We aim to accelerate states’ implementation of evidence-based policies that help all children thrive from the start.
Yesterday, we hosted our annual 2025 Research to Policy Summit, a virtual event where state leaders, changemakers, and community advocates gathered to reflect on progress made this past year and learn about how evidence-based policy action can support families.
This event marked the official launch of two major resources, the 2025 State Policy Roadmap and our newly updated Policy Impact Calculator , both which were created to inform stronger and more targeted policy action.
We’re excited to share a special edition of this newsletter to highlight the biggest takeaways from the Summit. Here’s what stood out, what’s happening now, and why it matters.
Imagine sifting through piles of reports and data briefs to gain an understanding of how states are making complex decisions about investments in children and their families.
What if there was a way to see all the findings in one place?
Designed to make state policy progress more visible, accessible, and actionable, the State Policy Roadmap offers comprehensive summaries of policy action across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
In the Roadmap, we identify the states in which children and families are doing well and provide insight into the momentum, progress, and impact of states implementing evidence-based policies.
Whether you’re a policymaker, funder, advocate, caregiver, service provider, or community member, the Roadmap can help you see progress and opportunities to build a system of care that supports all families in your state.
Building on the State Policy Roadmap, the Policy Impact Calculator is an interactive, self-guided dashboard that enables users to see how a state's policy choices impact families over time.
At the center of this tool is a powerful question based on the experience of Lina, our prototype of a single mother raising an infant and toddler:
What level of resources does Lina have to support her family in your state?
By simulating various scenarios based on federal and state policy choices, the Policy Impact Calculator offers a snapshot of how the state in which Lina chooses to live impacts the resources she has to support her family. Each simulation can be downloaded for use in presentations, planning meetings, and advocacy materials.
Leading voices in the field spotlighted policy trends and offered a unique lens on how states can continue developing community-focused policy solutions amid shifts in federal priorities. Here are just a few standout keynotes:
Dr. Cynthia Osborne
Executive Director
Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center
"There’s no single policy or strategy that meets the full scope of all family needs. We use our evidence to show that it takes a coordinated system of broad-based economic supports and targeted interventions to build a prenatal-to-3 system of care that fosters healthy environments for infants, toddlers, and their families."
Elisabeth Wright Burak
Senior Fellow
Georgetown University
"Years of research has shown that Medicaid and its expansion at the state level not only improves childhood outcomes but also supports better educational outcomes and long-term family success across generations."
Alyssa Rafa
Assistant Policy Director
Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center
"We've seen a lot of states investing in doulas, in line with previous years. At the same time, states are grappling with how to make SNAP more accessible and how to respond to federal Medicaid changes."
Sarah Ritter
Policy Manager, Income Security
Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center
"We saw continued momentum this legislative session in both states with existing paid family and medical leave insurance programs as well as important incremental progress in states that have not yet adopted a statewide paid family and medical leave program."
Maria Spinetti
Senior State Policy Analyst
Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center
"This year, the spotlight in child care subsidy policy was on expanding state investments. Eighteen states significantly increased their allocations, and two states created dedicated funding streams for early learning."
Looking Ahead: Continuing the Momentum
The conversations sparked at this event made one thing clear: the work to strengthen support for families is far from over.
As policies evolve, our team at the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center will continue to track legislative shifts and develop resources that can help strengthen how systems show up for families through data-driven policy design and decisions.
During the recent Early Childhood Leadership Summit hosted by The Hunt Institute, Dr. Cynthia Osborne represented the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center in a panel discussion highlighting state-level progress across child care systems.
Alongside Sen. Jim Burgin, Rep. Morgan Cephas, and Dr. Josh McCabe, the panel discussed the intersection of family health, economic mobility, and early childhood learning— emphasizing the equal importance of each priority as they relate to early child development.
Dr. Osborne also delivered a featured presentation, unveiling the 2025 State Policy Roadmap and Policy Impact Calculator. Her remarks spotlighted how evidence-based policies can strengthen systems of care.
Over the last few weeks, members from our Research and Evaluation (R&E) team made their way across the field, supporting Raising Readers Nashville on their early literacy development initiative.
During that time, R&E met with a group of local child care stakeholders in Nashville to collect local expertise needed to inform a true cost of high quality child care calculator for Davidson County.
Members of our R&E and Data teams also spent the past few weeks conducting data collection at participating child care centers for the Begin Bright Study.
The Center is currently partnering with the Nashville Public Library (NPL) and the Nashville Public Library Foundation (NPLF) on a comprehensive four-year evaluation of Begin Bright, assessing the program’s impact in improving children’s early literacy skills and identifying best practices for long-term implementation.
"High-quality child care provides important individual and societal benefits for children and families, which in turn drives economic productivity and reduces the need for government spending."
Our latest policy briefoutlines societal benefits of high-quality child care and examines factors driving the current market failure.
Explore the challenges of a strained child care market and pathways for improving the system.
The National Home Visiting Resource Center (NHVRC) has just released its 2025 Home Visiting Yearbook, offering a national and state-by-state overview of childhood home visiting.
The report highlights data on hybrid approaches to delivering virtual and in-person home visits, provides insight into the families served, and shares national data sources for maternal and child health—helping to identify potential needs for these services.
PN-3 Policy Manager, Sarah Ritter, will be joining Paid Leave for All Kansans for an upcoming webinar on October 9 to spotlight the latest research about paid family and medical leave programs and how they work.
Learn how a state paid family and medical leave program could impact Kansas businesses and families.
The Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Inc. and the Alliance for Early Success are hosting a 90-minute webinar focused on the Black perinatal workforce and its intersection with Birth Justice and Reproductive Justice frameworks.
This timely discussion will explore how the Black perinatal workforce engages with policy to advance equity, strategies for reducing harm and strengthening postpartum care, and how to utilize BMMA’s policy priorities to advance care for postpartum families.
Imagination Factory and Foster America are hosting an upcomingwebinar, Invest in Housing: A Solution to Prevent Family Separation, sharing insights about the Creative Cluster project to capture and spread the Family Keys affordable housing innovation in Wisconsin to sites around the country.
Discover how Family Keys got started, key strategies for designing, implementing, and financing the initiative, and learn about partnership opportunities with Imagination Factory that could benefit the communities you serve.
Saori is a Senior Data Analyst at the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, where she conducts rigorous policy and program evaluations. In this role, she collaborates with researchers and practitioners to strengthen the evidence base for policies that support the health and well-being of children and families.
Previously, Saori served as Senior Quantitative Research Lead at FHI 360’s National Institute for Work and Learning (NIWL), where she led evaluation and research projects focused on secondary education.
She holds a Master’s in International Development Policy from the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, where she specialized in quantitative methodologies and econometrics in the context of international development. She earned her B.A. from the University of Wales, Swansea.
Outside of work, Saori enjoys traveling, exploring local food scenes, spending time in nature, and hiking with her family and their beagle.
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