Policymakers, child care providers, and parents face tradeoffs in determining how much to spend on child care, including how many hours to purchase, and the features of programs that might influence quality. Given these tradeoffs, it is useful to understand what constitutes quality, the cost of care features associated with quality, the effects of…

Today, levels of mistreatment of children are internationally reported as having reached epidemic proportions. Throughout recorded history babies and young children have suffered acts of violence by parents, care providers and others. However, "some believe that, for the first time in history, we are beginning to face the true prevalence and…

Presents an overview of research literature on the effectiveness of early intervention programs for handicapped and medically at-risk infants. Describes problems of intervention research and elements common to most programs. Reports that although analysis uncovered flaws, reviewers uniformly encourage further efforts to devise effective…

The upcoming Congressional reauthorization of the Early Head Start program provides an opportunity to focus on what can be done to achieve even greater impacts for infants, toddlers, and families in Early Head Start. In this policy brief, the Zero to Three Policy Center presents its recommendations for Congressional action and discusses scientific…

The paper reviews the methodology of quantitative documentation of the progress of handicapped, delayed, and at risk infants in early intervention programs. The authors discuss design and analysis issues, concluding that the use of several designs and analytic techniques provides useful exploration of hypotheses in early intervention programs.…

This paper reviews evaluations of family-centered intervention programs conducted in neonatal intensive care units. Of 10 studies identified, 3 focused on intervention to benefit the family system; 6 involved parents, but the primary focus was the infant; and 1 study combined the 2 approaches. All the studies had substantial limitations.…

Studies examining the effectiveness of early intervention for infants and children with organic impairment and and developmental delay were reviewed using recently developed quantitative methods. Results suggest an accurate interpretation of the early intervention research literature cannot be made without consideration of specific design…

Summarizes major ideas of articles in special issue on infant intervention programs. Describes current assumptions about infant stimulation, differences between programs based on the populations they serve, and research findings on the efficacy of infant stimulation. Assesses the future of infant intervention. (KH)

The Early Intervention Research Institute (EIRI) reviewed extensive data reported by early intervention projects. Among surprising findings were that half-day programs produced as many gains as full-day programs, and programs which expected parent involvement were not more effective than those which did not. Current EIRI research efforts are…

Eleven author contributed papers presented at a 1978 conference on measuring the growth and development of young handicapped children are presented. N. Anastasiow presents a rationale for measurement in his paper "A Philosophical Perspective: Why Measure Child Progress?'" Seven papers address instrument selection: "Screening, Diagnosis, and…

Synthesizes discussions that occurred among a consortium of professionals responsible for the evaluation of early-intervention programs and highlights issues emerging from state-level evaluations of early-intervention programs in the context of six different areas: measures, outcomes, service integration, eligibility, funding models, and cost…

Provides an overview of economic evaluation, focusing on goals, limitations and methods. Reviews three of the best-known examples of such programs. (Author/NH)

This article describes three potential levels of accountability for providing certain types of support for families in early intervention and preschool programs for children with disabilities: providing the legally required services for families, providing services that are considered recommended, and achieving certain outcomes as a result of…

Reviews the experimental literature concerning the effectiveness of prenatal and newborn home visiting programs in improving the lives of children and families, focusing on studies employing randomized trials. Results suggest that home visiting programs have had mixed success, improving some outcomes but not others. (MDM)

Early Head Start (EHS) is a comprehensive, two-generation program that includes intensive services that begin before the child is born and concentrate on enhancing the child's development and supporting the family during the critical first 3 years of a child's life. This paper discusses approaches to measuring father involvement in their…