Resources for Early Childhood Development

The Raising of America

EPISODE 1: THE SIGNATURE HOUR. The science is clear: when parents are stressed, babies pay the price. That is why improving conditions for families with young children is one of the best investments any nation can make.

The Child Olympics

The U.S. may still win the most gold medals in the Olympics every four years, but we are losing the child Olympics every day.

Who's Paid What?

Since helping our babies and young children thrive is one of the most vital jobs in any nation, the people who do this work in the U.S. must be paid well, right?

The New Achievement Gap

Income inequality is not the only gap that has been growing dramatically in the United States over the past forty years. The gap in educational achievement between the rich and everybody else has widened greatly as well.

Speed Bumps or Off the Tracks?

Life is full of unexpected demands - the car breaks down, the kids get sick. For some families, these are merely speed bumps. But for other families, they can be thrown completely off the tracks.

Does Cash Help?

Professor Jane Costello of Duke University Medical School was conducting a study of rural children in the Great Smokey Mountains of North Carolina, a quarter of whom were Cherokee, when the tribe opened a casino. This allowed Professor Costello to conduct a natural experiment because soon casino profits started flowing to Cherokee families and cut the Cherokee poverty rate by half.

Are Debtors' Prisons Back?

This New York Times article and this episode of comedian John Oliver’s TV show illustrate a municipal practice which combines the entanglements of Kafka with the debtors' prisons of Dickens.

Where Did the Wealth Go?

Workers in America have been some of the most productive in the world over the past century. But those same workers may not be the ones benefiting from their hard work.

We're Number One!

Just a few decades ago, the U.S. was among the world’s leaders when it came to indicators of how well our children were doing. Today, we're Number One in a whole lot of other ways.

Where Did the Wealth Go? (PDF)

From 1948 to 1979, wages in America matched its explosive growth in productivity. But since then, productivity has risen dramatically and wages have barely moved at all.

The Family Income Gap

Family income earned by the top 5% and the bottom 20% grew in tandem from the 1940s to the 1970s. But since then, income for the top 5% has grown and grown and grown while income for the bottom 20% has stagnated.

The Income-Achievement Gaps

The gap in achievement scores between rich kids and poor kids has grown just as fast as the income gap.

Trailer - The Raising of America (11 min)

The Raising of America reframes the way we look at early child health and development. This ambitious documentary series and multimedia initiative by the producers of UNNATURAL CAUSES: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? explores how a strong start for all our kids leads not only to better individual life course outcomes (learning, earning and physical and mental health) but also to a healthier, safer, better educated and more prosperous and equitable America.

Segregating America's Neighborhoods

Discussion Guide - The Raising of America Signature Hour

Discussion Guide for The Raising of America Signature Hour (Episode 1)