Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

In 2014, RWJF began investing in initiatives to promote the social and emotional development of children, as a means to support overall wellbeing, including academic achievement, and improved resilience—and including projects aimed to influence stakeholders at national, state, and local levels. At the national level, we are committing approximately $4 million over the next several years to advance the integration of child development, social and emotional skills building, and health supports within early care and education settings, as a means to support academic achievement and overall wellbeing. At the local level, we are committing approximately $11 million over the next several years to build tools and resources that facilitate community engagement to implement social and emotional learning and health supports in schools that promote and improve mental health among children; to employ collective action strategies and support community partnerships to promote resilience and social emotional health in families with young children; and integrate the growing knowledge about brain science into programs, policy and systems design to improve child and family outcomes, including social emotional outcomes.