What Parents of Young Kids Want: Insights from the 2026 National Parent Survey
A new survey of U.S. parents with young children reveals what parents want—from how they want to spend their time to what they hope for the future.
Tech for the People, by the People: From Tracking Antarctic Seals to Wrangling America’s Water Data with EmmaLi Tsai
EmmaLi Tsai discusses her fieldwork, how it’s impacted her views on maximizing environmental progress, and what she hopes to accomplish through the DSP fellowship.
Inside The Government’s Big Bet on Coordinating AI Workforce Readiness
Shalin Jyotishi writes in Forbes on a new multiagency effort to fund state-level coordination for AI workforce readiness.
Why isn’t summer camp free?
Despite being a critical form of childcare for working parents, summer camp remains a costly private expense that lacks the public funding and infrastructure of the K-12 school system. This gap leaves families to navigate a “summer scramble” of high fees and limited spots, highlighting the lack of systemic support for children outside of the standard academic year.
Siemens had a wildly popular childcare center. Then it shut it down.
The abrupt closure of a beloved on-site childcare center at a Siemens campus underscores the precarious nature of employer-sponsored care. As companies downsize or shift to hybrid models, families are left to navigate the sudden loss of essential support systems they once relied on.
Exporting Our Elders
For many families, the soaring costs of long-term memory care create a devastating financial and emotional burden that outpaces personal savings. As the aging population grows, these systemic gaps leave both seniors and their caregivers facing an increasingly uncertain future.
Mothers in Wisconsin and Denmark face vastly different childcare realities
A comparison of motherhood in Wisconsin and Denmark reveals the vast divide between a system of high costs and career penalties versus one of state-funded support. These differing policy choices shape whether mothers face economic struggle or are empowered to thrive in the workforce.
Remaking Tomorrow: Episode 10 with Lisa Guernsey
Lisa Guernsey joins the podcast Remaking Tomorrow to discuss resources communities can use to build their own learning landscapes.
Expanding Citizen-Led Policy
Amid deepening political dysfunction and distrust, ballot initiatives offer a time-tested mechanism for democratic correction. At the state level, these citizen-led ballot measures—sometimes referred to as direct democracy or initiative and referendum (I&R)—allow voters to propose and vote on legislation or constitutional amendments, bypassing state legislatures when necessary to advance policies with broad public support.
Expanding Citizen-Led Policy, a project of New America’s Political Reform program, maps the uneven landscape of citizen-led policymaking in the United States, evaluates the feasibility and advantages of expanding ballot initiative processes to more states, and identifies strategic paths reformers might take toward that goal.
What Do Asian American and Pacific Islander Voters Want in 2026?
Cost of living and economic security are top concerns, and these voters also care about how we are using AI.