The children born this year--2004--will be eleven years old in 2015--the age of primary school completion in most countries. This is the MDG (Millennium Development Goal) generation--for whom the international community has pledged that by 2015, all children will be able to complete primary schooling. Ensuring good early child development is the…

In all developed countries, single-parent families are particularly vulnerable to poverty. In contrast to many European countries that provide some guaranteed income support for children, the United States has emphasized private responsibility, increasingly requiring child support from the other parent. The reliance on a private approach raises…

Previous research has suggested that increased use of school suspension and expulsion may be associated with increased risk of dropout and lower achievement. Part of the purpose of school discipline is to maintain school climates conducive to learning. This paper describes analyses exploring the relationship between school use of out of- …

Parents, policymakers, business leaders, and the general public increasingly recognize the importance of the first few years in the life of a child for promoting healthy physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development. Yet many children face deficiencies in the years leading up to school entry in terms of emotional support, intellectual…

This study investigated the stability of students' grades in high school courses during the academic year. Records of over 8000 high school students from five large Midwest high schools were analyzed to determine the relationship between the first achievement grade students were assigned during an academic term and their final course grades.…

This report provides the most recent data on the food security of United States households. Based on studies using the Food Security Core Module (FSCM), a tool facilitating direct documentation of the extent of food insecurity and hunger caused by income limitations, this report summarizes 35 studies representing 20 states and Canada. The report…

This document is comprised of a progress report and five policy briefs related to the New Mexico Advocates for Children and Families' Campaign To Reduce Child Poverty. This multi-year initiative educates the public and policymakers about child poverty and promotes public policy changes that would reduce poverty. The progress report presents…

The Truancy Court Diversion Project was developed in one Kentucky county to address the need for alternative methods of handling student truancy among high-risk children. This judicially driven, school- and home-based project serves schools that have not met targeted district attendance goals. Students are targeted for participation if they have…

Noting that growing evidence indicates that high-quality preschool child development programs contribute to the short and long-term development of children living in poverty, this digest summarizes recently reported experimental and quasi-experimental studies of Head Start and similar programs. Recently reported experimental studies include those…

This report describes the current status of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) (referred to in combination as the Summer Nutrition Programs), federal entitlement programs providing support for state and local efforts to offer low-income children nutritious summer meals and snacks during supervised…

Noting that growing evidence indicates that high-quality preschool child development programs contribute to the short- and long-term development of children living in poverty, this Digest summarizes recently reported experimental and quasi-experimental studies of Head Start and similar programs. Recently reported experimental studies include those…

This book is a resource for educators in any setting who are trying to implement school support teams. New legislation requires states to establish systems of intensive and sustained support for schools that receive Title I funds. School support teams are to become the primary component of these systems. These support teams, external groups of…

This study examined the demographic and psychological characteristics of the parents of a group of children with no access to health care, due to their status as "working poor" and thus denied either public or private health insurance whose children were referred for treatment for an acute health problem by a volunteer health care…

Higher rates of mental health problems, including depression, have consistently been documented among lower-income samples, and the highest rates of depression have been found among low-income mothers with young children. This study examined maternal depressive symptoms as a risk factor for the development of children who are already at risk by…

This brief examines the disparity in resources available to children in different types of families and different parts of the country, using data from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF), which collected data from about 44,000 households in 1997. Economic well-being among children varies substantially, according to the NSAF,…