This brief spotlights state coordination for early childhood education of young children experiencing homelessness. The content includes information about the rights and services afforded by the McKinney-Vento and Head Start Acts, spotlights early childhood education for students experiencing homelessness in North Carolina and Nevada, and…

Home visiting connects expectant parents, new caregivers, and their young children with a support person, called a home visitor. The home visitor meets regularly with the family, develops a relationship with them, and supports them to achieve their goals and meet their needs. To reach the thousands of additional families who could benefit from…

This article discusses why and how states are integrating "DC:0-5™: Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood" (DC:0-5) into state policy and systems; provides state examples to highlight some of the strategies that states have used to allow, promote, or require the use of…

This paper reports the results of a randomized controlled trial evaluating "We Have Skills," a brief curriculum designed to teach early elementary students academic and social skills as well as improve teacher efficacy in classroom management. Intervention efficacy was tested with 127 teachers, randomly assigned to condition, and 2,817…

Children from low-income families are more likely than those from higher income families to have poor social, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and health outcomes. One approach that has helped parents and their young children is home visiting, which provides information, resources, and support to expectant parents and families with young…

Extension educators have used different methods to collect information for a needs assessment, including advisory committees, survey questionnaires, focus groups, interviews with key informants, or a combination of the former. This article describes the use of key informant interviews (agency personnel working with parents and young children) that…

Each year, families across the country take the leap from an early-childhood learning program to elementary school. Prepared families take a poised step forward, confident and knowledgeable about how their child will ease into the school system and develop along his or her learning path. Unprepared families anxiously tiptoe ahead, unsure of what…

Parenting education needs assessment surveys were collected from a large group of the parents or caregivers of 698 0-5-year-old children in southern Nevada. Survey questions addressed parenting education interests, family characteristics, and preferred delivery methods of parenting education. Cluster analysis was used to empirically determine if…

In honour of Miccio's memory, this article revisits the topic of stimulability in children with speech sound disorders (SSD). Eighteen children with SSD, aged 3;6-5;5 (M = 4;8), were tested for their system-wide stimulability, percentage consonants correct (PCC), phonetic inventory size, and oral- and speech-motor skills. Pearson Product Moment…

This edition of "Bright Futures" highlights 12 states (Alabama, Colorado, Nevada, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia, Connecticut, Guam, Maine, Pennsylvania and Kansas) that have received grants to support the development of an Early Childhood Advisory Council. Other features of this edition include announcements of state early…

"R&D Alert" covers issues affecting schools in the Western Regional Educational Laboratory's four-state region--Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah--and throughout the United States. This issue focuses on early childhood education. While the importance of early childhood education has long been recognized, traditional ideas of …

This article describes an investigation of the career-related experiences of 73 male K-2 teachers from across Nevada. Data were acquired and are discussed in three main categories: (1) perceived factors influencing men's initial choice to become a K-2 teacher; (2) perceived factors impacting men's present level of enjoyment in being a K-2 teacher;…

This final report describes the objectives, activities and outcomes of a federally funded initiative to train and assist early childhood interagency teams in a model of planning systems and services for all young children, including children with disabilities and other special needs. The project is based on the value of stakeholder ownership in…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the Home Activity Program for Parents and Youngsters (HAPPY) Rural Outreach Project, a collaborative effort to provide family-focused early intervention services to children with disabilities (ages birth through 5) in rural Nevada, primarily including Native Americans and Hispanics. The…