Samantha Melvin

• 2022 – Represented Erikson Institute on planning committees for the Early Childhood Research Alliance of Chicago (EC-REACH)
• 2022-2024 – Co-investigator for the Pre-K in Family Child Care Project (Foundation for Child Development & Home Grown Child Care Collaborative, PIs: Juliet Bromer, Rena Hallam, Jason Hustedt, Iheoma Iruka)
• 2021-2023 – Managed and co-directed the Comprehensive Services in Family Child Care Project (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Equity-Focused Policy Research: Building Cross-Cutting Evidence on Supports for Families, co-PI: Juliet Bromer, co-I: Crystasany Turner)
• 2021 – Received Strategic Poster for Policy Research Award from the Society for Research in Child Development (“They don’t ask anything about this:” Family child care providers’ perceptions of quality, alignment, and engagement)
• 2020-2022 – Received Child Care Dissertation Grant from U.S. Administration for Children and Families, Office of Policy Research and Evaluation (Mentor: Sharon Lynn Kagan)
• 2019-2020 – Received Early Career Scholar Award by the NYC Early Childhood Research Network

Recent publications

Journal Articles

• Souto-Manning, M. & Melvin, S.A. (2022). Early childhood teachers of color in New York City: Heightened stress, lower quality of life, declining health, and compromised sleep amidst COVID-19. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 60, 34-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.11.005
• Melvin, S.A., Landsberg, E., & Kagan, S.L., (2020). International curriculum frameworks: Increasing equity and driving systemic change. Young Children, 75(1), 10-21.
• Reid, J.L., Kagan, S.L., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Melvin, S.A. (2021). Promoting quality in programs for infants and toddlers: Comparing the family child care and center-based teaching workforce. Children and Youth Services Review, 122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105890
• Rojas, N.M., Yoshikawa, H., Gennetian, L., Lemus-Rangel, M., Melvin, S.A., Noble, K.G., Duncan, G.J., & Magnuson, K. (2020). Exploring the experiences and dynamics of an unconditional cash transfer for low-income mothers: A mixed methods study. Journal of Children and Poverty, 26(1), 64-84. https://doi.org/10.1080/10796126.2019.1704161
• Reid, J.L., Melvin, S.A., Kagan, S.L., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2019). Building a unified system for universal Pre-K: The case of New York City. Children and Youth Services Review, 100, 191-205.

Book Chapters

• Melvin, S.A., Landsberg, E. & Kagan, S.L. (2019). Informed, individualized, and continuous pedagogy. In S.L. Kagan (Ed.), The Early Advantage: Building Systems That Work for Children. New York: Teachers College Press.
• Kagan, S.L., Melvin, S.A., Landsberg, E., Kumpulainen, K., & Reid, J.L. (2019). Knowledgeable and supported teachers and families. In S.L. Kagan (Ed.), The Early Advantage: Building Systems That Work for Children. New York: Teachers College Press.

Reports and Briefs

• Bromer, J., Porter, T., Melvin, S., & Ragonese-Barnes, M. (2021). Family child care educators’ perspectives: Findings from the Multi-State Study of Family Child Care Decline and Supply. Herr Research Center, Erikson Institute. https://www.erikson.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/FCD_DeclineStudy_2021.pdf
• Bromer, J., Melvin, S., Ragonese-Barnes, M., & Porter, T. (2021). The shifting supply of regulated family child care in the U.S.: A literature review and conceptual model. Herr Research Center, Erikson Institute. https://www.erikson.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/The_shifting_supply_of_regulated_FCC_in_the_US_2021_LITREVIEW.pdf
• Bromer, J., Porter, T., Melvin, S., Ragonese-Barnes, M., & Molloy, P. (2020). Family child care providers: Unsung heroes of the COVID-19 crisis (research-to-policy brief). Herr Research Center, Erikson Institute. https://www.erikson.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Family-Child-Care-Providers_Unsung-Heroes-in-the-COVID-19-Crisis.pdf

Recent presentations

• Fletcher, K., Gibbs, H. (hosts), Melvin, S. (2022, February 28). Early childcare policy (No. 002). In The Kids’ Table Podcast.
• Ragonese-Barnes, M., Melvin, S., Porter, T. & Bromer, J. (June 2022). To stay or to go: How challenges faced by family child care educators may influence their consideration of exit from the field. Symposium presented at the National Research Conference on Early Childhood, virtual.

• Melvin, S.A. (June 2022). Family Child Care Educators’ Experiences of (Dis)Engagement in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems: Stories from three states. Poster presented at the National Research Conference on Early Childhood, virtual.
• Melvin, S.A. (April 2021) “They don’t ask anything about this:” Family child care providers’ perceptions of quality, alignment, and engagement. Poster accepted for presentation at the Society for Research in Child Development, virtual.
• Melvin, S.A., Bromer, J., Porter, T., & Ragonese-Barnes, M. (December 2020). Examining the factors that contribute to the decline in family child care: A review of the literature. Poster presented at the National Research Conference on Early Childhood, virtual.
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Related Professional Experience

• Research, Evaluation, and Quality Improvement Consultant, 2014-2022
• Toddler Room Substitute Teacher, Rita Gold Early Childhood Education Center, 2017-2019
• Research Manager, National Center for Children and Families, Teachers College, 2016-2017
• Lab Manager, The Neurocognition, Early Experience, and Development Lab, Columbia University, 2013-2016
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