For more than 20 years, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey (United Way) has made high-quality early care and education a cornerstone priority of its investment strategy. United Way has also been a longtime champion of school readiness for the youngest children in southeastern Pennsylvania. In 1996, the organization joined…

Relationships are important in helping youth, including vulnerable youth, achieve their goals and a transition into adulthood. Having the skills to manage healthy intimate partner relationships can make a difference as youth make decisions related to school, employment, pregnancy prevention, and establishing strong relationships. These skills may…

Georgia has been at the forefront of the pre-kindergarten movement since implementing its pre-k program in 1992 and creating the nation's first state-funded universal pre-k program in 1995. Georgia's Pre-K, administered by "Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning" (DECAL), aims to provide high-quality…

The primary purpose of the accompanying final study was to evaluate the impact of two professional development models on teacher-child interactions in Georgia's Pre-K classrooms. Teachers were randomly selected to participate and were randomly assigned to one of the professional development conditions or to a control group. Because of this…

As Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) continue to launch and mature across states, questions emerge from stakeholders about how to design and implement effective quality improvement (QI) initiatives that accompany a QRIS. Funders, policymakers, and program developers with limited resources are looking to invest in activities that will…

Early literacy skills are the foundation for school success. This is particularly important for groups of children at heightened risk of poor educational outcomes, such as English language learners and children from low-income families. Informed by a growing body of research and evaluation studies that point to the importance of home literacy…

Taking risks is fairly common in adolescence. Risky behaviors can be associated with serious, long-term, and--in some cases--life-threatening consequences. This is especially the case when adolescents engage in more than one harmful behavior. The tendency for risky behaviors to co-occur has been well-studied. Yet prevention efforts traditionally…

Child Trends conducted a random assignment evaluation of the Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors program, one of the largest programs in the United States working with low-income Latino parents of children ages zero to five. Since it began in 2007, the program has served over 30,000 parents/families in 34 states. The evaluation study examined the…

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…

In 2010, the declining birth rate among teenagers in the United States reached an historic low, and since 1991, the rate has declined 44 percent. Though this trend is promising, 372,252 teens nevertheless became mothers in 2010. That same year, 41 percent of all births were to unmarried women. Moreover, in 2010, 15 percent of the U.S. population…

Civic engagement and participation are central to the functioning of a democratic society. In addition, young people who are involved in civic activities are more engaged in academics, are less likely to participate in risky behaviors, and more than likely continue on to adulthood as contributing members of their communities. Rates of young…

This paper presents a profile of Delaware's Stars for Early Success prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile consists of several sections and their corresponding descriptions including: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for Center-Based Programs; (4) Indicators…

This paper presents a profile of District of Columbia's Going for the Gold Tiered Rate Reimbursement Systemp repared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile consists of several sections and their corresponding descriptions including: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for…

This paper presents a profile of Colorado's Qualistar prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile consists of several sections and their corresponding descriptions including: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for Center-Based Programs; (4) Indicators for Family…

Major strides have been made in the field of youth development. However, youth transitioning into adulthood have not received similar attention. These older youth have frequently been overlooked by policymakers and practitioners who have been more focused on designing programs and services for adolescents and young children. Because older youth…