Millions awarded to expand early childhood research, practice, and policy

Man in a blue shirt, blurred in the background, holds a light bulb made to look like it is lit up with ideas floating around.

In 2023, the Schoenbaum and Crane Centers were awarded 16 new grants totaling $10.4 million from institutions including the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Child Health, and Human Services, National Institute on Deaf and Other Communication Disorders, and the Administration of Family Services. These awards allow us to make new discoveries on key topics, such as:

  • Examining media use and its impacts on language development in young children;
  • Enhancing caregiver implementation of a proven early-literacy intervention that supports language in children with developmental language disorders;
  • Capturing Early Head Start teachers’ behavior management skills; and
  • Understanding the experiences of children and enrolled in Early Head Start both before and after the pandemic.

These awards also fund ongoing projects on key topics like developing vocabulary, interventions for children with severe disabilities, peer-networks within the classroom and more. For a look at Crane’s ongoing research projects, check out our project pages.

DID YOU KNOW…

… that the Schoenbaum and Crane Centers have received

$88 million across

148 research and grant awards

across their lifetime?

2023 Research and Project Awards

Award Title Sponsor Name Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigator(s) Award Amount
Addressing children’s challenging behaviors early: Characterizing, capturing, and championing Head Start teachers’ behavior management Administration for Children and Families (division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services) Arya Ansari $50,000
Characteristics of media use and linguistic trajectories during early childhood National Science Foundation Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences Rebecca Dore Hui Jiang

Laura Justice

Amy Nathanson

 $650,000
Child and Adult Care Food Program renewal 2023-2024 Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Development Anneliese Johnson $47,279
Children’s early educational experiences and their social and behavioral development National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Kelly Purtell Arya Ansari $146,022
Comprehensive literacy state development grant Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Development Anneliese Johnson $18,205
Developing a university-school district partnership to improve the mental health of children in urban schools U.S. Department of Education Scott Graves $5,260,000
Early childhood education expansion grant 2023-2024 Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Development Anneliese Johnson $106,250
Evaluation of Colorado’s child care licensing and quality Colorado Department of Early Childhood Lauren Jones Jamie O’Leary $154,954
Future Ready Columbus focus groups agreement Future Ready Columbus Sunny Munn Jamie O’Leary $18,170
OCCRRA stabilization agreement: Read It Again! module – science of reading sub-project Ohio Child Care Resource & Referral Association Jamie O’Leary Laura Justice $100,000
Ohio State CCAMPIS program (Evaluation sub-project) Child Care Access Means Parents In School Kelly Purtell $65,000
Pre-kindergarten initiative 2023-2024: Ready4Success City of Columbus Sunny Munn $491,000
Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five Ohio Department Jobs and Family Services Lauren Jones Jamie O’Leary $100,000
Promoting caregiver implementation of an effective early learning intervention National Institute on Deafness and Other Laura Justice Rebecca Dore

Hui Jiang

 $3,100,954
Read It Again! agreement Future Ready Columbus Sunny Munn Jamie O’Leary $40,000
Understanding the needs and experiences of Early Head Start children and families before and after COVID-19: A nationally representative investigation Administration for Children and Families (division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services) Arya Ansari Kelly Purtell $100,000
TOTAL: $10,447,834