This paper explores the external developmental assets and how they manifest in specific youth programs from Colombia, Guatemala, and Honduras. An evaluation process was created through a qualitative phenomenological with the youth programs' leadership. To triangulate the data, a survey was developed and piloted with a small sample from three youth…

Living within state care can have detrimental effects on children's development, as substantial research has proposed. Recognising how music-making may support children's social, emotional and personal development, many cultural organisations have begun developing music projects that work specifically with care-experienced children. Although…

In this article, a framework for the creation of a fully inclusive and comprehensive early childhood intervention system is described. Although aspirational at this time, the potential for developmental science, intervention science, and implementation science to be integrated to maximize the effectiveness of early intervention systems is…

Background: Research trials of early intervention (EI) programs for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) generally demonstrate medium-to-large gains, on average, compared with "treatment as usual," in different developmental domains. Almost all children with ASD receive their treatment through community-based services, however,…

Integrated early childhood development (ECD) programs boost child health and developmental outcomes. However, the factors contributing to the successful implementation of such programs in informal urban settlements are not well researched. We conducted 14 focus group discussions and 13 key informant interviews with 125 caregivers of children under…

High-quality language interactions not only support children's language development, but also promote better long-term academic outcomes. Language learning is the single best predictor of later growth in language, literacy, mathematics, and social development. However, many families do not have access to educationally enriched spaces that spur…

Following calls for diverse and contextual perspectives of the rich lives of young children, their families and communities from/in the Global South, this paper presents critical reflections emerging from a three-year (2016-2019) community-based Integrated Approach to Early Childhood Development (ECD) project implemented in the rural Eastern Cape…

Family-focused early learning programs aim to assist parents in supporting their young children language and literacy development. This study examined program access and learning opportunities for diverse families across a wide range of community-based settings in one eastern Canadian province. As well, the study examined practitioners'…

The Information Age Publishing new book series, Current Issues in Out-of-School Time, is designed with a purpose to disseminate original research and promising practices that further the Out-of-School Time (OST) field. This first book sets the foundation on which the series rests upon, by offering an analysis of the progress made since the 2000s,…

This edition of "The State of the World's Children" report examines children, food and nutrition. It seeks to deepen understanding around the causes and consequences of children's malnutrition in all its forms and to highlight how governments, business, families and other stakeholders can best respond. Chapter 1 examines the changing…

Experimental research demonstrates sustained high-quality early care and education (ECE) can mitigate the consequences of poverty into adulthood. However, the long-term effects of community-based ECE are less known. Using the 1991 NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (n = 994; 49.7% female; 73.6% White, 10.6% African American,…

Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative (ELNC) began as a year-long initiative to support early learning for very young children and families. The program has grown into a self-sustaining, nonprofit, place-based organization committed to improving the lives of children and families in the underresourced neighborhoods of Grand Rapids, MI.…

This qualitative study explored caregivers' perceptions of factors influencing early childhood development in low-income, urban South African settings, from a social ecological perspective. Individual interviews were conducted with 15 caregivers of 3-5-year-old children; a reflexive thematic analysis approach was adopted. In the family and home…

Background: Early language input contributes to children's healthy brain development and sets the stage for life-long achievement and wellness. Parents vary in their ability to offer rich language support within the home environment due to social and contextual factors. There is a lack of research on the effectiveness of a universal prevention…

The average diagnosis of autism in the United States is after 4 years of age, even though a reliable diagnosis can be obtained as early as 2 years of age. Early identification of autism can help facilitate access to early intervention, yet many children experience significant delays in receiving a diagnosis and intervention. Various factors…