In the United States, public policy and expenditure intended to improve the prospects of children from low-income families have focused on better preparing children for school through Head Start and universal pre-K. This school readiness approach differs from the dominant model of public support for early care and learning in Northern Europe,…

More than 10 million children from birth through age six in the US live in low-income families. Although large investments in early childhood intervention programs are evident, is the field fully exploiting its potential to address the diverse needs of children and families? One means of addressing this question is to focus on the efficacy of…

The School-Based Mental Health Program's goals are to identify at-risk children, reduce ineffective functioning of at-risk children, provide social service interventions, increase effective parenting skills, help families access community resources, and support mental health education. The program was designed to develop a comprehensive,…

A meta-analysis of home visiting programs (K = 12, N = 2869) examined differences in the effects of home visitor programs for at-risk families on maternal behavior. Studies selected included only peer-reviewed publications and evaluations with a control group design. Although effect sizes varied, programs with more frequent visitation had higher…