State Policy on Pew's Radar: Investing in Human Capital-Children

The Pew Center on the States operates a trio of campaigns focusing on children. Pew's Pre-K Now Campaign collaborates with advocates and policy makers to lead a movement toward high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten for all 3- and 4-year olds.  Pew's Children's Dental Campaign is helping states adopt pragmatic, cost-effective strategies proven to prevent tooth decay and get more children the dental care they need. The Pew Home Visiting Campaign has launched advocacy efforts to increase voluntary access to evidence-based home visiting programs for new and expectant families from a child’s birth to age three. The Partnership for America's Economic Success is a national coalition of business executives, economists, funders and civic leaders mobilizing business to improve tomorrow’s economy through smart policy investments in young children today.

In 2010, Pew will continue to monitor movement on these issues, which should reshape the role of state government. Here are some states that have played a key role in these areas of interest.

Pre-K Now 

Despite competing needs in the state budget, Rhode Island approved a pre-kindergarten demonstration project. Other states might draw lessons from Rhode Island's program, especially the 10 states that lack publicly funded pre-kindergarten programs. New Jersey lawmakers and Governor Jon Corzine (D) backed the largest increase in pre-k spending among the states, but with Corzine's defeat in November, the growth of the state's initiative could be in jeopardy.

Children's Dental Campaign

In early 2010, the campaign will its first 50-state assessment of states' policy responses to the crisis in children's dental health. Among the highlights: Iowa's innovative I-Smile dental home initiative is using regional hubs to connect all young children to systems of dental care. Maryland responded to the death of a 12-year-old, Medicaid-eligible boy from an untreated dental infection with a range of improvements to its dental programs. And Minnesota became the first state to authorize a new type of dental provider, the dental therapist, which may signal a new era of workforce innovation in other states.

Home Visiting Campaign

Washington is a national innovator in funding home visitation based on a program’s demonstrated effectiveness. The state's Council on Children and Families prioritizes state home visiting funding for programs that meet one of three levels of evidence: best, good or promising. In Louisiana, a state advisory council recommended expanding one evidence-based home visiting program–the Nurse-Family Partnership–over five years to increase the number of families being served from 15 percent to 50 percent of all eligible families in the state. The council's recommendations were in response to a 2008 study ordered by the legislature.

The Partnership for America's Economic Success

The Partnership has built a body of evidence showing the economic benefits to proven early childhood programs, in areas such as education, health, parenting, nutrition and housing. With this evidence, business leaders are making the case for early childhood investments as a means of economic growth. The CEO-led Early Investment Commission in Pennsylvania was a key advocate in winning early childhood funding victories in that state. The Vermont Business Roundtable is managing the state's pre-k campaign. Chamber of commerce leaders in many states, among them Alabama, Maine, Tennessee and Virginia, support expanding pre-k, even in these tight budget times.

Return to State of the States 2010.

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February 11, 2010 -
State of the States 2010: How the Recession Might Change States (Adobe PDF)