Families influence their children's health in two ways that are amenable to public policy- through their financial and other investments in children, and through the quality of care that they provide. In general, children who receive more resources or better parenting are healthier than those who don't. Public policies, therefore, might improve…

The Promising Practices Network (PPN) on Children, Families and Communities (www.promisingpractices.net) began as a partnership between four state-level organizations that help public and private organizations improve the well-being of children and families. The PPN website, archived in June 2014, featured summaries of programs and practices that…

This article provides a brief history of interpretations of Head Start's objectives over the last 4 decades. We begin with the founding goal of helping children prepare for school and the later misguided adaptation of increases in IQ scores as an indicator of children's readiness. We then discuss Head Start's more contemporary objectives, social…

Examined the impact of individual environmental and biological risks on the home environment of three-year olds in a sample of low birth weight, premature infants. Suggests that compared to nonpoor families, poor families experienced more multiple risk factors. Poverty clearly had a negative effect on the provision of learning experiences,…

The "new federalism" paradigm offers an explanation why the federal government has devolved much of its administration of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, formerly AFDC) and Medicaid (through managed care) programs. A review of child and family outcomes data resulting from these devolutionary changes in TANF and…