Studies in the News: Children and Family Supplement is a service provided to the First 5 California by the California State Library. The service features weekly lists of current articles focusing on Children and Family policy. Prior lists can be viewed from the California State Library's Web site at www.library.ca.gov/CRB/SITN.cfm.

How to Obtain Materials Listed in SITN:

• When available on the Internet, the URL for the full-text of each item is provided.

• California State Employees may contact the State Information & Reference Center (916-654-0206; cslsirc@library.ca.gov) with the SITN issue number and the item number [S#].

• All other interested individuals should contact their local library - the items may be available there, or may be borrowed by your local library on your behalf.

IMPROVED CHILD DEVELOPMENT

The Unique Challenges to the Well-Being of California’s Border Kids. By Children Now. Kids Count Snapshot. Prepared for the Annie E. Casey Foundation. (Children Now, Oakland, California) June 2007. 16 p.

Full Text at: publications.childrennow.org/assets/pdf/policy/borderkidscount-2007.pdf

["Children living along the California-Mexico border face substantial challenges to their health and educational well-being, according to a new report... by Children Now, a leading nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that all children thrive. Focused on California’s 'border kids' - the 800,000 children living in San Diego and Imperial counties - the report finds that 78,000 border kids don’t have regular access to a doctor, and only about half are meeting California’s rigorous academic achievement goals.... A comprehensive set of indicators of border kids’ health, education and economic well-being is provided in the report. Wide disparities between border kids and the rest of the state’s children are highlighted...." Children Now (June 14, 2007.)]

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"Early Learning Standards: Results from a National Survey to Document Trends in State-Level Policies and Practices." By Catherine Scott-Little and others. IN: ECRP, Early Childhood Research and Practice, vol. 9, no. 1 (Spring 2007) 23 p.

Full Text at: ecrp.uiuc.edu/v9n1/little.html

["Early learning standards - documents that outline what children should know and be able to do before kindergarten entry - are increasingly common in the United States. Data from a national survey are presented to illustrate trends in how states have developed and implemented early learning standards within the past four years. Results indicate that almost all states have developed early learning standards for prekindergarten-age children, and the number of states that have developed infant-toddler early learning standards has increased markedly. States have used a variety of strategies to support teachers in their use of early learning standards, and a number of states have or are developing monitoring systems to gauge the extent to which programs are using the standards. The authors discuss the implications that trends related to the development and implementation of early learning standards have for early childhood policies and practices, and they discuss areas where further research is needed."]

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The Challenges of Change: Learning from the Child Care and Early Education Experiences of Immigrant Families. By Hannah Matthews and Deeana Jang. (Center for Law and Social Policy, Washington, DC) May 2007.

["One of every five children in the United States is the child of an immigrant. Although these children stand to benefit from high-quality child care and early education programs, available data show that they are less likely to participate in all types of non-parental care than children of U.S.-born citizens are. To explore the reasons for the lower participation of children of immigrants, CLASP conducted site visits across the country to learn first hand about the challenges that immigrant families face. CLASP sought out immigrant leaders and direct service providers, immigrant parents, child care and early education providers, and policymakers. This report identifies multiple barriers that impede immigrant families from accessing high-quality child care and early education. It also highlights promising strategies being used in local communities to break down those barriers and to improve child care and early education programs so that they are more responsive to the needs of diverse immigrant families. It concludes with a set of recommendations for federal, state, and local policymakers, advocates, private foundations, and researchers."]

Executive Summary: 9 p.
http://clasp.org/publications/challenges_change_exec_summ.pdf

Full Report: 196 p.
http://clasp.org/publications/challenges_change.pdf

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Using Music to Improve Task Learning. FPG Snapshot. No. 45. (FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) May 2007. 2 p.

Full Text at: www.fpg.unc.edu/%7Esnapshots/snap45.pdf

["Research shows that songs can assist children with memorization and sequencing of events. In a study published in Music Therapy Perspectives, FPG researchers hypothesized that using songs to prompt a series of steps might help a child with autism more independently complete multi-step self-care routines." Early Childhood News from FPG (June 2007.)]

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What is Evidence-Based Practice? Part 1 in a Series on Fostering the Adoption of Evidence-Based Practices in Out-Of-School Time Programs. By Allison J. R. Metz and others. Research-to-Results Brief. Publication No. 2007-14. (Child Trends, Washington, DC) June 2007. 5 p.

Full Text at: www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2007_06_04_RB_EBP1.pdf

["Out-of-school time practitioners often become frustrated because of the time lag between discovering effective practices and incorporating them into 'on the ground' practice in out-of-school time programs, which can take up to 20 years! The aim of this brief is to reduce that time lag by: 1) describing EBP for practitioners, and 2) providing valuable resources in an easily accessible format that can be used immediately." Child Trends E-Newsletter (June 5, 2007.)]

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A 10-Step Guide to Adopting and Sustaining Evidence-Based Practices in Out-of-School Time Programs: Part 2 in a Series on Fostering the Adoption of Evidence-Based Practices in Out-of-School Time Programs. By Allison J. R. Metz. Research-to-Results Brief. Publication No. 2007-15. (Child Trends, Washington, DC) June 2007. 6 p.

