Investments in children often are used to combat the negative effects of growing up in poverty, which span the life course: diminished brain development in young children, worse school preparation, reduced educational attainment, more limited skills development, poorer health, worse employment outcomes, and an increased likelihood of criminal justice involvement. Failing to investing adequately in children can prevent children from reaching their full potential. The payoff of any one investment can be difficult to assess, because children benefit from a constellation of connected programs. Strong evidence suggests that investments that reduce poverty and direct resources at very young children have particularly high payoffs. In total, analysts estimate that long-term, some programs can return $10 for each dollar invested in children (Garfinkel et al. 2022; Hendren and Sprung-Keyser 2020). This report details major government investments in children, summarizing existing research on the long- and short-term payoffs of each. (author abstract)