Work, Families and Children News

• WCW Hosts Second Early Childhood Policy Research Summit
  

  On March 19, 2026, WCW hosted over 160 attendees at the second Massachusetts Early Childhood Policy Research Summit, a gathering of those who produce and support research and design projects related to the early childhood field in Massachusetts.
• Collaboration, Not Competition, is Key for the Future of Early Childhood Policy Research
  

  Wendy Wagner Robeson, Ed.D., and her colleagues at Northeastern and Boston University are developing a statewide early childhood policy collaborative.
• Boston University: Shaping the Future of Early Childhood Research Policy
  Dr. Kyle DeMeo Cook of Boston University writes about the Massachusetts Early Childhood Policy Research Summit, which she co-hosted with WCW Senior Research Scientist Dr. Wendy Robeson and Dr. Kimberly Lucas of Northeastern University.
• WCW Hosts Early Childhood Policy Research Summit
  

  On April 2, 2025, WCW hosted the first Massachusetts Early Childhood Policy Research Summit, a gathering of those who produce and support research and design projects related to the early childhood field in Massachusetts.
• The 19th: Democrats and Republicans agree child care is in crisis. Why can’t they get a bill passed?
  Wendy Wagner Robeson, Ed.D., explains that child care is essential for parents and the economy.
• The Challenges of Accessing Child Care While Working Non-Standard Hours
  

  A recent study investigated the complex connections between poverty, work schedules, parents’ selection of different types of child care, and work disruptions.
• Detroit Free Press: Inside Detroit's 24-hour child care
  Wendy Wagner Robeson, Ed.D., highlights the benefits of a 24-hour child care center while calling for more funding for the industry.
• Boston Fed: What happens when limited child care options force difficult tradeoffs?
  A report from the Boston Fed, co-authored by Wendy Wagner Robeson, Ed.D., explores the tradeoffs parents make when seeking child care. 
• Boston Globe: Families in Alabama have free, full-day prekindergarten while many Mass. families can only dream of it
  Wendy Robeson, Ed.D., shares her expertise on early childhood education.
• Hechinger Report: Our child care industry is in free fall, and that’s bad news for all children
  In an op-ed, Wendy Wagner Robeson, Ed.D., discusses the needs of the U.S. child care industry. 
• Bangor Daily News: Maine providers question how Democrats’ social spending bill will help solve child care woes
  Wendy Wagner Robeson, Ed.D., discusses the Build Back Better Act. 
• Research Scientist Studies "New Normal" in Child Care
  

  Wendy Wagner Robeson, Ph.D., shares findings from a study on child care access in Massachusetts during the pandemic.
• Washington Examiner: What Biden's 7% cap on child care costs could mean for working and stay-at-home parents
  Wendy Robeson, Ph.D., discusses the impact of pending legislation on child care policy.
• K-12 Dive: Early childhood must be overhauled to improve pay, career pathways
  Dr. Wendy Wagner Robeson argues for a new approach to child care, with higher pay and improved career pathways for workers, to address the U.S. childcare shortage following the pandemic.
• Ms. Magazine: The Stimulus Package is a Huge Win for Working Parents—and an Opportunity to Rebuild Our Child Care System
  Wendy Wagner Robeson, Ed.D., discusses the importance of a robust national child care policy in this Op-Ed for Ms. Magazine.
• MarketWatch: ‘It’s not going to solve the problem’: Democrats unveil ambitious child-care tax credit, but will it be enough?
  WCW Senior Research Scientist Wendy Robeson, Ed.D., is quoted in this article that comments on a recently unveiled plan to increase the Child Tax Credit.
• Q&A with Nancy Marshall: Reflecting on 35 Years of Researching Work, Families, and Children
  

  December 2, 2020

  Senior Research Scientist and Associate Director Nancy L. Marshall, Ed.D., who is retiring after 35 years at the Wellesley Centers for Women, took a moment to reflect on her experiences. 
• A Better Child Care System is Essential to Gender Equality—and Economic Recovery
  

  Wendy Robeson, Ed.D., highlights the challenges working families face during the pandemic, and how a national child care policy could help.
• New HHS Grant Will Fund Study on Child Care for Low-Income Families
  

  November 11, 2020

  Our Work, Families & Children Research Group will examine how nonstandard and/or unpredictable work schedules make it difficult for low-income parents to access quality child care.
• Diverse Education: Closing University Child Care Centers Hurts Both Student Parents and Future Educators
  This Op-Ed featuring WCW Researchers Wendy Wagner Robeson, Ed.D., and Autumn Green, Ph.D., discusses the negative effects the closure of child care centers at Universities has on student parents and future educators.
• WCW Recommends Focus on Early Childhood Care and Education in Reopening Plans
  

  Wendy Wagner Robeson, Ed.D., helps to chart a path forward for Massachusetts early childhood care and education programs, which have been hit hard by COVID-19.
• WCW Contributes to Report on Child Care in Boston
  

  March 16, 2020

  Our Work, Families, & Children Research Group assisted with a report on child care accessibility and affordability in Boston.
• New Findings, Publications, Presentations: Education
  

  

  
  

  Scholars at WCW spoke at conferences and workshops on early child care and social and emotional learning, two crucial education areas.
• Research undertaken by WCW scholars informs bill to improve child care facilities
  

  For Immediate Release: January 2, 2014
• Q&A: The Changing World of Work and Family Balance
  

  Research & Action Report, Fall/Winter 2010

  with Nancy Marshall, Ed.D.

  For many years, research done by the Work, Families, and Children Research Group at Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) has provided policy makers, community leaders, and other scholars with data, commentary, and testimony concerning the effects on family members of many factors, including working conditions, poverty, the division of labor at home, and early care and education. Nancy Marshall, Ed.D., who joined WCW in 1985, now leads the group, which includes Wendy Wagner Robeson, Ed.D., and Joanne Roberts, Ph.D., senior research scientists at WCW.
• Is Child Care Bad for Kids?
  

  by Nancy L. Marshall, Ed.D.
  From the Fall/Winter 2003 Research & Action Report

  Recent headlines have once again raised the question of whether child care is bad for children. After decades of research, advocacy, program development, and policy, what do we really know about child care? Before addressing this question, it is important to talk about the larger question: what do we really know about women’s (and men’s) lives? The question of child care can only be answered as part of a discussion about how women and men meet the two challenges of both raising the next generation and providing economically for themselves and their families.
  Read more.
• Comprehensive professional development system needed for Massachusetts early education and care work
  

  November 9, 2005
• Op-Ed: Workforce development & compensation critical to quality early childhood education
  

  Op-Ed submission to the Boston Globe (unpublished)
  by Nancy Marshall, Ed.D. and Steve Barnett, Ed.D.
  March 30, 2005

  The creation of the Department of Early Education and Care, developed to administer the Massachusetts’ early education care system, puts the state at a critical juncture in advancing its historic commitment to young children. On July 1st, the new department becomes active, and its Board and Commissioner will have the tough task of deciding how to proceed. Well-trained, qualified teachers and providers are necessary for programs to promote children’s school readiness. The recently released Massachusetts Capacity Study Research Brief: Characteristics of the Current Early Education and Care Workforce provides research-based evidence of the magnitude of the task of workforce development.
• Student Teachers
  

  Boston Globe
  February 6, 2006
• New Brief: Workforce Development & Compensation Critical to Quality Early Childhood Education in MA
  

  April 3, 2005