Presents current developments concerning nursing bottle caries--"baby bottle tooth decay"--and spotlights a program funded by Head Start to reduce the prevalence of these painful and disfiguring, but preventable, children's dental diseases among American Indians and Alaska Native families. (Author/BB)

Offering a discussion for administrators and practitioners serving disabled and at-risk infants, toddlers, and their families, these three addresses explore issues, strategies, and models of program evaluation. "Major Issues in Program Evaluation," by Kathryn Barnard, discusses the purpose of, process of, and ways of doing program…

Describes the English infant-primary school system in terms of its history, its current program and curriculum design, and the cultural differences inherent in England that make its educational system unique. (BB)

Outlines the difficulties parents face in the first year after childbirth and describes a postpartum intervention program. Obstacles faced by the program due to cultural prohibitions against acknowledging parental ambivalence to a newborn child are also discussed. (Author/DB)

This report outlines the views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' 40-member Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers in regard to the Early Head Start Program. This program, introduced in 1995, is designed to provide services to children from birth to age 3 (and their families) who were not previously…

This report examines the expansion of Head Start programs to include children from birth to age 3. The report notes that high-quality, comprehensive programs for families and young children have demonstrated their effectiveness in helping families raise healthy, confident, curious children and, by providing support to parents, increasing parents'…

Noting that most individuals working with young children and their families lack the knowledge and skills to identify early warning signs of significant child distress and that most communities lack resources and expertise to address early social and emotional concerns, this report discusses the importance of healthy social and emotional…

Drawing from the personal visits of an early childhood specialist to centers for infants and toddlers in Britain and the United States, this paper focuses on issues of teacher education, deregistration, and professionalism. Introductory material describes the child care situation in Aotearoa, New Zealand, highlighting the increasing demand for…

This report, the third annual publication of Iowa Kids Count, proposes that, by building upon effective system of support, and moving decision-making to the family and community level, solutions to the problems confronting today's youth can be found. The first section of this report summarizes the framework paper developed for the Kids Count…

Currently, 12 out of every 13 children born will live to celebrate a first birthday. This figure is expected to improve, yet many international organizations and some governments continue to place almost exclusive emphasis on further reducing mortality, with little attention to the development and welfare of the survivors. This book argues that…

As the numbers of children enrolled in child care from infancy have increased, there is a growing acceptance of this now prevailing mode of childrearing. Asserting that the "necessary evil" perception of child care contributes to the mediocrity of the American child care system, this book contends that this characterization is misguided…