Crane researchers awarded more than $10 million in grants

Crane researchers were recently awarded more than $10 million in grants to investigate topics ranging from early literacy and language development, to how recent changes in Ohio’s quality-rating system and provider subsidies affect child care access and children’s success, to early childhood educator turnover. The grants came from a variety of sources, including the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, and the city of Columbus. The awards demonstrate Crane’s prominence, both nationally and locally, as a trusted center for research on early childhood education and policy.

Rebecca Dore

Dr. Rebecca Dore

“It is a privilege to be able to carry out rigorous research to improve the lives of young children, and these grants are a reflection of Crane’s world-class reputation for doing this critical work,” said Dr. Rebecca Dore, director of research at Crane.

Dore is the primary investigator on one of the funded research projects, which will look at whether assisting caregivers in using educational media with their children can improve the children’s early literacy skills. The project has received nearly $2 million from the National Institutes of Health.

“We know that by kindergarten, children from households with low income lag behind their peers from wealthier backgrounds in early literacy and other school readiness skills, and that these gaps persist through high school. Our project is looking to see whether using family-friendly educational media in the home can improve children’s early literacy skills and positively influence the trajectory of their academic success,” Dore said.

In addition to primary research in early childhood education, several of the grants fund projects related to government policy initiatives and economic challenges in the field. As one example, Ohio recently enacted changes to Step Up to Quality, the state’s Quality Rating and Improving System (QRIS) used to evaluate child care providers. The changes streamline and lessen administrative burdens for those providers and place a more targeted emphasis on standards that align with quality care. The state is also increasing the subsidy rates paid to providers with children eligible for publicly funded child care. The goal of these changes is to expand access to child care in Ohio and to improve the quality of that care.

Dr. Kelly Purtell

Crane, in partnership with the Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY), has received a nearly $2 million grant from the Administration for Children and Families to study the impact of these policy changes.

“Like many states, Ohio has evolved its QRIS policies and funding for child care over time. It is important to understand how these have affected child care providers as well as families with young children,” said Dr. Kelly Purtell, an associate professor in Ohio State’s Department of Human Sciences and a Crane faculty associate who is serving as co-principal investigator of the study. “Our project enables us to provide real-time information to our partners at DCY, and to learn from research partners in other states who have similar goals of improving child care quality and access.”

The following list shows the six Crane projects that recently received grant funding. The primary investigator or grant applicant is listed first in bold, followed by the names of the other investigators/applicants, then the title of the project, the organization funding the project, and the amount of the grant. The list is in alphabetical order by last name of the primary investigator/grant applicant:

  • Rebecca Dore, Hui Jiang, Laura Justice; Efficacy and Mechanisms of Media and Storybook Interventions to Promote Children’s Early Literacy Skills via Caregiver Engagement; National Institutes of Health; $1,986,773
  • Lauren Jones, Jamie O’Leary, Kelly Purtell, Laura Justice; Analyzing the Impacts of Changes to QRIS Policy and Subsidy Rates on Family Access, Provider Quality and Burden, and School Outcomes among Low-Income Children; U.S Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families; $1,977,958
  • Laura Justice, Kelly Purtell, Hui Jiang, Britt Singletary; SES-Related Disparities in Early Language Development and Child Risk for Developmental Language Disorder (Phase 2); National Institutes of Health; $2,299,436
  • Sarah Lang, Kelly Purtell; Understanding Factors that Determine ECE Teachers’ Turnover Decisions; U.S Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families; $100,000
  • Jamie O’Leary; City of Columbus’ Pre-Kindergarten Initiative 2024-2025; city of Columbus; $470,000
  • Shayne Piasta; Optimizing Early Phonological Awareness Instruction to Support Reading and Spelling Acquisition; National Institutes of Health, $3,270,223