State prekindergarten initiatives can only succeed if they actually reach at-risk children. This brief summarizes findings from three studies conducted by the Urban Institute. Two studies supported by the McCormick and Joyce Foundations focused on whether smaller immigrant communities in metro Chicago face access barriers to enrolling their…

A key measure of success of state prekindergarten initiatives is their ability to reach and serve children who are likely to face challenges in school. This study adds to our understanding of the challenges faced by immigrant children and families in Chicago, Illinois, by focusing on the extent to which families from smaller immigrant…

This report addresses the following four questions by reporting on the impacts of Head Start on children and families during the children's preschool, kindergarten, and 1st grade years: (1) What difference does Head Start make to key outcomes of development and learning (and in particular, the multiple domains of school readiness) for low-income…

As part of the Assessing the New Federalism project, this study investigated the number of child care arrangements that employed mothers with children under 5 years old. The study began by examining national and state estimates of the number of arrangements used by these children, focusing on how these patterns differ for children of different…

As part of the Assessing the New Federalism Project, this study examines the number of hours preschool children with employed mothers spent in child care in 1997, how the number of hours in child care varied across selected states, and how the amount of time in care differed across the states for children of different ages and income groups. Data…

As part of the Assessing the New Federalism project, this study provides information on the primary child care arrangements used by children younger than 5 years with employed mothers, both nationally and across a number of states. Data are from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families, which oversampled low-income households. While parents…

Responding to increased interest in the development and education of children, many states have invested in initiatives to facilitate school success of prekindergarten-age children. Although national progress is encouraging, individual state initiatives are uneven, ranging from bold innovations with major funding to inaction and reliance on…