News and Opinions

Youngest children in class with ADHD as likely to keep diagnosis in adulthood as their older classmates

October 30, 2023
University of Southampton

Experts from Duke University are among a group of 161 researchers worldwide who made the discovery after examining data from thousands of patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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The Financial and Psychological Costs of Income Volatility

October 19, 2023
EconoFact

Unpredictable and involuntary income fluctuations negatively impact consumption, parenting, and children’s schooling beyond the effects of income level.

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Latinos In Poverty Are Working More, Can’t Get Ahead

October 6, 2023
The Messenger

As we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, lawmakers should take a closer look at Latino families to find new ideas and solutions. To lift children out of poverty, we need an updated blueprint for policy conversations…

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Child poverty rate rebounds after pandemic-era child tax credit ends

September 28, 2023
Youth Today

A Census report released in September determined that the poverty rate more than doubled from 5.2% to 12.4% in 2022. The reason, in part, according to the report, was because billions of dollars in aid for families ended.

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Kindergarten conduct problems could cost society later, researchers find

August 30, 2023
Penn State

A new economic analysis has linked conduct problems among kindergarten students with significant costs to society in terms of crime and associated medical expenses and lost productivity when they are adults.

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Telemedicine Could Help Keep Kids in Class

January 17, 2023
Education Week

Schools’ use of telehealth services expanded during the pandemic, and emerging research suggests it could help reduce chronic absenteeism.

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Podcast: Jennifer Lansford on “Why are my parents so annoying?”

January 5, 2023
BBC World Service

Jennifer Lansford helps explain the science behind why children find their parents annoying in a recent episode of BBC’s Crowd Science podcast.  

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By the numbers: How North Carolina’s classrooms have changed since Leandro

December 18, 2022
WRAL

Helen Ladd was cited for her research on public education spending in WRAL’s analysis of North Carolina schools.

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Podcast: Anna Gassman-Pines on Unemployment Insurance Access Disparities

November 15, 2022
Health Affairs

Anna Gassman-Pines joined a recent episode of A Health Podyssey, the Health Affairs podcast to speak about her research on the health disparities experienced by unemployed Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Four Ways Charter Schools Undermine Good Education Policy

November 10, 2022
Forbes

Ladd argues, [public school funding] must be used “productively and efficiently to promote good educational outcomes.” Charters, by design, “operate outside state and local education systems,” to varying degrees depending on which state we’re talking about. Ladd observes that this creates several challenges.

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Economics of Infant Feeding in the U.S.

October 10, 2022
Econofact

The national shortage of baby formula in the U.S. that began in February of 2022 cast an urgent spotlight on the difficulties parents can face in meeting basic nutritional needs of their babies. A narrow focus on the supply of infant formula or the benefits of breastfeeding does not shed light on the full scope of economic tradeoffs families face.

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American Family Policy Is Holding Schools Back

September 28, 2022
The Atlantic

A child’s ability to succeed in the classroom is powerfully influenced by their home environment. Giving parents the support they need could be key to fixing American education.

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How resilience and learning are working hand in hand for our students in districts

September 26, 2022
EdNC

The NC Center for Resilience & Learning is teaching schools and districts how to better help students who have experienced trauma.

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Q&A | Jennifer Lansford, director of Duke’s Center for Child & Family Policy

September 9, 2022
EdNC

EdNC spoke with Lansford about her time at CCFP, her policy goals, and what keeps her up at night.

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Radio Interview with Christina Gibson Davis on Net Worth Poverty

September 7, 2022
WABE

Net Worth Poverty. It’s the other half of the income story that gets overlooked when talking about poverty. Researchers found that family wealth, the value of a family’s assets, such as savings and property, minus debt, is linked to lower cognitive scores and increases in problem and behavior scores in children.

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Understanding the Full Cost of Child Poverty

September 6, 2022
Duke Today

A broader look at family finances can lead to better-designed programs that address child wellbeing.

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Is the Cost of an Elite Preschool Worth It? Experts Weigh In

August 9, 2022
Yahoo! Finance

Research seems to indicate that early childhood education can be a stepping stone to success later on in life. But preschools vary greatly in their philosophies, curricula and quality of teaching staff, so not every school will make the same impact.

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Benefits of Childhood Mental Health Intervention ‘Ripple Across Generations’

July 27, 2022
Duke Research Blog

A childhood intervention program called Fast Track improves family life into the second generation, report researchers.

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Duke Announces Winners of the 2022 DST Spark Seed Grants

July 20, 2022
Duke Today

Sarah Komisarow is among nine early- to mid-career faculty from across Duke campus and the School of Medicine who have been recognized for pursuing new directions and ideas to enhance novel research and scholarship at Duke.

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Babinski and her research team are awarded new funding to support teachers in working with English Learners.

July 15, 2022
IES National Center for Education Research

Babinski and team will design, develop, and test an online professional development program called Bridging English Language Learning and Academics (BELLA) for improving teacher and student outcomes for working with English Learners.

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Getting Tough? The Effects of Discretionary Principal Discipline on Student Outcomes

July 11, 2022
FutureEd

The debate over school discipline often devolves into whether stricter rules create more orderly school environments or produce dire consequences for students. A new report looking at principals’ disciplinary styles suggests that both outcomes could be true.

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Lansford to Lead Center for Child and Family Policy

June 8, 2022
Sanford School of Public Policy

Jennifer Lansford, research professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy, will be the new director of the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy as of July 1, Sanford School Dean Judith Kelley announced today.

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Racial Inequality Research Grants Awarded to Duke Faculty

May 6, 2022
Duke Faculty Advancement

The Office of the Provost has selected 18 projects for funding through The Duke Endowment that engage topics related to the issue of racial inequality. Among those selected include projects led by CCFP’s Anna Gassman-Pines, Beth Gifford and Sarah Komisarow during the 2022-2023 academic year. 

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Letter to the Editor: NC charter school backers fight federal grant rule changes

April 20, 2022
The News & Observer

State and local taxpayers cover the operating costs of charter schools, as well as the negative spillovers that they impose on local school districts. This public funding requires policy makers to pay attention not only to the benefits for enrolled students, but also to the collective or public interests that justify public funding for education.

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Dreaming of a universal early childhood system

April 17, 2022
EdNC

Early childhood experts and community leaders from North Carolina and across the country described the needs of young children and families and how our systems, policies, and government structures could better address those needs.

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A vision ‘as breathtaking and groundbreaking as public school’ for early childhood

April 14, 2022
EdNC

Hosted at Duke University, the gathering, “Building a Universal System for Families with Young Children in North Carolina,” was organized by the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy and by The Hunt Institute.

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COVID & Families Across Cultures [Podcast]

April 13, 2022
Policy 360 Podcast

Prior to the pandemic, Jennifer Lansford and her colleagues were conducting in-depth, multi-year research on children and families in nine countries. They are now expanding their research to consider COVID-19 and children and parents’ mental health.

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How Charter Schools Disrupt Good Education Policy [Lecture]

April 12, 2022
Wellesley College

Helen Ladd presents The Diane Silvers Ravitch ’60 Lecture: How Charter Schools Disrupt Good Education Policy at Wellesley.

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Bipartisan Report Calls for Rebalancing U.S. Priorities Towards Children [Podcast]

April 8, 2022
Policy 360 Podcast

A bipartisan report on the challenges and opportunities facing children in America stresses the need to rebalance national investments toward children.

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