Barriers to Economic Mobility for Low-Income Working Families with Young Children
This slide deck is a resource from the webinar Barriers to Economic Mobility for Low-Income Working Families with Young Children. Children’s development and family financial stability are inextricably linked. The 2Gen approach is designed to support improved child and family outcomes. Low-income working families with young children may experience benefits cliffs and other structural financial barriers that can challenge career advancement and economic self-sufficiency. The Atlanta Fed’s Advancing Careers initiative conducts research on benefits cliffs and structural barriers to career advancement and develops tools to support community and state efforts to improve economic security for families and meet the talent needs of businesses for a healthy economy.
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Leading an Early Childhood Team Through the Quality Improvement Process
Article October 7, 2026
Published in Young Children, this 2024 article provides an operational guide for aligning state QIS requirements with broader national standards, quality grants, and staff incentives.
Much-Needed Changes in Child Care Quality Rating and Improvement Systems Should Promote Equity
Blog October 7, 2026
Blog authors Gina Adams and Danielle Ewen outline systemic flaws in traditional models. This 2024 blog details how traditional QRIS frameworks often inadequately support parents, underinvest in actual center improvement, and inadvertently exacerbate funding inequalities among diverse childcare providers.
Four Trends in Early Care and Education Quality Rating and Improvement Systems
Fact Sheet October 7, 2026
This 2024 brief evaluates Parent Aware (Minnesota's system) and synthesizes interviews across six states (Delaware, Louisiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington). It identifies critical, modern pathways for administrators looking to overhaul and redesign state frameworks.