Oklahoma implemented universal pre-K in 1998. It is one of only five states that has or is implementing universal preschool, and for several years has served more four-year-old children than any other state. The organization, Community Action Project (CAP) Tulsa, occupies a unique position in this work. As one of the largest anti-poverty agencies…

Nearly half of the nation's families with young children struggle to make ends meet. A new KIDS COUNT policy report makes the case for creating opportunity for families by addressing the needs of parents and their children simultaneously. "Creating Opportunity for Families: A Two-Generation Approach" describes a new approach to reducing…

Voucher programs and their supporters have had a tough last few years. The Florida Supreme Court declared vouchers in that state unconstitutional in 2006. Three years later, the Arizona Supreme Court did the same. In 2007, voters in Utah handed a resounding defeat to a voucher program there. In 2009, the U.S. Congress refused to continue funding…

One of the poorest and most densely populated countries in the world, Bangladesh has faced many challenges during its almost 40-year history as an independent nation. Yet the country has recently made substantial progress in improving young children's survival and protection. It now provides health care, nutrition, immunization, and education…

This book provides an insider's account of the attempts of the Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM) to introduce self-help educational innovations into the Black community of Mississippi. It documents the efforts of one of the first OEO-financed Head Start projects designed to help the Black people of Mississippi overcome economic,…

This paper describes the Programme for Home-Based Community Day Care, a training program undertaken by the Colombian Family Welfare Institute. The program offers training and support to mothers so that they can each care in their homes for up to 15 children from the local community. Now in its sixth year, the project reaches nearly 1 million…

This evaluation report is the third in a series of reports that are part of a 4-year national effort designed to describe the types of Even Start projects that have been funded, the services provided, the collaboration efforts undertaken, and the obstacles to program implementation that have been encountered. The current report provides…

The main purpose of this paper is to examine recurring themes which emerge from past federal programs in early education and to identify potential areas where critical historical research is necessary. The author, after a brief survey of federal involvement in early education from 1933 to 1973, suggests that the historical perspective might…

This newsletter issue focuses on programming undertaken to address the health and educational needs of rural families in developing and developed nations. After examining the nature of rural families and rural poverty, the newsletter discusses: (1) the Mon Women's Organization in Thailand; (2) The "Contact With Kids" parent education…

As part of a commitment to eliminate child poverty, the British government has established Sure Start programs across the country. Sure Start programs are very similar to U.S. Early Head Start initiatives; their stated aim is to improve the health and well-being of disadvantaged families and children before and from birth. The article describes…

This report on group day care is designed to: (1) examine the kinds of group programs for school-age children which exist in Los Angeles County, (2) describe the conditions necessary for program operation, and (3) consider the issue of quality as it relates to community expansion of day care services for children of school age. The report is…

A new bill has been introduced in Congress by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Representative Dale Kildee (D-MI) that would make full-day early childhood education widely available to preschool students. The bill, labeled "Smart Start" (S. 2270) is intended to help economically disadvantaged preschool students, whose numbers have…

The Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL), with support from The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education through its Inter-Institutional Program Development Project, has prepared this report as phase 2 of a three-phase project designed to improve the educational approach to disadvantaged children. This report reveals…