Closing the Opportunity Gap for Young Children, identifies and describes the causes, costs, and effects of the opportunity gap in young children and explores how disparities in access to quality educational experiences, health care, and positive developmental experiences from birth through age eight intersect with key academic, health, and economic outcomes. The report identifies drivers of these gaps in three key domains—education, mental health, and physical health—and offers recommendations for policy makers for addressing these gaps so that all children in the United States have the opportunity to thrive. In addition, the report offers a detailed set of recommendations for policy makers, practitioners, community organizations, and philanthropic organizations to reduce opportunity gaps in education, health, and social-emotional development. (author abstract)

Contents:

Front Matter
Summary
1 Introduction
2 Opportunity Gaps in Early Care and Education Experienced by Children from Birth to Pre-K
3 Opportunity Gaps in the Education Experienced by Children in Grades K3
4 Opportunity Gaps in the Physical Health and Health Care Experienced by Young Children and their Parents
5 Opportunity Gaps in the Social-Emotional Development, Well-being, and Mental Health Experienced by Young Children
6 The Economic Costs of the Opportunity Gap
7 Research, Policy, and Practice: Contexts and Efforts to Address Opportunity Gaps
8 Key Conclusions and Recommendations
Appendix A: A Total Population of Children Ages 08 by Race/Ethnicity and Nativity, 2020
Appendix B: Percentage of Children from Birth through Age 5 and Not Yet in Kindergarten Participating in Various Weekly Nonparental Care Arrangements, by Child and Family Characteristics, 2019
Appendix C: Committee Member and Staff Biosketches