The Heller School’s Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy receives $2.9 million grant

The Heller School’s Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy (ICYFP) has received a $2.9 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to complete and launch diversitydatakids.org, the first nationally comprehensive, interactive online database tool for finding data, policy information and analysis on the wellbeing of U.S. children across racial and ethnic groups. 

To launch in January 2014, diversitydatakids.org will allow policymakers, researchers and advocates to compare child wellbeing data across states, counties, metropolitan areas, large cities and large school districts. Some data indicators will even be available at the neighborhood level for the 100 largest metro areas. Topic areas will include demographics, health, education, neighborhoods, family economics, policy and more.  

“The U.S. child population is increasingly racially and ethnically diverse, but unfortunately not all children have the same opportunities for healthy development,” says Dolores Acevedo-Garcia, the Samuel F. and Rose B. Gingold Professor of Human Development and Social Policy, who is the principal investigator of the diversitydata.org project.  “Our future hinges on our ability to ensure equitable opportunities for children, across all racial and ethnic groups, to lead healthy, productive lives. We hope that our data will equip users to become more informed advocates for all children and especially for vulnerable children.” 

ICYFP also received a grant of nearly $1 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for a four year project to evaluate changes to the Massachusetts child care subsidy program for low-income working families, with a focus on families that face increased barriers to access, such as immigrant families. 

Categories: Humanities and Social Sciences, Research

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