Prof. Ha Awarded $2 Million Grant to Evaluate Child Care Contracts & Their Impact on Early Care & Education
High quality child care is key to children’s development. The State of Massachusetts has recently bolstered quality improvement initiatives within child care contracts, aiming to enhance equitable access to high quality care for children. To evaluate the impact of these efforts, Prof. Yoonsook Ha of Boston University School of Social Work has been awarded a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE). In collaboration with Brandeis University and the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, this study seeks to analyze the effectiveness of the policy.
This innovative study will examine how child care contracts improve access to high quality care for underserved populations. The funded project will span five years and involve a scoping review, data collection, and a comprehensive administrative data analysis. The findings will provide actionable insights to the state of Massachusetts and OPRE, guiding future policy and program improvement.
Prof. Ha brings a wealth of experience in social policy, child welfare, and family well-being. Her work focuses on improving outcomes for vulnerable populations, particularly low-income families and children. She has conducted numerous studies on early education, child care access, and poverty policies, and her data-driven approaches to enhance public policies make her well-suited to lead the new grant project.