The Institute for Equity in Child Opportunity & Healthy Development
Policy and Data for Healthy Children, Families, and Communities
We conduct research on the conditions children need to grow and thrive. All children need nutritious food, quality education, safe housing, and healthy environments, but not all children in the U.S. have equitable access to these basic requirements.
In our research, we collect and analyze data on the policies and conditions needed for healthy childhoods, and we identify gaps in access to those conditions. We explore the ways in which healthy neighborhoods, quality jobs, housing, health care, and early childhood care and education are—and are not—accessible to all children and families. In the U.S., vast inequities in access to child opportunity and well-being exist along racial and ethnic lines.
We have pioneered the use of data to quantify and address systemic inequities children face and the role of social policies in reducing those inequities. We proudly build partnerships with practitioners, policymakers, advocates, and researchers who can translate our work into programs that promote healthy childhoods and advance equity for children of different races, ethnicities, immigrant status, family income, and disability status.
Learn more about our signature equity tools.
Our History
Founded in 2025, the Institute for Equity in Child Opportunity & Healthy Development (IECOHD) is led by renowned researcher Dr. Dolores Acevedo-Garcia and builds on two decades of work by Acevedo-Garcia and colleagues on measuring and monitoring the state of equity in opportunity and well-being among our highly diverse child population.