Research on the home literacy environment has predominantly centered on the quantity of word exposure rather than examining the role that nuanced parent-child interactions play in the home literacy environment and children's language and literacy development. The present study addressed this gap by using the Early Childhood Longitudinal…

Young children experience various types of early care and education environments the year before they enter kindergarten. Some children attend center-based arrangements such as preschools, childcare centers, or Head Start programs, while others are cared for in relatives' or nonrelatives' homes or are normally cared for only by their parents.…

This paper exploits a source of variation in the eligibility for federal nutrition programs to identify the program effects on food insecurity. Children are eligible for the WIC [Women, Infants and Children] program until the day before they turn 61 months old. The result is an age discontinuity in program participation at the 61-month cutoff.…

The growth in public preschool education is based on research that shows high-quality prekindergarten has a positive effect on children's chances of succeeding in school and life. Beneath the surface of this growth, however, lies a troubling lag in preschool education participation by the nation's largest, fastest growing and yet most…