Putting Children Front and Center: Building Coordinated Social Policy for America's Children

Abstract

In this article, we argue that policymakers in America should reference a coherent, comprehensive, and child-centered framework for children. That is, based on an extensive review of the empirical literature on the first two decades of life, we conclude that policies should address the needs of young people throughout the first two decades of life. In addition, public policies should address the multiple contexts within which young people develop, and the multiple domains that represent positive development, such as cognitive, psychological, physical, social, emotional, and civic domains. By referencing such a framework, we posit that public policies would be more effective and efficient. We conclude with multiple recommendations that would be first steps to putting this framework into practice.