简介

Dr. Johnson’s research sits at the intersection of developmental science and child and family policy. Specifically, she is interested in the role that public policies can play in enhancing the development of low-income children. Dr. Johnson’s primary research focus has been on the potential of early intervention, in the form of early childhood education and care programs, to reduce school readiness gaps between low-income children and their more advantaged peers. To this end, she has studied extensively the use of the federal child care subsidy program and its effects on child care quality and child development. A second line of research investigates child- and family-level vulnerabilities that may moderate the association between early intervention participation and later child outcomes. Among these vulnerabilities are child special needs status, child temperament, and parental immigrant status. In a third line of work, Dr. Johnson is considering associations between other threats to child well-being, including food insecurity and maternal depression, and child and family outcomes. She is also extending her work on predictors and consequences of child care subsidy receipt to explore participation in and effects of other cash, food, and medical assistance programs.