Publications

This webinar focuses on an innovative and community-driven approach to foster sustainable change and build pathways out of poverty for low-income families. Speakers from the Brightmoor Alliance explain their engagement process, highlighting the collaborative efforts with community members that led to the co-design of the “6aDay Early Life Alliance.” Click the link to watch on YouTube.

There is an important policy conundrum in the early care and education field: How do we create an equitable, affordable, high-quality childcare system that serves the needs of working parents/caregivers, their children, and the childcare workforce? This webinar explores key forces that contribute to this policy paradox and share innovative policy strategies from collaborative projects underway in Illinois. Click the link to watch on YouTube.

Early childhood education centers face significant financial constraints that limit their ability to raise wages for their educators. Addressing this issue requires investment from both the government and private sectors, policy reforms, and innovative funding solutions to ensure that educators are fairly compensated without making early childhood education unaffordable for families.

In a new three-part series, the Clark-Fox Policy Institute reviews the latest empirical data layered with community voice and details evidence-informed policy recommendations to help businesses create family-friendly workplaces. Part Three, The Next Generation: Preparing for the Future of the Workforce, demonstrates how businesses can invest in their future workforce and eliminate costly employee turnover and burnout by providing accommodations for pregnant employees, lactation support, early childhood education assistance, and Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) education.

High-quality early childhood education is critical to create a vibrant workforce development pipeline and business longevity. Yet many Missouri families struggle to find quality, affordable childcare, forcing parents to grapple with the difficult decision to pay high costs or leave the workforce. This virtual panel discussion examined what quality early childhood education can and should look like and how attendees can raise awareness about the importance of early childhood investment in their own communities. Click the link to watch on YouTube.

Beginning January 1, 2024, the Missouri minimum wage increased to $12.30/hour for most workers. The increase follows a 2018 referendum that raised the minimum wage to $12/hour over five years and will continue to adjust the minimum wage every following year based on changes in the cost of living.

In a new three-part series, the Clark-Fox Policy Institute reviews the latest empirical data layered with community voice and details evidence-informed policy recommendations to help businesses create family-friendly workplaces. Part Two, Good Businesses Attract Good Employees: Promoting Employee and Family Wellbeing, outlines actions that businesses can take to support their employees and their families, including pay equity, living wages, health insurance, and flexible working arrangements.

Pre-doctoral fellow at the Clark-Fox Policy Institute Nicole Strombom shares her experience returning to work after paid new child leave.

More than two-thirds of American workers still lack access to paid leave, leaving many families with the difficult choice of paying their bills or caring for a new baby or sick family member. Lack of paid leave also strains the already overstretched childcare system as families need care soon after birth and often can’t stay home with sick children. This virtual panel discussion examined why paid leave is critical to create thriving families, a strong childcare system, and successful businesses, and how companies of all sizes can respond. Click the link to watch on YouTube.

In a new three-part series, the Clark-Fox Policy Institute reviews the latest empirical data layered with community voice and details evidence-informed policy recommendations to help businesses create family-friendly workplaces. Part One, Paid Leave: Good for Families, Businesses, and the Economy, describes the realities that more than two-thirds of American workers face bringing home a new baby or caring for a sick family member without access to paid leave.