Parenting students work hard every day to pursue their goals, often juggling work, classes, and caregiving responsibilities. Public systems and programs can provide critical support, but frequently create additional hurdles for parenting students and their families--especially those with low incomes. In 2022, the Center for the Study of Social…

In 2022, the Center for the Study of Social Policy and Project SPARC conducted research to better understand the barriers experienced by parenting students participating in CalWORKs, California's cash assistance program for families with children. This brief highlights findings from the research on who parenting students are and their experiences…

In 2022, the Center for the Study of Social Policy and Project SPARC conducted research to better understand the barriers experienced by parenting students participating in CalWORKs, California's cash assistance program for families with children. This brief highlights findings from the research on parenting students' experiences meeting their…

In 2022, the Center for the Study of Social Policy and Project SPARC conducted research to better understand the barriers experienced by parenting students participating in CalWORKs, California's cash assistance program for families with children. This brief highlights findings from the research about parenting students' experiences navigating…

To learn more about the experiences of families during the pandemic, and in particular their experience with additional support for child care, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) interviewed families and experts in four states, and conducted a survey of 1,900 families across the country. CSSP's research efforts were designed to reach…

In 2022, the Center for the Study of Social Policy and Project SPARC conducted research to better understand the barriers experienced by parenting students participating in CalWORKs, California's cash assistance program for families with children. This brief highlights findings from the research on parenting students' experiences with housing.

In 2022, the Center for the Study of Social Policy and Project SPARC conducted research to better understand the barriers experienced by parenting students in CalWORKs, California's cash assistance program for families with children. This brief highlights findings from the research on parenting students' experiences transferring to four-year…

Parenting students work hard every day to pursue their goals, often juggling work, classes, and caregiving responsibilities. Public systems and programs can provide critical support, but frequently create additional hurdles for parenting students and their families-- especially those with low incomes. In 2022, the Center for the Study of Social…

This report shares findings taken from a Community Analysis and identifies 1) structural challenges that communities face as they work to support transition age youth (TAY); 2) narratives about TAY that contribute to these challenges and policies and practices that create burdens for TAY in meeting their needs; and 3) creative solutions that build…

Expectant and parenting youth involved in systems of care represent a unique intersection of developmental needs as adolescents, emerging adults, parents, and young people who come into contact with child welfare, juvenile justice, and/or other human services systems. Addressing these parallel roles and respective developmental needs is necessary…

This report examines the importance of intentionally and actively targeting protective factors, in addition to risk factors, in an effort to promote healthy development and well-being in youth involved in systems of care. Protective factors are conditions and characteristics of individuals, interpersonal relationships, communities, and the larger…

This report examines the importance and multidimensional nature of well-being, in general, and the well-being of Black, Native, Latinx, and Asian youth involved in systems of care, in particular. These young people must navigate three significant challenges: typical developmental issues and stressors associated with child and adolescent…

The healthy development and well-being of Black, Native, and Latinx youth are threatened when authority figures, decision makers, and other adult gatekeepers involved in systems of care perpetuate negative racial and ethnic stereotypes and/or hold implicit biases. Often, the outcomes of these perceptions are punishment-based systems that are…

The exclusion of caregivers and other stakeholders from conversations about child care policy design exacerbates inequities in the sector. By design, women, people of color, parents, people without wealth or high incomes, and child care providers are severely underrepresented in positions of power, including the government positions that influence…

This paper presents a set of strategies and options that California can use to leverage Medi-Cal, the State's Medicaid program, to move toward an equitable, advanced health delivery system for its children. Close to five million children are enrolled in Medi-Cal, more than two-thirds of whom are Black and Brown children. California's program alone…