Parental engagement is central to Head Start's two-generation mission. Drawing on research linking teacher-child racial/ethnic match to educational outcomes, the present study explores whether teacher-child match increases parental involvement in Head Start activities designed to support children and families. Using data from the 2006 and 2009…

In Australia, emphasis in early childhood education policy is placed on the importance of the role of the family as a child's first educator, and finding effective ways to raise the effectiveness of parents in supporting children's learning, development and well-being. International studies demonstrate that the home learning environment (HLE)…

The report presents findings from a survey of 243 caregiving families in Massachusetts which explored family needs and characteristics, as well as those of their developmentally disabled family members. Survey questions focused on family information, characteristics of the disabled family member, information on family needs, care-related costs…

For more than a decade, Florida's Palm Beach County has been building an infrastructure of prevention and early intervention services to promote and support the healthy development and school readiness of children from birth to age 8. The county began this effort with a set of programs focused on serving families in four targeted geographic areas…

This book reports on a study of the urban poor in New York City focusing on the effectiveness of a model of service for this population. The project studied 160 families who were clients of the Lower East Side Family Union, an agency that aims to prevent foster care placement and to help clients mobilize their own coping capacities and to make…

The Illinois Model Early Childhood Parental Training Program was implemented to help parents develop skills needed to foster their children's health and enhance their children's readiness for school. This report presents a summary and analysis of the annual evaluation data obtained from school districts participating in the program for the 1991-92…

Early Head Start is a comprehensive, two-generation federal initiative begun in 1995 aimed at enhancing the development of infants and toddlers while strengthening low-income families. This report contains information from the Survey of Early Head Start Programs. Beyond the need for an updated picture of the Early Head Start program, the Survey of…