Welcome to RAND Child Policy

RAND Child Policy serves as a gateway to RAND research on children's issues from prenatal to age 18, and provides easy access to objective information that will help improve policy and decisionmaking. RAND research on child policy is conducted by multiple research divisions, and draws upon the expertise of over 140 researchers and consultants.

Child Policy research is organized by topic area, including research projects and publications. We deliver up-to-date research findings on children's issues to those who need it at the local, state, and national level. In addition, we offer a monthly email announcement of new RAND publications and projects, as well as a quarterly newsletter for Congressional staff.

We also operate the Promising Practices Network (PPN) on Children, Families and Communities to provide easy-to-understand information on what works to improve outcomes for children and their families.

Featured Research

Barriers to Family Leave for Parents of Seriously Ill Children — May 15, 2012

Parents of newborns and seriously ill children often know about family leave options, but are sometimes too overwhelmed to apply for them or experience difficulties in accessing and using benefits. New parents reported wanting expert guidance, and saw hospitals and clinics as promising information sources.

Preventing Alcohol Use in Middle School Students with an After-School Program — Mar 15, 2012

Many school-based programs to prevent adolescent alcohol and drug use exist, but most are mandatory and during class time. A voluntary after-school program focused specifically on alcohol and drug use may be effective in deterring alcohol use among early adolescents.

Featured Project

Interactive Guide Helps Child-Serving Organizations Prepare for Emergencies — Nov 10, 2011

The Promising Practices Network has developed an emergency planning guide that presents high-priority preparedness activities and documents to help child-serving organizations customize their emergency plans.

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Helping Each Other in Times of Need: Financial Help as a Means of Coping with the Economic Crisis

Cover: Helping Each Other in Times of Need

One way that U.S. households are coping with the global economic downturn is by reaching out to each other via financial help. This paper reports survey results from late 2008 and early 2009 that detail patterns of giving and receiving financial help among households in response to the economic crisis, and how these patterns vary by age and income.

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Charter Schools in Eight States: Effects on Achievement, Attainment, Integration, and Competition

Cover: Charter Schools in Eight States

Charter schools now exist in 40 states, but the best charter-school studies to date have focused on individual states. This book examines charter schools in eight states with varied policy contexts. It assesses the characteristics of charter schools students, their effectiveness in raising student achievement and promoting graduation and college entry, and their competitive effects on student achievement in traditional public schools.

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Promising Practices Network

Promising Practices Network

The Promising Practices Network (PPN) is a group of individuals and organizations who are dedicated to providing quality evidence-based information about what works to improve the lives of children, families, and communities.  RAND operates the PPN project and website.

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