Communities may often lack the resources to deliver intensive programs to assist teen mothers, and many eligible adolescents may decline participation in lengthy interventions. Therefore, alternative approaches involving less resource and time may be needed. Behavioral economics (BE) can inform the development of such novel interventions. BE often…

Since 1995, publicly funded pre-K with universal eligibility has proliferated across the U.S. Universal pre-K (UPK) operates at great scale and serves children with a wide range of alternative childcare options. Because these programs are relatively young, very little is known about their long-run impacts on children. In this paper, I use a…

In 2010, Congress authorized the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program by enacting section 511 of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 711, which also appropriated funding for fiscal years 2010 through 2014. Subsequently enacted laws extended funding for the program through fiscal year 2022. The program is…

We investigate possible explanations for the large decline in U.S. teen childbearing that occurred in the twenty years following the 1991 peak. Our review of previous evidence and the results of new analyses presented here leads to the following main set of observations. First, the observed decline in teen childbearing is even more surprising…

As they grow up, young people face important decisions about relationships, sexuality, and sexual behavior. The decisions they make can impact their health and well-being for the rest of their lives. Young people have the right to lead healthy lives, and society has the responsibility to prepare youth by providing them with comprehensive sexual…

The physical, social, and economic health and well-being of adults and society are strongly influenced by experiences in early childhood. The most cost-efficient time to build foundational skills, to assure the healthy development of all young children, to break the cycle of disadvantage for vulnerable children, and to prevent achievement and…

The physical, social, and economic health and wellbeing of adults and society are strongly influenced by both positive and negative experiences in early childhood. The most cost-efficient time to build foundational skills, to assure the healthy development of all young children, to break the cycle of disadvantage for vulnerable children, and to…

Adolescent pregnancy and parenthood have become increasingly important public policy issues in recent years for many reasons, including concerns about their prevalence, about the economic and social problems faced by young mothers and their children, and about the budgetary effects of adolescent parents' reliance on public assistance programs.…

Since 1978, Federal policy has sought to encourage the development of local comprehensive service programs for pregnant and parenting adolescents through demonstration grants, research, and dissemination of information about exemplary program models. The prevailing interventive model used is based on the development of local and comprehensive…

Using findings of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), this report discusses how people become poor and why they stay that way. The PSID reveals that the requirements for getting out of poverty in the United States are so minimal that it takes a mutually reinforcing cluster of behaviors to remain in poverty, even for blacks and females. The…

This report provides information on the age differences, demographic characteristics, employment status, poverty status, and educational status of displaced homemakers and single parents in Texas. These statistics are summarized in 26 tables or graphs that break down the data by variables. The study concludes with implications for program design…

Ten local communities and their programs for pregnant and parenting adolescents were studied. Only under exceptional circumstances could localities develop and maintain comprehensive service programs. In some cases no services were offered outside of school settings. Federal support through legislation and dollars is necessary to sustain such…

Examined the quality of child day care provided at 11 day care centers affiliated with New Chance, a nationwide program serving teenage mothers on welfare and their children. Comparisons with national standards and the quality of similar day care centers indicated that children in New Chance centers received good, but not exceedingly high, quality…

This study describes and assesses the early years of implementation of Title II-A of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) in regard to its services to women. Title II of JTPA is the major Federal program intervention--funded at about 1.8 billion dollars annually--aimed at providing employment and training services for the economically…

This publication describes 33 research projects supported by the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau and completed in 1989, 1990, and 1991. It is the third edition in a series of collected abstracts of completed maternal and child health research projects. Each project abstract contains the name of the grantee, name and address of the…