The physical, social, and economic health and well-being of adults and society are strongly influenced by experiences in early childhood. The most cost-efficient time to build foundational skills, to assure the healthy development of all young children, to break the cycle of disadvantage for vulnerable children, and to prevent achievement and…

MDRC is conducting the Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation Project under a contract with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As part of the multisite Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation Project, MDRC,…

Children living in poverty face considerable developmental risks. This report presents interim results from an evaluation of parental employment and educational services delivered within a two-generational, early childhood program targeting low-income families who are expecting a child or who have a child under age 3. This study is part of the…

All OECD governments want to give parents more choice in their work and family decisions. This book looks at the different ways in which governments support families. It seeks to provide answers to questions like: Is spending on family benefits going up, and how does it vary by the age of the child? Has the crisis affected public support for…

This is the fifth and final report of a longitudinal study examining the use of a comprehensive system of prevention and early intervention services in Palm Beach County, and how its use relates to the outcomes of children and families living in four targeted geographic areas (TGAs) with high rates of poverty, teen pregnancy, crime, and child…

This study explored the potential of meta-analysis for assessing the efficacy of interventions designed for parents of young, environmentally at-risk children. Included in the sample were 232 evaluations of 282 parent-focused interventions implemented between 1965 and 1999; evaluations met 10 criteria, including the inclusion of a treatment and…

This volume is part of the final report of the National Evaluation of Family Support Programs and details findings from a meta-analysis of extant research on programs providing family support services. Chapter A1 of this volume provides a rationale for using meta-analysis. Chapter A2 describes the steps of preparation for the meta-analysis.…

For more than a decade, Florida's Palm Beach County has been building an infrastructure of prevention and early intervention services to promote and support the healthy development and school readiness of children from birth to age 8. The county began this effort with a set of programs focused on serving families in four targeted geographic areas…

Starting Early Starting Smart (SESS) provides an integrated system of child-centered, family-focused, and community-based services targeted to at-risk children from birth to age seven at twelve sites across the country. To access families that are often not in the mainstream of service access and use, SESS programs partner with primary care…

At the request of Congress, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) examined federally funded early childhood programs to determine: (1) the total number of programs in fiscal years (FY) 1992 and 1993 providing education or child care to children from birth through age 5; (2) the 1992 budget authority for key programs; (3) the number of children…

The reasons given for the apparent decline in family well-being include weakened family values, poor parenting, detrimental behavior of parents and young people, and social and economic forces in the larger society that make it difficult for families to perform their functions well. So great is the concern that some observers are convinced that…

This report is the second in a series of publications developed to assist in the planning and development of a comprehensive, coordinated service delivery system for Arizona infants and toddlers who are developmentally delayed or at risk of developing handicapping conditions, and their families. It documents the number of children in Arizona…

This report presents a statistical look at the well-being of children in the state of Illinois, quantifying the problems confronting them and outlining steps that policymakers and service providers can take to improve the situation. The first part of the report summarizes the state's situation in the areas of education, health, special needs, and…

This KIDS COUNT report presents information on the status of Illinois children and highlights strategies used to improve the well-being of children and families. The first section, "Facing the Challenge," contains a series of conversations with experts detailing current programs to meet a six-point action agenda: (1) support new…

Political changes underway at both the federal and state levels will dramatically affect public policies for children and their families in the years ahead. Drawing from over 550 budget line items in 10 state departments from 1990 to 1995, this report looks at spending on Illinois' children and families by program areas, with some specific…