Asmorowati, SulikahSchubert, VioletaMangai, Mary S.Irianto, JusufIsmail, Junaida2025-08-252025Sulikah Asmorowati, Violeta Schubert, Mary S. Mangai, Jusuf Irianto & Junaida Ismail (11 Aug 2025): Addressing Policy Implementation Shortcomings Through Co-production: Critical Analysis of the Jakarta Child Card for Improving Early Childhood Development, Child & Youth Services, DOI: 10.1080/0145935X.2025.2523592.0145-935X (print)1545-2298 (online)10.1080/0145935X.2025.2523592http://hdl.handle.net/2263/103983As part of an Early Childhood Development (ECD) strategy, the Jakarta Provincial Government introduced the Jakarta Child Card (Kartu Anak Jakarta—KAJ) to address low ECD participation and high malnutrition rates among children under five in low-income households. Using a qualitative case study and the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, this paper analyses the effectiveness and sustainability of the KAJ program. It finds that increased participation and reduced malnutrition occurred where local communities, professionals, and especially mothers collaborated. Notwithstanding ongoing challenges relating to quality, the need for strategies of improvement, including the advancement of data infrastructure and the integration of big data, it is clear that increased community and paternal engagement a.k.a. co-production and parent education on ECD are crucial.en© 2025 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an electronic version of an article published in Childhood Education, vol. , no. , pp. , 2025. doi : . Childhood Education is available at : https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/wcys20.Early childhood development (ECD)IndonesiaInstitutional analysis development (IAD)Kartu Anak Jakarta (KAJ)Social policyPostprint Article