Using a semi-structured survey and convenience sample of pregnant/recently delivered Hispanic (n = 453) and non-Hispanic (n = 904) women in four California counties, this study compared rates of timely prenatal care (PNC) initiation, HIV test counseling, test offering, and test acceptance in PNC between Hispanic and non-Hispanic women. Hispanic…

The complexities of neurobehavioral assessment of the fetus, which can be neither directly viewed nor manipulated, cannot be understated. Impetus to develop methods for measuring fetal neurobehavioral development has been provided by the recognition that individual differences in neurobehavioral functioning do not originate with birth and…

In 1978, the Surgeon General established objectives to be met by 1990 for maternal and child health. Using statistical data, this report by the Children's Defense Fund evaluates the extent to which those objectives have been met. In particular, data gathered in this report show: (1) the nation failed to meet goals for increasing prenatal care, and…

Recent criticisms of Project Head Start have resulted in plans to improve program services and to expand in a more thoughtful manner to make the program more responsive to the needs of children and families. New directions include expansion below and beyond the ages previously served by Head Start. (SLD)

The Yakima First Steps Mobilization Project for Pregnant Substance Abusers, known as First Steps PLUS, is a demonstration project. The project seeks to improve the health outcomes of pregnant substance abusing women and their infants by enhancing existing perinatal services provided through Washington's First Steps Maternity Care Program and by…

This report provides an evaluation of the Prevention Initiative Program's second-funded year in the Chicago Public Schools. The program's purpose was to reduce school failure by providing health and social services to young families, improving parenting skills, and assisting young mothers to complete high school. The program served pregnant or…

Children from low-income families are more likely than other children to have serious health problems. And, as Anne Case and Christina Paxson show, childhood health problems can prevent poor children from achieving economic success as adults. Income-related disparities in childhood health are evident at birth or even before, and the disparities…

The National Center for Rural Early Childhood Learning Initiatives (Rural Early Childhood), a research program of the Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute, and Child Trends analyzed data from two nationally representative samples of young children being followed in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study by the National Center for…

This Kids Count data book examines statewide trends in the well-being of Connecticut's children. The report first examines the extent of child poverty in Connecticut, as well as its causes and effects, and suggests some possible courses of action. Following demographic information, the bulk of the report provides a statistical portrait of…

This Kids Count data book examines statewide trends in the well-being of Connecticut's children. The report first examines how well children have faired during the past 100 years in terms of economics, education, health and safety, and race relations, and how they are doing at the start of the 21st century. This section also outlines the state's…