Federal Support for Early Learning and Development Research: Current Research Priorities and Opportunities

Session Type: Federal Agency Professional Development Symposium

Abstract

Investments in children and families can improve health and development throughout the lifespan. The federal government addresses racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and disability disparities through research, programming, policy, and professional development. Representatives from the Department of Education’s National Centers for Education Research and Special Education Research (ED), and from the Department of Health and Human Service’s Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH) within National Institutes of Health, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will discuss current priorities, initiatives, and funding opportunities aimed at advancing developmental science research through a health equity lens. Specifically, ED will present funding opportunities and research initiatives that support children’s early learning and development and address education inequities and discuss the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on education research. ACF will share research priorities and funding opportunities for a range of human services programs that support healthy child and family development. NICHD will highlight the Early Learning and School Readiness Program including longitudinal early intervention research with children birth through 8 years from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds. NIMH will discuss current priorities and opportunities for mental health research focused on early childhood across the continuum of pre-intervention, intervention, and services research, including research to address disparities and promote health equity. Finally, CDC will share public-health-related child development programs along with data and opportunities at the CDC, with a focus on equity.

Sub Unit

• Federal Agency Sessions

Chairs

• Angelika Hartl Claussen, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Rebecca T. Leeb, CDC/NCBDDD

Individual Presentations

• Supporting Education Research to Improve Children’s Early Learning and Development - Presenting Author: Caroline M Ebanks, Institute of Education Sciences; Presenting Author: Amy L Sussman, Institute of Education Sciences

• Priorities for Early Care and Education and Child and Family Development Research at the Administration for Children and Families - Presenting Author: Ann Christine Rivera, United States Department of Health and Human Services

• Infant, Child and Adolescent Development Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - Presenting Author: James A Griffin, National Institutes of Health (NIH)

• Early Learning and Development Research at the National Institute of Mental Health - Presenting Author: Belinda E Sims, National Institute of Mental Health

• CDC’s Public Health Approach to Supporting Child Development: Research and Opportunities through a Health Equity Lens - Presenting Author: Helena Jean Hutchins, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention