Policies that increase access to high-quality child care for all families could help address the achievement gap along socioeconomic lines as children enter kindergarten, according to a University of Kansas researcher who studies intergenerational inequality.

A recent Economic Policy Institute report found that in several states access to high-quality child care was out of reach for many families due to cost, and the researchers made several policy recommendations, including providing additional resources necessary to ensure all families can access high-quality child care with well-trained, professional staff qualified to provide early childhood education.

Emily Rauscher, assistant professor of sociology and faculty director of the Wealth Transfer Project in the School of Social Welfare’s Center on Assets, Education and Inclusion, is available to discuss the report and its policy recommendations. Rauscher’s research centers on intergenerational mobility and understanding how economic advantages and disadvantages are transmitted from parents to children and finding policy mechanisms to break those cycles. She has authored studies on a variety of policy topics, such as the influence of compulsory schooling laws, wealth transfers and marriage by schooling level and race.

“Research shows that children start school with class differences in both cognitive and noncognitive skills, including motivation to learn and the ability to keep working at something even though it is difficult. Although schools work hard to build skills for all children, they have limited ability to close these gaps,” Rauscher said. “The most critical time in a child’s development, it seems, is before kindergarten. If child care costs were lower, enabling access to high-quality environments for all children early in their lives, the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children upon entering school would narrow. This would enable more children to achieve their full potential.”

To arrange an interview with Rauscher, contact George Diepenbrock at 785-864-8853 or gdiepenbrock@ku.edu.