Lisbeth Schorr gave this keynote presentation at the Early Childhood Networking meeting held in Reston, Virginia, to state Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems. National Center for Children in Poverty

For children from high-risk families and poor communities, even the best care and early learning opportunities won't be enough to help these children perform at the same level as their more advantaged peers. Closing this gap is a large task that requires planning and action at the classroom, local, state and federal levels. National Center for Children in Poverty

Family, Friend and Neighbor child care accounts for 46 percent of the hours children from birth to 2 years old spend in nonparental care. Now some experts are trying to improve FFN. National Center for Children in Poverty

Datasets are provided in this guide that policymakers, researchers, and others in the field of child care and early education will find useful. National Center for Children in Poverty

This project describes the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment program of Medicaid with a focus on young children from birth to 5 years old. National Center for Children in Poverty

The issue of child care subsidies having the potential to support parents' employment and children's development is explored in a research brief, a literature review, and a table of methods and findings.
National Center for Children in Poverty

The changes made in 2005 to Medicaid affect health access and coverage for children, starting with children from birth to 5 years old. National Center for Children in Poverty

Immigrant families display important strengths, however they are also more likely than native-born families to be low-income and face other challenges that can place their children at risk. National Center for Children in Poverty

This brief looks through the lens of the state early childhood care systems grant projects to identify ways in which they can promote smarter spending for vulnerable young children. National Center for Children in Poverty

There are groups of babies, toddlers and parents who face so many risks that even programs like early head start might not be enough. This issue is discussed in this brief and it highlights 10 program and community strategies that can help these most vulnerable families. National Center for Children in Poverty

Federal child care subsidies can support parents' employment and children's development, and research can tell us who is more likely to use these subsidies. The child care subsidy issue is explored in a research brief, literature review, and a table of methods and findings. National Center for Children in Poverty

Recent releases:
The Economic Promise of Investing in High-Quality Preschool: Using Early Education to Improve Economic Growth and the Fiscal Sustainability of States and the Nation

2006 Conference: Building the Economic Case for Investments in Preschool

Preschool for All: Investing in a Productive and Just Society

The Invest in Kids (IVK) Working Group

Committee for Economic Development

Even though there are benefits from play for both parents and children, not enough time is being set aside for some children to be allowed to play. Studies show that play is important to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social and emotional well-being of children and youth. American Academy of Pediatrics

These fact sheets for each state provide background on the current fiscal structure of the child welfare system and the ways different financing reform proposals will affect children across the country. Clasp

The literature reviewed in this Quality by Design project was drawn from three different sources. Quality by Design is a project run by the Childcare Resource and Research Unit at the University of Toronto. Quality by Design

Research shows that public elementary schools in areas that have more low-income families are more likely to offer prekindergarten compared to public schools in areas that have more high-income families. Child Trends Databank

Clues to a child's language ability could be linked to their language learning during infancy.
APA Online - Monitor on Psychology

According to psychologists, head start is still the best option for helping disadvantaged children catch up in school.
APA Online - Monitor on Psychology

Based on information from the mandatory Program Information Report, this fact sheet describes the characteristics of Head Start children and families and the services provided to them during the 2004-2005 program year. CLASP

Inside this issue:
Taking a Pre-K Teacher Head Count
Rural America's Early Ed Challenge
Early Childhood Education Makes New Inroads in Washington State
and much more.

Follow the link below for news, information and resources on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, which works to improve results for infants and young children with disabilities.
The United States Department of Education

A menu of strategies some states are using to improve early care and education for young children.
Center for Law and Social Policy

This report was written in response to three other studies: The High/Scope Perry Preschool Project, the Abecedarian Project and the Chicago Child-Parent Centers because a number of people use the findings of those studies to justify any and all early childhood programs without trying to extrapolate what those three studies specifically did. The Committee for Economic Development

This report includes the results from two studies, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study birth and kindergarten cohorts. Click here to read the report.

Investing in the education of America's youngest learners has emerged as one of the most promising ways to help strengthen the future economic and fiscal position of our states and nation. Click here to read the report.

According to this new policy brief, rural preschoolers of employed mothers are more likely than their peers to be cared for by informal non-related providers like in-home babysitters, neighbors or friends. UNH Media Relations

This report builds on previous Committee for Economic Development work in early education by providing the economic evidence that justifies increasing investments in preschool. Committee for Economic Development

This brief includes examples of solutions currently being put into practice at the federal state and local levels, as well as advice to how policymakers can apply these solutions to better serve their constituents. Education Sector

A debate between W. Steven Barnett and Bruce Fuller. Education Sector

Confident in the knowledge that many studies show the positive benefits of high-quality preschool, policymakers have expanded the availability of publicly funded preschool programs. What is still in question though are the benefits children derive from programs of various durations and intensity. NIEER Online

From 2002 to 2005 enrollment in state-funded preschool increased by more than 100,000 children. This rapid growth in enrollment has raised questions about which types of programs are effective and how much do these programs cost.
Cost of Effective Preschool

This study was produced by the National Association for Regulatory Administration and the National Child Care Information Center.
Number of Licensed Programs in 2005

Licensed Capacity in 2005

Special issue: Community Development - Journal of the Community Development Society, Volume 37, No. 2, June 2006. This issue focuses on the economic significance of child care in three areas: the importance of child care for the long term prospects of children, child care's importance for parents as workers and child care purchasers, the importance of the child care industry for regional economies. Cornell University

This paper concludes that children from all economic backgrounds stand to reap cogitative gains from quality early education. It also states the relationship between quality early childhood education and cognitive development was sustained through third grade. Click here to read the PDF paper.

This study, conducted by Policy Analysis for California Education, explores the impact of preschool attendance the year before kindergarten. Analyses of the data shows modest cognitive gains for middle-class children, but more substantial gains for children from poor families. Click here to read the PDF report.

A comprehensive analysis of governors' leadership and budgetary commitments to expanding access to pre-kindergarten. Pre[k]Now

This paper discusses the analysis and findings from the report, "Taking Preschool Education Seriously as an Economic Development Program: Effects on Jobs and Earnings of State Residents Compared to Traditional Economic Development Programs." The Committee for Economic Development

Brain development research shows the importance of relationships and experiences in building the social, emotional, intellectual and academic skills that people use throughout their lives. Because of this, it's important to ensure that children entering school across the nation are ready to learn. Financing Strategies Series

As more and more studies are conducted, more American political and education leaders are starting to think it wise to invest in prekindergarten education. However many leaders still view early childhood education as a way to prepare children only for kindergarten. The Foundation for Child Development

Thirty-seven years ago, some preschoolers from low-income families were randomly assigned to attend a high-quality preschool program. The findings from the well-known longitudinal study of this group confirm the program's "long-term effects are lifetime effects." ASCD

This policy brief analyzes and concludes that the impact of a high-quality preschool policy could add $2 trillion to annual U.S. GDP by 2080. The Brookings Institution

PK experience improves math and literacy, according to two evaluations of the Tulsa, Oklahoma Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program. The research was done by Georgetown's CROCUS program and they found that substantial positive effects were observed for children across all racial-ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Foundation for Child Development.

The authors of this report have concluded that a critical mass of evidence supports the existence of PK-3 after analyzing data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort of 1998-99. They did this to show that children participating in educational programs that include PK-3 components perform better in school compared to their peers who did not. Foundation for Child Development.