Health, Development, and Well-being
Across the United States, a range of policies, programs, and practices support families’ health, development, and well-being goals and create safe, enriching relationships and environments for children. Through research, evaluation, policy analysis, and training and technical assistance, Child Trends’ early childhood team focuses on strengthening and supporting these efforts. Our work is grounded in a bioecological framework that emphasizes child development as a product of interactions between children and the many environments in which they are embedded. We study children’s health, development, and well-being through a two-generation and relational approach, and through direct interventions with children, parents/caregivers, and families. Our work also considers the wide range of influences that create conditions in which both parents/caregivers and their children can thrive.
Throughout our work, we engage and build on the perspectives, strengths, and life experiences of families who have been marginalized by systemic inequities. Effective solutions must dismantle structural determinants of racial/ethnic and economic disparities and promote equitable access to services and outcomes; our work aims to create opportunities to reduce or eliminate barriers that impede intergenerational well-being. We also support federal, state, and local program administrators, policy leaders, communities, and practitioners in their use of research and data to support early childhood development and resilience and reduce inequities in child, parent/caregiver, and family outcomes.
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