awareness of the issue both among policymakers and the general public.  

Speakers included: Christine James-Brown, President and CEO, Child Welfare League of America; Dr. Benard Dreyer, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, NYU School of Medicine and Director of Pediatrics, Bellevue Hospital Center; and Dr. Angela Diaz, Director, Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center and Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The panel was moderated by Dr. John K. Roman, Senior Fellow, Economics, Justice, and Society Group, NORC at the University of Chicago, and Co-Director, National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives.  Slides, photos, and a recap of the event are available here. More information about End Child Poverty U.S. is available here. 

Executive Branch Updates

President's Budget Request Released for Fiscal Year 2020

On March 11, the White House released the FY 2020 President’s Budget. The President’s Budget lays out the administration’s priorities for federal programs and suggested spending levels. The release of the President’s Budget request is the first step in the federal budget process. The budget request will be used as the starting point by Congress and Federal Agencies as they move forward with the appropriations process for fiscal year 2020. Typically released in early February, this year’s budget request was delayed by the 35-day partial government shutdown. 

For the most part, the president’s budget request proposes large cuts across the board, with the exception of agencies with a national security focus, which would see substantial increases. Below are details from the FY20 budget request that highlight selected federal agencies of particular interest to SRCD members. 

  • National Institutes of Health (NIH): $34.3 billion requested, 12.1 percent below the FY19 funding level. 
  • National Science Foundation (NSF): $7.1 billion requested, 12.5 percent below the FY19 funding level. 
  • Institute of Education Sciences (IES): $521.6 million requested, 15.3 percent below the FY19 funding level. 

A full analysis of the President’s Budget Request and its implications for social and behavioral science is available from the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA). 

National Academies Release Child Poverty Report

On February 28, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) released a consensus study report  on the evidence on child poverty and approaches for cutting the child poverty rate in the United States in half over a 10-year period. The committee was chaired by former SRCD President Greg Duncan.  

The report indicates that more than 9.6 million U.S. children live in families with incomes below the poverty line, and estimates that the annual cost of child poverty in the U.S., related to such factors as reduced adult employment, involvement in crime, and health expenditures, ranges between $800 billion and $1.1 trillion. While there is a substantial research literature on patterns of associations between child poverty and child wellbeing, including adverse outcomes in the areas of mental health, academic attainment, delinquency, and employment, it is difficult to isolate poverty as the underlying cause because of correlations between poverty and other disadvantages. As a result, the committee focused its review on randomized control trials and natural experiments (such as the evidence on the roll out of an expansion of SNAP on a county by county basis, so that children born in the same state at the same time had differential access to the program). They found that the weight of the causal evidence indicates that poverty itself causes negative child outcomes, especially when poverty occurs during early childhood or persists for a large portion of childhood. With the growing diversity of the U.S. population, the committee underscored the importance of differing patterns of child poverty by race and ethnicity, with the highest rates of poverty and deep poverty among children in Hispanic, African American, and American Indian/Alaska Native families. The committee’s review of programs and approaches for reducing child poverty concluded that reducing the rate of child poverty by half is an attainable goal, given that according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure, the child poverty rate in the U.S. has been cut nearly in half between 1970 and 2016, and also considering the effectiveness of targeted efforts to reduce child poverty in the United Kingdom and Canada.  

Twenty individual policy and program options for reducing child poverty are identified in the report, but no single policy option could meet the 50% poverty reduction goal. However, according to a model that can simulate the outcomes of actual or potential alternative policies, combining individual programs into specific “packages” does show the potential to meet or approach the goal, with some also holding substantial implications for increasing employment at the same time. For example, a package that would involve specific expansions to the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and eligibility for housing voucher programs would result in a 50.7% reduction in child poverty at a cost of $90.7 billion and would involve an increase of about 400,000 jobs and generate $2.2 billion in additional earnings. The committee’s review identifies contextual factors that can affect the success of anti-poverty programs and urged focus on implementation in such contexts as neighborhoods of concentrated poverty, cumbersome administrative procedures, discrimination in housing or employment programs, and restricted access by program design, for example, for legal immigrants. The report identifies a need for further research examining approaches for increasing employment and reducing income instability, examining barriers to participation in public programs and considering contextual factors with implications for the implementation of poverty reduction programs, and better monitoring and program evaluation. The committee urged a coordinated mechanism to ensure that follow up steps to the report are taken.   

Federal Reports

Reports

New Reports and Briefs from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation 
Several new publications are available from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: 

(1) Supporting the Development of Self-Regulation in Young Children: Tips for Practitioners Working with Families in Home Settings This resource provides tips for home visitors to help caregivers support the specific self-regulation skills their children are developing. 

