Statistics reveal that about 90 percent of all working women in the United States will bear a child. Yet the United States is the only highly developed nation that does not have a national maternity leave policy. What can and should be done to address this disparity? Perhaps valuable lessons can be learned from the 117 countries that guarantee…

This report discusses the status of children's health in the United States, and strategies which involve primarily personal health care services for the prevention of death, disease and injury of children. The report opens with a summary of the contents, and then suggests strategies for public policy for the improvement of children's health. The…

This report presents proposals for cost effective strategies in the State of Illinois to help more children become healthy, well educated, and responsible citizens. The proposals are discussed in terms of the problem and the recommended actions in the areas of health, early childhood, education, poverty and economic opportunity, family stability,…

Part of a volume which explores current issues in service delivery to infants and toddlers (birth to age 3) with handicapping conditions, this chapter addresses the nature and challenges of effective administrative leadership of early intervention programs. Basic administrative tasks are identified, such as: building an early intervention team,…

Part of a volume which explores current issues in service delivery to infants and toddlers (ages birth to 3) with handicapping conditions, this chapter discusses the evolution of public policies related to early intervention services. Major milestones in federal legislation are reviewed, beginning in 1965 with Project Head Start. Current trends in…

This presentation explores the needs of young children in terms of new knowledge that illuminates the principles by which children's needs and rights can be gauged and described. These principles remain relatively unchanging at various developmental periods and in differing social-historical-cultural and ethnic contexts. After a brief…

In 1973, the Head Start Division of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) initiated a Child and Family Resource Program (CFRP) demonstration. As part of Head Start, CFRP had as its primary goal enhancing children's development. The demonstration was designed to develop models for service delivery that could be adapted by…

As more and more women return to the work force while their children are but infants, care other than by the mothers and outside the families' own homes has become an issue of major importance in the United States. In Europe, however, most governments subsidize infant care for mothers working outside the home. One country, Italy, has provided…

This document, one of a series for child caregivers working in military care centers, discusses ways of constructing appropriate environments for toddlers. Sections of part 1 focus on recognizing the influence of environments on children's feelings and behavior, coordinating the arrangement of space with the physical and psychological…

One of a series designed for caregivers in military child care centers, this book discusses how to plan and implement an effective environment for infants 6 weeks to 12 months of age. The document is divided into two parts, with selected resources listed at the end. Part 1 outlines some ways to organize and arrange physical space at the center. In…

Child acquisition of Mandarin was studied with four middle class families from Taipei, Taiwan. The 2-year-olds were taped at home playing with their families. Two of the children were taped for short periods (7 hours and 9 hours), while the other two children were studied biweekly for 14 months, which resulted in 71 hours of transcribed child…

Primary health care has a new tool with which to improve its effectiveness, its efficiency, and its decisions about national and local priorities: the accurate measurement of the chances of occurrence of a future event of health or illness. Human and other resources should go where the need is greatest, and assessment of the risk of future…

Project CoNECT (Collaborative Network for Early Childhood Training) provided preservice and inservice training to help multidisciplinary personnel better serve young, severely handicapped children. The project, which was divided into three subcomponents, utilized univerisity-based training as well as field-based training. In Subcomponent I,…

This hearing was held in response to a request from the Congressional Black Caucus, which asked the subcommittees to find out if the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was doing everything possible to reduce infant mortality, especially the high death rate experienced by Blacks. The hearing opened with statements by both subcommittee…

To provide a context for a discussion of parental modernity and child development, this paper explores concepts of societal and individual modernity and examines historical evidence of increasing levels of intellectual competence and an active orientation in the conduct of life. Specific attention is given to sociological theories of Bell (1973)…