This single-volume resource provides detailed information on current large-scale and longitudinal research studies focusing on early childhood developmentthe situations and experiences of young American children. Twenty-eight studies are profiled, addressing such issues as early childhood interventions for children in poverty, neighborhood characteristics and residence patterns of children and their families, the role of fathers in families, school readiness and the transition to school, and maternal employment issues, including child care and welfare reform. Following a list of the research initiatives described, the book's introductory chapter by the editors captures the history of thinking about early childhood intervention and the consistent findings that have come out of several decades of work. The remaining chapters are as follows: (1) "The Profiles Project" (Fuligni and Brooks-Gunn); (2) "Early Childhood Intervention Research Initiatives" (Berlin, O'Neal, and Brooks-Gunn); (3) "Initiatives on the Transition to School" (Fuligni and Brady-Smith); (4) "Family Support Initiatives" (Fuligni and Brooks-Gunn); (5) "Pre- and Perinatal Home Visitation Interventions" (McCabe and Brooks-Gunn); (6) "Child Welfare and Mental Health Initiatives" (Kupersmidt, McCabe, and Bryant); (7) "Early child Care Initiatives" (Gyamfi, Cabrera, and Roth); (8) "Welfare-to-Work Initiatives" (Brady-Smith, Zaslow, Leventhal, Duncan, and Richter); (9) "Neighborhood-Based Initiatives" (Leventhal and Brooks-Gunn); (10) "Initiatives on Children with Special Needs" (Hebbeler and Spiker); (11) "Four New National Longitudinal Surveys on Children" (Fuligni, McCabe, McLanahan, and Roth); and (12) "Synthesis: Issues and Imperatives in Research on Early Childhood Development" (Fuligni and Brooks-Gunn). (Contains 506 references.) (HTH)