Researchers have identified four common co-occurring parental risk factors--substance abuse, mental illness, domestic violence, and child conduct problems--that lead to child maltreatment. The extent to which maltreatment prevention programs must directly address these risk factors to improve responsiveness to parenting programs or can directly…

Tying teachers' pay to their classroom performance should, says Victor Lavy, improve the current educational system both by clarifying teaching goals and by attracting and retaining the most productive teachers. But implementing pay for performance poses many practical challenges, because measuring individual teachers' performance is difficult.…

Describes two-generation programs and how they differ from earlier single-focus approaches to serve children and families. Results from six programs are reviewed and indicate mixed and modest success in promoting the development of children and improving the parenting skills and economic self-sufficiency of parents. Recommendations are presented…

This issue of "The Future of Children" focuses on efforts to provide publicly funded health insurance to low-income children in the United States through Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The articles summarize current knowledge and research about which children are uninsured and why, discuss ways to…

Provides brief descriptions of major types of early childhood programs, and reviews what is known about the effects of early childhood programs on children and their families. The authors also consider how those effects come about and why effectiveness varies across programs. Five policy questions and recommendations are discussed regarding how…

Steven Barnett and Clive Belfield examine the effects of preschool education on social mobility in the United States. They note that under current policy three- and four-year-old children from economically and educationally disadvantaged families have higher preschool attendance rates than other children. But current programs fail to enroll even…