Early Care and Education Research Scholars: Child Care Dissertation Grants

2000-2023

Funds for the Early Care and Education Research Scholars (ECERS): Child Care Dissertation Grant program are available to support dissertation research on child care policy issues in partnership with State Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) agencies or administrators.

Since 2000, CCDF discretionary funds for child care research and evaluation have supported projects that add to our knowledge about the efficacy of child care subsidy policies and programs in supporting employment and self-sufficiency outcomes for parents, and providing positive learning and school readiness outcomes for children. Previously funded Child Care Research Scholars have made and continue to make significant contributions to the child care policy research field.

To ensure that research is responsive to the changing needs of low-income families, partnerships between the graduate student, their mentor, and the State CCDF agency or administrator are essential. This partnership ensures the research will be policy-relevant and is the foundation that fosters skills necessary to build the graduate student's career trajectory of successful partnership-building and contributions to the policy and scientific communities.

The specific goals of the Child Care Dissertation grants are to:

  1. build capacity in the early care and education field by supporting high-quality dissertation research and student-faculty collaboration and mentorship;
  2. conduct rigorous research that has the capacity to inform child care programs, policies, and practices;
  3. support active communication, collaboration, and partnerships between early career researchers and CCDF policymakers; and
  4. foster the exchange of current research, ideas, and information among research scholars, policymakers, and practitioners.

This research contributes to the broader knowledge base by conducting applied research with clear significance to the CCDF programs goals, policies, services, and/or populations served. The grant program also emphasizes the importance of developing true working partnerships with CCDF agencies or administrators, which benefit both the researchers and the child care programs, policies, and communities. Developing successful researcher-program partnerships under the guidance of experienced mentors strengthens the graduate student grantees' capacity to conduct research relevant to practice and policy. In addition, these partnerships provide the CCDF agencies or administrators with data and information they need to improve their services.

Please review the abstracts from previous Early Care and Education Research Scholars: Child Care Dissertation Grants to explore the range of projects previously funded. 

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Point(s) of contact: Ann Rivera, Kylee Probert, Toria Herd

Related Resources

The Early Care and Education Research Scholars (ECE): Child Care Dissertation Grant program supports dissertation research on child care policy issues in partnership with State Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) agencies or administrators.

The Early Care and Education Research Scholars (ECE): Child Care Dissertation Grant program supports dissertation research on child care policy issues in partnership with State Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) agencies or administrators.

Explore OPRE's Early Care and Education Research Scholars: Child Care Dissertation Grants program for dissertation research conducted in partnership with state Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) agencies or administrators.

The Child Care Research Scholars Program supports dissertation research addressing child care policy interests in partnership with state Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Lead Agencies.  The Child Care Research Scholars Program builds capacity in the field to produce research that informs child care policy decision-making.

The immediate goals of the Child Care Research Scholars grants are to...

The Child Care Research Scholars Program supports dissertation research addressing child care policy interests in partnership with state Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Lead Agencies.  The Child Care Research Scholars Program builds capacity in the field to produce research that informs child care policy decision-making.

The Child Care Research Scholars Program supports dissertation research addressing child care policy interests in partnership with state Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Lead Agencies. The Child Care Research Scholars Program builds capacity in the field to produce research that informs child care policy...

This page provides information about the Child Care Research Scholars: 2017 Grantees

This page provides information about the Child Care Research Scholars: 2016 Grantees

This page provides information about the Child Care Research Scholars: 2015 Grantees

This page provides information about the Child Care Research Scholars: 2014 Grantees

This page provides information about the Child Care Research Scholars: 2013 Grantees

This page provides information about the Child Care Research Scholars: 2012 Grantees

 

This page provides information about the Child Care Research Scholars: 2011 Grantees

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This page provides information about the Child Care Research Scholars: 2009 Grantees

This page provides information about the Child Care Research Scholars: 2008 Grantees

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This page provides information about the Child Care Research Scholars: 2006 Grantees

This page provides information about the Child Care Research Scholars: 2005 Grantees

This page provides information about the Child Care Research Scholars: 2004 Grantees

This page provides information about the Child Care Research Scholars: 2003 Grantees

This page provides information about the Child Care Research Scholars: 2002 Grantees

This page provides information about the Child Care Research Scholars: 2001 Grantees

This page provides information about the Child Care Research Scholars: 2000 Grantees