Every child from birth to age 3 in the U.S. is entitled under IDEA (IDEA Part C) to support in reaching developmental milestones if they have a developmental delay -- that is, if they are meeting milestones more slowly than expected, or if they have a diagnosed condition that has a high probability of resulting in a delay. Strong support as soon…

Early care and education in the United States is in crisis. The period between birth and kindergarten is a crucial time for a child's development. Yet vast racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities that begin early in children's lives contribute to starkly different long-term outcomes for adults. Compared to other advanced economies, child…

The National Reading Panel (2000) identified vocabulary as one of the five skills with the most robust influence on reading ability. Early differences in vocabulary drive enduring individual differences in reading performance. High quality early childhood educational experience can have lasting positive effects on vocabulary development. This…

Over the last 100 years, the overwhelming majority of Americans have attended this nation's public schools. There are clearly documented deleterious effects for students who do not successfully graduate from high school. Further, scholars and practitioners have recognized the adverse impacts on communities and the economy. Unfortunately, Colorado…

Parents of children on the autism spectrum are important members of their child's early intervention team, yet there are multiple barriers to translating evidence-based parent-mediated interventions in Mexico. We examined early intervention needs in the Mexican population and compared these needs to those of the Latinx Spanish-speaking population…

This report examines the implementation of Summer 305, an enhanced summer program that operated from June 14 through August 5 during the summer of 2022 at 113 sites in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS). Twenty program offerings were provided to accelerate learning recovery, develop foundational skills, and address social and emotional…

Students who enter kindergarten without school readiness skills are more likely to demonstrate academic, behavioral, and social struggles during school. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are particularly at risk for underdeveloped school readiness skills, which can undermine academic achievement and result in poor long-term outcomes.…

Since Head Start's inception, mental health has been an important component of their service delivery. The Head Start Performance Standards provide a foundation for programs to design and deliver mental health services. Mental Health Consultants are the professionals who provide these services. Head Start has a robust history of building…

This report provides an overview of kindergarten readiness of six Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) kindergarten cohorts from the 2014-15 to the 2019-20 school year. This report is accompanied by the Digest of City Schools Kindergarten Statistics, 2022 Edition (Baltimore Education Research Consortium [BERC], 2022), which provides…

This digest provides descriptive, aggregated statistics related to the experiences of six cohorts of kindergartners who were enrolled in Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) from the 2014-15 school year through the 2019-20 school year which is the most recent available. Multiple indicators of kindergarten readiness and outcomes, including…

This National Early Head Start Services Snapshot summarizes key data on demographics and services for infants, toddlers, and pregnant women served by Early Head Start programs. The data in this Snapshot is a subset of the annual Program Information Report (PIR) submission to the Office of Head Start. Data categories include: (1) Funded Enrollment;…

Hearts and Minds on Babies (HMB) is an innovative, attachment-based training for Early Head Start (EHS) staff and parents, developed through a collaboration between university-based researchers and clinicians and community-based EHS educators. This article describes HMB, our collaboration, and lessons learned when infusing infant and early…

This is a case study of political struggles over early care and education in the USA using a combination of archival, interview, and observational data from a study conducted in the US state of Arizona. This case analysis illustrates how a combination of the episodic nature of public attention paid to early care and education in the USA, internal…

Measurement of optimum treatment efficacy to address language delays in children using cochlear implants is difficult, but important, to promote evidence-based treatments and reduce treatment inequities. This exploratory retrospective study investigated associations between; frequency of early intervention (weekly, fortnightly, monthly); total…

Early Discovery is a program that supports mildly delayed young children who did not qualify for Part B/C services. Our goals were to: (1) provide high-quality services; (2) educate and empower parents/caregivers; (3) link families to community resources; and (4) reduce the need for special education. Services included speech-language,…