Deborah Vandell Receives SRCD 2019 Distinguished Contributions to Public Policy and Practice in Child Development Award

The Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) presented Professor Deborah Lowe Vandell with the 2019 Distinguished Contributions to Public Policy and Practice in Child Development Award at their Biennial Meeting, March 21, at the Baltimore Convention Center.

In selecting Vandell for this honor, SRCD cited Vandell's numerous contributions to the field, including:  

• Dedicating her career to helping policy makers and program developers make evidence-based decisions about how early caregiving, in particular non-parents, affect child development
• Leading the charge in demonstrating the impact of public policy and practice in early childcare and education in the design of afterschool programs and care
• Leading the capacity-building in the scientific research informing major policy decisions in subsidizing high-quality early childcare in the United States
  
  

Vandell’s research focuses on the effects of developmental contexts (early child care, K-12 schools, after-school programs, families) on children’s social, behavioral, and academic functioning. As one of the principal investigators with the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, she has conducted an intensive study of 1300 children from birth through age 26 years. ​Other research projects have studied the effects of after-school programs, extracurricular activities, and unsupervised time on academic and social outcomes.

Read more about Deborah Lowe Vandell