When many of today's parents were students, the process of applying and enrolling in school was fairly simple and involved few choices. In many cases, a family visited the neighborhood public school at the start of the school year and enrolled the child at the school's office. But now, the proliferation of school-choice policies in districts…

This report describes the population of young children in Durham, North Carolina, through the lenses of socioeconomics, health and education. When helpful in highlighting areas of strength or concern, data on Durham's children are compared with their counterparts statewide. The report also shows how particular groups within the overall population…

The 2020 Census risks undercounting thousands of young Colorado children, depriving communities of federal funding and political representation for the next decade. Children under age 5 are more likely to be missed by the census than any other age group, with children of color, non-English speakers, and kids living in high poverty communities at…

Childhood anxiety is impairing and associated with later emotional disorders. Studying risk factors for child anxiety may allow earlier identification of at-risk children for prevention efforts. This study applied an ecological risk model to address how early childhood anxiety symptoms, child temperament, maternal anxiety and depression symptoms,…

Policies and programs aimed at increasing educational and economic opportunities typically target either low-income children or their mothers, but not both, which limits their impact in fostering intergenerational mobility. This insight undergirds the development and implementation of dual-generation strategies, which focus simultaneously on both…

This study examined the effectiveness of two tiers of intervention for preventing early reading difficulties among kindergarten children who qualified as at risk of experiencing difficulty in the early stages of learning to read. Participating schools were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: Professional Development for…

The nationwide increase in obesity affects all population sectors, but the impact on children is of special concern because overweight children are prone to becoming overweight adults. Contrary to the opinion of experts, research suggests that schools may be more part of the solution than the problem. Recent seasonal comparison research (comparing…

Whereas the great majority of literacy research has been focused at the child level, this study examined the relationship between early literacy rates, developmental health of the population, and demographics in 23 school communities. The results showed that school-level literacy scores were related to the physical, social, and emotional maturity…

Children at risk for early reading difficulties were identified on entry into kindergarten, and half of these children received small-group intervention two to three times a week during their kindergarten year. The other half received whatever remedial assistance was offered by their home schools. These children were again assessed at the…

The risk of tobacco use during adolescence may be traced back to early childhood, the time when a child is most vulnerable to environmental influence. We examined daily-life enrichment during pre-kindergarten period as a predictor of initiation of cigarette smoking among Asian American and Hispanic/Latino children during adolescence. Survey data…

This research focuses on the ability of book-based animated stories, when well designed and produced, to have positive effects on young viewers' narrative comprehension and language skills. Sixty 5-year-olds, learning Dutch as a 2nd language, were randomly assigned to 4 experimental and 2 control conditions. The children profited to some extent…

The Kansas City, Missouri, School District's Early Childhood Development program consists of the Parents as Teachers (PAT) and Early Learning Centers (ELC) programs. Both PAT and the ELC programs have a screening component, with PAT screening children from 12 to 36 months of age and ELC screening 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children. The ELC…

The Children's Budget is a comprehensive report on funding for children's services in Colorado. This report provides a six- year funding history for more than 50 programs funded with state, local, and federal dollars. The Colorado Children's Budget analyzes reductions in programs and services during the economic downturn. The data in the…