Children from low-income families are more likely than those from higher income families to have poor social, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and health outcomes. One approach that has helped parents and their young children is home visiting, which provides information, resources, and support to expectant parents and families with young…

In Fiscal Year 2015-16, the California Children and Families Act has appropriated an average of $440 per child from the state tobacco tax revenue to support early development of children ages 0-5. Based on the proportion of live births in each county, First 5 Kern administered over $10 million of the state funding to support 41 programs in Child…

Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting legislation permits states to fund "promising practices"--with the understanding that these models will have a rigorous evaluation component. This article describes an innovative, low cost paraprofessional home visiting model developed in Pennsylvania by the Maternity Care Coalition. In…

The California Children and Families Act of 1998 led to creation of the Kern County Children and Families Commission (First 5 Kern) to support early childhood service programs in Kern County, the third largest county in California that spread a land area as large as the state of New Jersey. In Fiscal Year 2014-15, First 5 Kern administered more…

Only as adults witness the world experienced by traumatized children can they develop appropriate interventions that lead to healing and resilience. This article highlights the philosophy and programs of the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children. The National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children (TLC) was founded in 1990 by…

Engaging in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity is essential to lifelong health and wellness. Physical activity behaviors established in early childhood relate to physical activity behaviors in later years. However, research has shown that children are adopting more sedentary behaviors. Incorporating structured and planned physical activity…

Although some home visiting programs have proven effective with the families they serve, no program has yet demonstrated broader impact on an entire county or state population. This article describes the Durham Connects program, which aims to achieve broad county-level effects by coalescing community agencies to serve early-intervention goals…

The rate of early childhood overweight and obesity in the United States has increased significantly over the last 30 years. The psychosocial risks of potential stigmatization and discrimination in an overweight child can cause low-esteem and/or reduced school performance. Overweight and obese children also face the increased health risks…

New policy initiatives, such as those concerned with promoting young children's positive mental health, highlight the need for good quality professional education in the early childhood education and care sector. However, although a wealth of literature exists from the school sector, little is known about professional education in early childhood…

Obesity is a significant public health issue affecting even our youngest children. Given that a significant amount of young children are enrolled in child care, the goal of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of a child care facility-based obesity prevention program. Over 1,000 facilities participated in the study. The intervention…

Proposition 10, also known as the California Children and Families Act of 1998, is the legislation for creating Kern County Children and Families Commission (First 5 Kern). Over the past 15 years, First 5 Kern administered a trust fund from a $.50 per pack tax on cigarettes or equivalent tobacco products to support children ages 0-5 and their…

The aim of this randomized-controlled trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of an intensive intervention to reduce children's environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure at their home compared with a minimal intervention. The target population of the study was the mothers of children aged 1-5 who lived in the Cengizhan district of Izmir in…

The MOM Program is an innovative home visiting program whose aim is to empower low-income urban mothers to obtain health and early intervention services for their children. The authors discuss a recent evaluation of the MOM program which sought to examine maternal involvement in the program. The results raise important questions and call for…

Schools are recognized as ideal environments to promote and enhance the health of children. Previous research has shown a positive association exists between increased prevalence of family-style meals and children's health. Use of family-style service provides opportunities to improve children's overall health and well-being through increased…

In 2006, the Anchorage School District implemented a school wellness policy to address the problem of obesity among its elementary-aged students. We assessed whether the addition of this policy is effective in protecting or preventing students from becoming overweight/obese over time. The methods involved following two cohorts of students for 5…