This study considers risk associated with family homelessness for school functioning and experimental evidence on the effects of different housing interventions over time. Students in homeless families (N = 172; M[subscript age] = 7.31; SD = 4.15) were randomized to housing interventions that focus on acute risks (community-based rapid rehousing),…

North Carolina's Smart Start and More at Four (MAF) early childhood programs were evaluated through the end of elementary school (age 11) by estimating the impact of state funding allocations to programs in each of 100 counties across 13 consecutive years on outcomes for all children in each county-year group (n = 1,004,571; 49% female; 61%…

The impacts of New Hope, a 3-year work-based antipoverty program to increase parent employment and reduce poverty, on youth ages 9-19 (N = 866) were assessed 5 years after parents left the program. New Hope had positive effects on the future orientation and employment experiences of boys, especially African American boys. Compared to boys in…

Responds to Scarr and McCartney's (1988) Bermudian study. Cites recently published research to support a conclusion that poverty alone does not predict school disadvantage so much as poor parents frequently having low motivation and less than high school graduation. (RJC)

Assessed the effects of preschool education on achievement in primary school for 88 impoverished African American children and their families. Found that the positive effects of a preschool intervention program on intellectual development and academic achievement were maintained through age 12 and that school-age intervention alone was less…

Infants of depressed mothers who were visited at home outperformed infants of depressed mothers who received no intervention services by an average of 10 points on the Bayley Mental Scale and were twice as likely to be classified as securely attached. Unserved, high-risk infants showed a high rate of insecure-disorganized attachments. (RH)

Examined the quality of care provided to children from low-income families, using data from a nationally representative survey of child care centers and a five-site observational study of centers. Found that the quality of care in centers serving predominantly low-income families was better than centers serving middle-income families. (MDM)