The core challenge our proposal seeks to address is how to ensure that every American family and child has access to high-quality, affordable early childhood care and education (ECE) services in a critical period of human development, breaking a shortage of investment in young children. America's status quo asks the most of parents when they have…

Touch-screen technologies, on-demand multimedia, and mobile devices are prompting a rethinking of education. In a world of increasing fiscal constraints, state leaders are under pressure to capitalize on these new technologies to improve productivity and help students excel. The task is daunting across the education spectrum, but for those in…

The report by the President's Committee on Mental Retardation reviews the current state of knowledge in the area of biological and environmental prevention of mental retardation and describes programs on the frontiers of research or service delivery. Section I examines programs that are effectively preventing mental retardation through biomedical…

Presents observations and lessons drawn from two years of Kentucky school reform. Implementing the Kentucky School Reform Act of 1990 teaches that reforming schools also requires addressing the ways in which communities raise their children. Community work, with parent and student participation, improves family conditions and political decision…

A product of a year-long Governors' Campaign for Children initiative of the National Governors' Association (NGA), this report uses examples from several states in the NGA to describe the state of children and their needs. The Governors' Campaign for Children has sought to: (1) increase public awareness of the needs of young children; (2) simplify…

New Jersey's governor describes his state's response to the problems and needs of adolescents by creating the School-Based Youth Services Program. The program involves schools and community agencies in the provision of comprehensive services to teenagers, including mental health and family counseling, health services, and other interventions. (AF)

This study examined how personnel issues raised by P.L. 99-457, Education of the Handicapped Amendments (1986) were being met in North Carolina in 1985 and 1988. Data were gathered from the statewide network of home-based intervention services (Early Childhood Service), providing information about 139 staff and consultants in 1985 and 135 in 1988.…

The Child Care Initiative Project, a public-private partnership designed to build the supply of child care throughout California, has achieved remarkable success in recruiting and training providers and increasing the number of child-care spaces in family day-care settings. Community-based organization and strong evaluation instruments have been…

The final report of the Texas Childhood Hunger Identification Project (Texas CHIP), this document describes the most comprehensive study of childhood hunger undertaken in Texas. Through enumeration and interviewing methods, low-income families from 27 counties in Texas were analyzed in the areas of income allocation, food frequency, homelessness,…

This report gives new recognition to the power and potential of the American family to improve education. Following an introduction that looks at the factors inhibiting parental involvement in their children's education, the report reviews 30 years of research indicating that the starting point of American education is parent expectations and…

This Children's Defense Fund 1998 report on the well being of America's children highlights the critical need for renewed commitment to children by all sectors of society. The introduction describes health and educational outcomes for poor children and calls for adults to redirect their priorities and develop solutions to these problems. The…

The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) 1996 report on the state of America's children highlights the critical need for renewed commitment to children by early childhood advocates, parents, and all sectors of society. The introduction describes in general the crises faced by children and calls for adults to recommit their energies to providing solutions…

This Children's Defense Fund 1997 report on the state of America's children highlights the critical need for renewed commitment to children by all sectors of society. The introduction discusses Americans' values and presents 25 tips for effective child advocacy. The report then details the following: (1) the impact of welfare reform on children…