The need for valid and reliable ways to assess developmental outcomes of preschool children becomes continually more acute as public investments in preschool education grow, with corresponding pressure for programs to demonstrate their ability to influence child outcomes. The authors conducted studies of one assessment widely used in Head Start…

Measures of quality are now in widespread use across states as part of quality improvement initiatives. For example, many states are currently using global measures of quality that were first developed for research and practice purposes (such as the Environmental Rating Scales) in their Quality Rating Systems (QRSs). Although global quality…

Noting that many young children are excluded from child care settings because of their behavior and that early emotional and behavioral problems are often ignored or misidentified, this issue brief highlights emerging strategies to promote the emotional wellness of young children and their families, including those most at risk. The brief further…

This document presents the learning goals for children participating in Georgia's prekindergarten program. Twenty-three learning goals with accompanying subgoals are delineated in the following areas: (1) language development; (2) mathematical development; (3) scientific development; (4) creative development; (5) physical development; and (6)…

This document reports the findings of a process evaluation of the Saginaw, Michigan Early Childhood Education Preschool program for 4-year-olds at risk of academic failure. As of December, 1992, a total of 279 pupils were attending the program at 8 sites. The goal of the program is to enable 4-year-olds to develop school readiness skills. Program…

This document reports the findings of a process evaluation of the Saginaw, Michigan Early Childhood Education Preschool program for 4-year-olds at risk of academic failure. As of January, 1992, a total of 292 pupils were attending the program at 9 sites. The goal of the program is to enable 4-year-olds to develop school readiness skills. Program…

The federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau has launched a five-year initiative that will support state efforts to build comprehensive early childhood service systems. This initiative--the State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Initiative (SECCS)--provides two year planning grants followed by three year implementation grants to the 50 state…

This report outlines the national and state environmental context for the SECCS Initiative in supporting MCH strategic planning in early childhood systems building. This strategic context has implications for roles, relationships, and activities within a planning process and ultimately an implementation process. It summarizes the opportunities and…

This report is designed to support the planning and implementation of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (SECCS) Initiative. It addresses a set of principles that these agencies can use to advance their planning process, reach out to new partners, develop collaborative strategies, and build a…

In 2003, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) released a "Strategic Plan for Early Childhood Health." In recognition of the critical role states play in the development of early childhood initiatives and of the unique contributions that state Title V programs can make to these initiatives, the Bureau operationalized their…