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Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst

Karen Schulman is a Senior Policy Analyst in NWLC's Family Economic Security division. She researches and writes about child care and early education policies. She received her bachelor's degree from Williams College and her master's degree in Public Policy from Duke University. Prior to joining NWLC, she worked at the Children's Defense Fund. She enjoys spending time with her nieces and nephews and is glad they will grow up thinking there is nothing unusual about a woman being Speaker of the House or running for President.

My Take

Lasting Impacts of High-Quality Child Care

Posted by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst | Posted on: May 18, 2010 at 04:00 pm

by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst, 
National Women's Law Center

The latest results from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, which has been following 1,364 children since their birth in 1991, show the long-term positive impact of high-quality child care. The study found that at age 15 those who had been in high-quality quality care before age 4 ½ were performing better on academic and cognitive assessments and were less likely to display problem behavior. 

The differences in teens' academic performance and behavior associated with the quality of care they had in their preschool years were relatively small. And the influence of parents and other family members and other factors outweighed the impact of child care. Yet the persistence of those differences related to child care is striking, and children and youth need every extra boost they can get.

The study also found that teens who had spent more time in child care were slightly more likely to display impulsive and risk-taking behavior. This only reinforces the importance of high-quality child care, particularly for children who are in care for long hours.

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Child Care: Supporting Moms on Mother’s Day and All Year Round

Posted by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst | Posted on: May 06, 2010 at 04:30 pm

by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst, 
National Women's Law Center

I'm looking forward to celebrating Mother’s Day by getting together with my mom and dad and my sister and brother and their families and trying to get my mom to do as little as possible other than enjoying spending time with the family. But I'd like to think that Mother's Day isn't just about taking one day of the year to show appreciation for all our moms do. It should also be a day to think about ways to make it a little easier for our moms, as they try to juggle their uncountable responsibilities, all of the other days of the year.

There’s nothing we can do to make being a mom completely carefree. There are just too many things for them to worry about as they try to make sure their children are safe and happy and support their families in multiple ways, including financially—a particularly challenging task in today’s economy. Yet we can try to lend moms a hand in managing everything. One way to do this is by giving working moms the tools they need to find and afford reliable child care and early education for their children. Dependable child care is essential for enabling a mom to get and keep a job—and, once she's gotten a job, for enabling her to concentrate on her work secure in the knowledge that her children are in good hands.

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Follow the Child Care Money

Posted by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst | Posted on: April 14, 2010 at 12:11 pm

by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst, 
National Women's Law Center

A new report from NWLC highlights the ways in which states are using $2 billion in additional child care funds available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to make a difference for children and families. 

NWLC’s report, Supporting State Child Care Efforts with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funds, offers numerous examples of how these funds are enabling many states to maintain and expand families’ access to child care assistance as well as to invest in initiatives to improve the quality of care. In these tough economic times, the additional funding for child care has also helped save and create jobs—for the parents who have been able to work because they have reliable child care, for the child care providers who have been able to maintain enrollment in their programs, and for the trainers, specialists, and other individuals employed to help improve the availability and quality of child care.

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A Second Crack in the Glass TV Screen

Posted by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst | Posted on: March 19, 2010 at 02:09 pm

by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst, 
National Women's Law Center 

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Yes, Women Anchors Can Break the Glass TV Screen

Posted by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst | Posted on: February 05, 2010 at 05:00 pm

by Karen Schulman, Senior Policy Analyst, 
National Women's Law Center 

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