The proportion of adolescents in the United States who are obese has nearly tripled over the last two decades. At the same time, schools, often citing financial pressures, have given students greater access to "junk" foods and soda pop, using proceeds from these sales to fund school programs. We examine whether schools under financial pressure are…

The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) began as a federal stopgap measure to assist families whose incomes were too high to qualify for Medicaid, but too low to make health insurance for their children affordable. In 2002, efforts were launched around the United States to recruit eligible children into the program. This pilot study…

Mothers' education is frequently found to be positively correlated with child health and nutrition in developing countries, and yet the causal mechanisms are poorly understood. An examination was conducted of the role played by three mechanisms in this process: formal education that directly teaches health knowledge to future mothers; literacy and…

This report summarizes and analyzes information on nine 1993 community integrated service system (CISS) projects to promote physical, psychological, and social well-being for all pregnant women and children, adolescents, and their families; provide individualized attention to their special health care needs; and link health care and services with…

An important but often overlooked member of a student's health care team is the teacher. This text covers ways to help teachers and administrators understand the special needs of students suffering from a chronic illness, how to recognize health events that may interfere with learning, and suggestions for appropriate interventions. The book opens…

This summary report presents data on the health services offered by the Detroit (Michigan) public schools. Data were collected through a survey developed by the school system, and a response was received from a staff member at each school in the district. It appears that a wide variety of health services are provided throughout the city school…

This booklet provides parents with information about immunizations and vaccine-preventable diseases, balances the benefits and risk of vaccination, and responds to inaccuracies or misinformation about immunizations and vaccine-preventable diseases. Section 1 presents a message to parents about vaccination. Section 2 offers facts about…

This study used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to investigate the effects of participation in Head Start preschool programs on a range of child outcomes. In order to control for selection into the Head Start program, comparisons are drawn between siblings and also between the relative benefits of Head Start versus other…

These South Dakota physical education standards provide a framework for use by state education and health agencies and local school districts to create an instructional program that will enable their students to become healthy and capable of academic success. It is a framework for making decisions about which lessons, strategies, activities, and…

This monograph synthesizes findings from five large-scale studies investigating welfare and employment programs in order to examine the effects on children of key policies: providing financial support for working families, requiring single parents to work, and limiting time on welfare. It identifies program features associated with effects on…

This curriculum is designed to help schools implement programs to prevent violence among students in grades 6-12. It is a six-session, school based curriculum intended for adolescents who are living in communities experiencing high rates of violence. It is facilitated by trained Teens on Target (TNT) members/peer educators, young people who are…

"Managed care" is a term used to describe health care plans in which a primary provider typically monitors all of a patient's care within a specific network of providers. It differs from the traditional fee-for-service model in that patients often are expected to pay extra if they want to see out-of-network providers. Additionally,…

This Spanish-language publication condenses the information in the Alliance for Learning series. The publication is intended principally for families with preschool or primary grade children, although the material can be used with older children. The sections of the publication address various themes and present activities that parents can do with…

Although states must certify that they have requirements to protect the health and safety of children in child care in order to receive Child Care and Development Block Grant funds, neither the scope nor stringency of these requirements has been stipulated. At the request of Congressional members, this report identifies the most critical…

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99, began following a nationally representative sample of approximately 22,000 kindergartners in the fall of 1998. Baseline data about these children, their families, and the kindergarten programs were collected from telephone interviews with the children's parents/guardians and…