The National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education (ECI) was established by the U.S. Department of Education to carry out a comprehensive program of research, development, and dissemination to improve young children's learning and development. This directory contains information on the programs and projects funded by ECI in fiscal year 1997. The directory's 10 sections are: (1) "About the Institute," which describes the Institute's origins and mission; (2) "The Institute Centers Program," which discusses a program and project designed to provide a stable foundation for long-term research and development on the core child development issues; (3) "Field-Initiated Studies Program," which describes a program and projects that provide assistance to a variety of institutions, organizations, and individuals for educational research and demonstration projects related to the Institute's mission; (4) "21st Century Community Learning Centers Program," which describes a program and projects that support work in rural and inner city local education agencies to enable them to plan, implement, and expand community learning centers; (5) "The Institute's Sponsored Projects Program," which discusses a program and projects supporting research efforts of immediate need that cut across the interests of one or more institutes or federal agencies; (6) "Ready-To-Learn Television," which describes a program to provide assistance for the development of educational and instructional video programming for preschool and elementary school children and their parents; (7)"Jefferson County's Project Jump Start," which describes a program designed to support a district-wide program to coordinate existing Title I, local education programs, and Head Start services; (8) "ECI Contact Directory," which lists staff members' telephone numbers and email addresses; (9) "State Listing of Projects"; and (10) "Alphabetical Listing of Projects by Organization." (LPP)