EDC’s Youngok Lim, a senior research associate in the Center for Children and Families, has been chosen one of 12 Fellows by the Cambridge, Mass.-based Schott Foundation. The Schott Fellows are a group of senior early childhood leaders who come together for one year to develop policy skills and undertake a project relevant to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

As part of her work at EDC, Lim, who holds a Ph.D. in economics, has been examining the impact of partnerships between Head Start and child care on low-income families. Lim and her colleagues are also researching the pre-K expansion on the availability and quality of child care for low-income working families. The project is looking at how such programs in Ohio and New York could affect the child care market and low-income families.

“As an economist who is concerned about early childhood education, I am most interested in the economic and financial aspects of the policy issues in the early education arena,” said Lim in her application. “I am particularly interested in examining cost-effectiveness of implementing innovative programs, and I expect to learn from other Schott Fellows about aspects of early education policy that influence the financing of programs,” Lim said.

The Schott Fellowship provides opportunities to learn and practice policy skills and develop relationships with a diverse group of early education and care leaders. Fellows spend a year researching policy gaps and developing solutions, such as new regulations for training early childhood educators or creating quality standards that apply to programs serving young children.

“In all of her work at EDC, Dr. Lim brings her unique combination of expertise in economics and finances and early education policy,” said EDC’s Sheila Skiffington who nominated Lim for the Fellowship. “She is always willing to tackle problems and to fully devote herself to new challenges,” Skiffington said.

The 2008 Fellows hold their first meeting January 14, 2008 at Cambridge College.