Families' social, demographic, and economic circumstances can have direct and indirect effects on children's development. Structural inequities in access to resources such as education, income, or food can promote disparities in children's health and school readiness. Similarly, children can face more or fewer barriers in their development…

The number of U.S. children living in poverty increased in 2007--continuing an upward trend dating back to 2000: in 2007, 13.3 million children were living in poverty, up from 11.6 million children in 2000. The percentage of children living in families with incomes below the poverty line has increased from 16.2 percent in 2000 to 18.0 percent in…

In this Research-to-Results Brief, the author discusses the importance for policymakers, taxpayers, and the media to recognize the diversity in children's circumstances, because this recognition affects the number of children believed to need varied services and the magnitude of the challenge of meeting that need. Many researchers have developed…