From an early age, children spend many hours interacting with screens: phones, tablets, and laptops. A new policy brief from the Child Health Policy Program explains the importance of unstructured free play for healthy child development and recommends four policy approaches to reduce screen time and ensure children’s well-being in the digital age.
Ann Lê, Katarina Reyes, Ethan T. Hunt, Christopher F. Kulesza, Zoabe HafeezApril 5, 2024
Non-medical drivers of health, also known as social determinants of health, have a significant impact on health outcomes. As fellow Sandra McKay and her co-authors explain, adequate funding to identify and address non-medical drivers — housing and food insecurity, transport issues, and financial strain — can improve patients’ health and health care delivery systems, while also reducing costs.
If implemented, the Handle with Care program could provide a significant opportunity to help students facing trauma, write scholar Christopher Kulesza and co-author Abigail Levine. Their new policy brief urges Texas legislators to enact the program statewide.
Christopher F. Kulesza, Abigail LevineFebruary 16, 2023
As the judicial battle over Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates continues, the authors argue that the most effective way to protect children from COVID-19 is to require masks in schools. Click below for their full list of policy recommendations, including what exceptions should be made, and when and how to end school mask requirements.
Quianta Moore, Christopher F. KuleszaDecember 9, 2021
A well-managed U.S.-Mexico border is essential not only for millions of border residents in both countries, but for the U.S. economy and federal budget. This brief lays out recommendations to strengthen the institutional scaffolding that could allow for a safer and more prosperous North American continent.
Continued robust economic growth in the U.S. will, among many other things, require policies that encourage rapid technological innovation and increases in productivity, promote investment while reducing debt, and maximize economic efficiency. The authors explain why in this brief.
Experts from the Center for Energy Studies offer nine climate policy recommendations for the Biden administration and argue that a bipartisan legislative push could accelerate a move toward significant action on climate change.
Jim Krane, Kenneth B. Medlock III, Mark Finley, Michael D. MaherJanuary 20, 2021
The drastic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on organized crime in Mexico requires policymakers and law enforcement in the U.S. and Mexico to adapt their strategies, the authors write.
The authors argue for an identification and tax program that would allow unauthorized residents to receive identification documents and reside and work legally in the United States. In return, they would pay taxes much like any other American.
Mexico's government has eliminated almost all conditions (health checkups, school attendance for children) previously attached to cash transfers for the poor. The author considers the impact of the antipoverty overhaul.