Integrating data across early childhood programs allows program staff and administrators, policymakers, and researchers to have a comprehensive picture of early childhood programs. While some states have taken significant steps to integrate data across many early childhood programs, home visiting data have seldom been included in these data…

Research has shown that early intervention can greatly improve the development of a child with autism. Children with disabilities--including children with autism--can receive intervention services through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Low income children may also receive intervention services through Medicaid or the State…

Policymakers need to decide how to invest in strengthening the most basic foundation for early childhood development: family relationships. The challenges: (1) help parents provide the responsive and stimulating environments that will prepare young children for school; and (2) support fathers' engagement with their children regardless of whether…

Over the past three years, the Boston Birth to Eight Collaborative has convened more than 200 individuals and organizations from across the early childhood field--center and family-based providers, pediatricians, public health researchers, hospitals, family engagement organizations, and parents--to ensure all children are ready for sustained…

The Native American and Alaska Native Children in School (NAM) discretionary grants program aims to reduce the persistent achievement gaps between Native American and Alaska Native (NA/AN) youth and their peers on measures of reading and English language arts (ELA) (NCES 2015) and on measures of college-readiness in reading (ACT 2017). One reason…

Head Start is a federal program that has provided comprehensive early childhood development services to low-income children and their families since 1965. The comprehensive nature of the program includes educational, health, nutritional, and social services. These services are intended to prepare children to enter kindergarten and to improve the…

Decades of research have provided strong evidence of what an integrated early childhood system should look like. Several groups, including the Alliance for Early Success, have outlined research-backed state and local policies that can move systems closer to meeting this goal. In fact, many states and communities across the country have already put…

North Carolina Family Impact Seminars (NCFIS) include annual seminars, briefing reports and follow-up activities designed specifically for state policymakers, including legislators and legislative staff, the governor and executive branch staff, and state agency representatives. The Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University convenes the…

We review what is known about Head Start's impacts on children and argue that the program is likely to generate benefits to participants and society as a whole that are larger than program costs. Our conclusions differ from those in some previous reviews because we use a more appropriate standard to judge program effectiveness (benefit-cost…

The upcoming Congressional reauthorization of the Early Head Start program provides an opportunity to focus on what can be done to achieve even greater impacts for infants, toddlers, and families in Early Head Start. In this policy brief, the Zero to Three Policy Center presents its recommendations for Congressional action and discusses scientific…

This paper argues that young Hispanic (or Latina/o) children (ages 3 to 8 years) should be of particular interest to policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in education. Young Hispanic children constitute an urgent demographic imperative. Young Hispanic children are not only the largest racial/ethnic group in the U.S., but also the youngest…

Language and literacy skills are critical to success in school. For low-income preschoolers, increasing early literacy and math skills is vital to closing the achievement gap between them and their more advantaged peers. New research shows that an intentional curriculum and professional development and supports for teachers are important…

The key to improving the early education of all young children, including those with special needs, is the effective preparation and development of the professionals who work with them. "Practical Approaches to Early Childhood Professional Development" is a comprehensive planning resource for college faculty and consultants engaged in preservice …

This report is the second of a series exploring implementation of best practices in programs serving young children and families, and focuses on the uses and benefits of developing and using a logic model in programs serving young children and families. A logic model is described as providing a way to clearly articulate the program's theory of…

This response to an article evaluating Indiana's early intervention service delivery (EC 628 669) identifies implications of the study including: service intensity is relatively light; service location and context and the process of Individualized Family Service Plan formulation should be examined; implementation should be treated as an…