Description/Abstract
Literacy is critical for numerous developmental outcomes and wellbeing among children. Low literacy skills in childhood can also negatively affect individuals in adulthood. Using data from nearly 300,000 kindergarten students in Virginia (2014-2017), this study finds that children in households that participate in more than one social assistance program (such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Free or Reduced-Price Lunch) have lower literacy skills when they enter kindergarten than children whose households participate in fewer or no social programs.
Document Type
Policy Brief
Date
3-22-2023
Keywords
Child Health, Literacy, Food Insecurity, Social Welfare Policy
Language
English
Funder(s)
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service
Funding ID
cooperative agreement #58-4000-8-0036R
Series
Policy Briefs Series
Acknowledgements
Financial support was provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (cooperative agreement #58-4000-8-0036R). We acknowledge the services and support of the Virginia Department of Social Services and Department of Education. We also thank Zoé Tkaczyk, Alexandra Punch, Shannon Monnat, and Alyssa Kirk for editorial assistance on this brief.
Disciplines
Educational Sociology | Education Policy | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Social Welfare
ISSN
1525-3066
Recommended Citation
Rothbart, M.W., Heflin, C., & Alphonso, G., (2023). Children in Economically Disadvantaged Households Have Lower Early Literacy Skills than their High-Income Peers. Syracuse University Center for Policy Research, Policy Brief Series. Brief #1.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