(2) Supporting the Development of Self-Regulation in Young Children: Tips for Practitioners Working with Infants in Classroom Settings This resource provides tips to help caregivers use co-regulation to support early development of self-regulation skills in infants in child care settings. 

(3) Supporting the Development of Self-Regulation in Young Children: Tips for Practitioners Working with Preschool Children in Classroom Settings This resource provides tips to help caregivers use co-regulation to support early development of self-regulation skills in preschool children in classroom settings. 

(4) Supporting the Development of Self-Regulation in Young Children: Tips for Practitioners Working with Toddlers in Classroom Settings This resource provides tips to help caregivers use co-regulation to support early development of self-regulation skills in toddlers in classroom settings. 

(5) Bayesian Inference for Social Policy Research This brief introduces policy researchers and evaluators to the Bayesian perspective while highlighting potential advantages of Bayesian inference over frequentist inference.  

(6) Moving Beyond Statistical Significance: The BASIE (BAyeSian Interpretation of Estimates) Framework for Interpreting Findings from Impact Evaluations This brief describes the potential misinterpretations that may result from using null hypothesis significance testing through an illustrative example and proposes the BASIE Framework in response. 

(7) Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) Cross-Program Implementation and Impact Study Findings This summary distills findings from program-specific evaluations of education and training and services implemented and describes where programs had impacts. 

(8) “We Get a Chance to Show Impact”, Program Staff Reflect on Participating in a Rigorous, Multi-site Evaluation This brief summarizes findings from interviews conducted with leadership and staff from eight programs that participated in the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) Evaluation, a rigorous, multi-site evaluation of “career pathways” programs. 

(9) Working Together for Children and Families: Findings from the National Descriptive Study of Early Head Start-Child Care (EHS-CC) Partnerships This report documents findings from the national descriptive study of EHS-CC Partnerships. 

New Report from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

A new publication is available from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: 

(1) Use of Evidence to Drive Decision-Making in Government This report presents the findings from the Policy Analysis and Decision-Making Capacity project. 

New Reports and Briefs from the Institute of Education Sciences

Several new reports are available from the National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences (IES), Department of Education:   

(1) Student Financing of Undergraduate Education in 2015–16: Income, Tuition, and Total Price These Web Tables present estimates from the 2015–16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16), a nationally representative study of how students and families pay for college in the United States, including information on families’ income, cost of attendance, and financial aid received.  

(2) Student Financing of Undergraduate Education in 2015–16: Financial Aid by Type and Source These Web Tables present data from the 2015–16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16), a nationally representative study of how students and families pay for college in the United States, including information on the type, source, and average amount of financial aid undergraduate students received while enrolled in postsecondary education. 

(3) Student Financing of Undergraduate Education in 2015–16: Students’ Net Price, Expected Family Contribution, and Financial Need These Web Tables provides nationally representative estimates of net price, expected family contribution, and financial need for undergraduate students using the 2015–16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16). 

(4) Persistence, Retention, and Attainment of 2011–12 First-Time Beginning Postsecondary Students as of Spring 2017 This First Look provides descriptive findings from the 2012/17 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:12/17) focusing on students’ persistence, retention, and attainment in postsecondary education 6 years after their initial enrollment.  

(5) Projections of Education Statistics to 2027 This publication provides national-level data on enrollment, teachers, high school graduates, and expenditures at the elementary and secondary level, and enrollment and degrees at the postsecondary level for the past 15 years and projections to the year 2027. 

(6) Technology and K-12 Education: The NCES Ed Tech Equity Initiative This interactive brochure provides an overview of the NCES Ed Tech Equity Initiative—including its purpose, goals, and target outcomes. 

(7) Technology and K-12 Education: Advancing the NCES Ed Tech Equity Initiative This infographic outlines the key steps NCES is taking to advance the NCES Ed Tech Equity Initiative. 

(8) Technology and K-12 Education: The NCES Ed Tech Equity Initiative: Data Collection Priorities This factsheet outlines the key subtopics NCES will prioritize in its Ed Tech Equity data collection.  

Federal Funding Opportunities

This month’s FFO highlights an Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) funding opportunity. OPRE is soliciting applications for Child Care Research Scholars grants to support dissertation research on child care policy issues. These grants are meant to build capacity in the research field to focus research on questions that have direct implications for child care policy decision-making and program administration and to foster mentoring relationships between faculty members and high-quality doctoral students. For further information about prior awards made to Child Care Research Scholars, click here. For further information about OPRE, click here. For information about the Office of Child Care (OCC) and the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), click here. Child Care Research Scholars projects address issues of significance related to CCDF, inform policy decisions and solutions, particularly for underserved/understudied populations, and utilize the most rigorous research methodology for the selected research question. Applicants must consult with a CCDF administrator in the development of the proposal. Completed applications are due by 11:59pm Eastern on May 9, 2019. Click here to read about this and other funding opportunities.