Solid Footing: Reinforcing the Early Care and Education Economy for Infants and Toddlers in DC

The District of Columbia (DC) is a vibrant, diverse, financially stable city that has become one of the most expensive places to live in the nation. It also ranks among the five major U.S. cities with the greatest income inequality. Because of this economic divide, the District struggles to create equity among its population, particularly in education where the achievement gap between poor and wealthy stubbornly persists. Research has consistently shown that this achievement gap begins not in kindergarten, but in the cradle, with the differences between the early learning environments of children who live in low-income and upper-income households producing cognitive differences before a child even reaches the public school system. Access to high-quality early learning environments can reduce or even eliminate that gap, which is why District policymakers have invested heavily in quality universal preschool and Pre-Kindergarten. But children from low-income households can already be cognitively behind by preschool, so the District must also invest in the early education needs of its infants and toddlers.This report attempts to quantify and qualify what investment need to be made. Until now, no one has assessed how much it costs early care and education (ECE) providers to meet the level of quality that the District requires, or how providers are able to maintain quality while serving families who depend on child care subsidy payments from the government. DC Appleseed and the DC Fiscal Policy Institute have collaborated to produce a study to better understand these realities. The work grew from concern that the District's payment rates to ECE providers for the child care subsidy program are not keeping up with the costs, even though the children receiving subsidized services and the nearly 200 providers who serve them are among the District's most vulnerable and precious resources. The underpaid workforce that cares for and educates infants and toddlers is essentially subsidizing the system through low wages

Helping Low-Income Families Manage Childhood Asthma: Solutions for Healthcare & Beyond

Asthma is the most common childhood chronic illness, affecting more than seven million children nationwide. Managing chronic illness in a child is challenging for any family. Among the challenges is constant fear of an acute episode, a complex regimen of medications given daily or many times each day, frequent changes in prescriptions or dosages, coordinating multiple healthcare providers, and helping a child have as "normal" and active a childhood as his/her condition allows. Low-income children of color bear a heavier asthma burden than their white or more affluent peers. Those low-income children who live in urban areas such as Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York are particularly vulnerable. Families with limited resources struggle to provide their children with asthma the support that these children need

Sugar Bowl and Spoons Set

ContainersSet consisting of four metal teaspoons and glass bowl with fluted edge. One of three matching bowl and spoon sets.metal; glass3/8 in. h x 3/8 in. d (bowl

Blue Hurricane Lamp

FurnishingsHurricane lamp with candlestick inside of silver metal and blue glass. One of a matching set.plastic, metal1.3125 x .5 x .

Vanity Set/ Dresser Set

ObjectsThree piece vanity set, in silver-painted plastic. Brush has gray and white 'bristles'. All glued in box to foam piece.plastic1 in. h x 7/16 in. w x 1/16 in. d (mirror

Sugar Bowl and Spoons Set

ContainersSet consisting of four metal teaspoons and glass bowl with fluted edge. One of three matching bowl and spoon sets.metal; glass3/8 in. h x 3/8 in. d (bowl

Sugar Bowl and Spoons Set

ContainersSet consisting of four metal teaspoons and glass bowl with fluted edge. One of three matching bowl and spoon sets.metal; glass3/8 in. h x 3/8 in. d (bowl

Blue Candy Dish

ContainersBlue plastic candy dish on stem with lid.plastic.75 x .4375 x .437

Stable isotope dilution techniques for assessing vitamin A status and bioefficacy of provitamin A carotenoids in humans.

Vitamin A deficiency is a major global public health problem. Among the variety of techniques that are available for assessing human vitamin A status, evaluating the provitamin A nutritional values of foodstuffs and estimating human vitamin A requirements, isotope dilution provides the most accurate estimates. Although the relative expense of isotope dilution restricts its applications, it has an important function as the standard of reference for other techniques. Mathematical modelling plays an indispensable role in the interpretation of isotope dilution data. This review summarises recent applications of stable isotope methodology to determine human vitamin A status, estimate human vitamin A requirements, and calculate the bioconversion and bioefficacy of food carotenoids