Full Text at: www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2007_06_04_RB_EBP2.pdf

["This brief provides program practitioners 10 concrete steps that programs can take to successfully adopt an evidence-based practice. From identifying and selecting an EBP to training staff and beginning implementation to learning, reflecting, and improving programs, practitioners can use this brief to identify and adopt evidence-based practices." Child Trends E-Newsletter (June 5, 2007.)]

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When Should a Kid Start Kindergarten? By Elizabeth Weil. IN: New York Times Magazine, vol. 156, no. 53964 (June 3, 2007) 13 p.

Full Text at: www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/magazine/03kindergarten-t.html?ei=5070&en=cb0f4beced2be38e&ex=1181534400&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all

["According to the apple-or-coin test, used in the Middle Ages, children should start school when they are mature enough for the delayed gratification and abstract reasoning involved in choosing money over fruit. In 15th- and 16th-century Germany, parents were told to send their children to school when the children started to act 'rational.' And in contemporary America, children are deemed eligible to enter kindergarten according to an arbitrary date on the calendar known as the birthday cutoff - that is, when the state, or in some instances the school district, determines they are old enough. The birthday cutoffs span six months, from Indiana, where a child must turn 5 by July 1 of the year he enters kindergarten, to Connecticut, where he must turn 5 by Jan. 1 of his kindergarten year.... All involved in increasing the age of kindergartners - parents, legislatures and some teachers - say they have the best interests of children in mind.... Still, the question remains: Is it better for children to start kindergarten later? And even if it’s better for a given child, is it good for children in general?" NOTE: New York Times Magazine... is available for loan.]

Full text:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/magazine/03kindergarten-t.html?ei=5070&en=cb0f4beced2be38e&ex=1181534400&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all (Free registration required.)

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Chutes or Ladders? Creating Support Services to Help Early Childhood Students Succeed in Higher Education. By Kara Dukakis and others. (Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, University of California, Berkeley, California) 2007. 16 p.

Full Text at: www.iir.berkeley.edu/cscce/pdf/chutes_ladders07.pdf

["This report explores efforts in California to support nontraditional students generally, and ECE nontraditional students in particular. We recommend that institutions of higher education and local planners work together to assess the needs of nontraditional students in their ECE programs, the adequacy of existing supports on campus, and the ability of staff and faculty to make referrals to these supports. We also recommend, based on our findings, that institutions and localities make an investment in targeted supports for ECE students in order to improve their success in school and beyond. Finally, although evaluative research on the effectiveness of student support services has not been extensive, we reference several recent studies, and recommend further research in this area."]

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National Evaluation of Early Reading First: Final Report to Congress. By Russell Jackson and others. (U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC) May 2007.

Full Text at: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pdf/20074007_execsumm.pdf

["A federal program designed to give preschoolers a boost in early reading got a mixed report card.... The Early Reading First Program has had a positive effect on children's print and letter knowledge, according to a report released by the Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences. But the study also found the program has had no impact on phonological awareness, which includes rhyming, or oral language, which includes vocabulary development. The program has led to more professional development for teachers, according to the study. Early Reading First was created as part of the 2002 No Child Left Behind education law. It is different from the Reading First program, which is aimed at older elementary-school children.... Early Reading First is a federal grant program aimed at low-income children ages 3 to 5 years old." CNN.com (June 4, 2007.)]

Executive Summary: 18 p.
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pdf/20074007_execsumm.pdf

Full Report: 245 p.
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pdf/20074007.pdf

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"'The Learning Never Stops': Lessons from Military Child Development Centers for Teacher Professional Development Policy." By Debra J. Ackerman, National Institute for Early Education Research. IN: ECRP, Early Childhood Research and Practice, vol. 9, no. 1 (Spring 2007) 19 p.

Full Text at: http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v9n1/ackerman.html

["High-quality early care and education (ECE) relies on teacher training. However, state policies require that the ECE workforce attain only minimal preservice credentials, and the field needs more information about inservice professional development models that might effectively train teachers, no matter what their prior experience or education level. With the aim of addressing this policy context, this paper reports on the professional development provided to caregivers in the U.S. military's child development centers. The military model utilizes both a 'one-size-fits-all' and constructivist approach and comprises four distinct phases. Each phase is provided or coordinated by an on-site Training and Curriculum Specialist and takes place within a broader context of support. By describing the components contributing to the military model, this paper highlights the many interrelated inputs that may be essential aspects of an ECE teacher professional development system, thus also offering lessons for policy makers who wish to upgrade professional development policies as a means for improving ECE program quality."]

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"Small Classes in the Early Grades and Course Taking in High School." By Jeremy D. Finn and others. IN: International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership, vol. 1, no. 1 (June 5, 2006) pp. 1-13.

Full Text at: http://journals.sfu.ca/ijepl/index.php/ijepl/article/view/17/4

["Researchers examined the relationship between small-class participation in the first four years of school and course-taking patterns in high school. Using original data from Tennessee's Project STAR (Student-Teacher Achievement Ratio) with high school transcripts for 3,922 students from the STAR experiment, the hypothesis that class size is related to the amount and level of coursework taken in mathematics, science, and foreign language was tested. Results indicated that students who spent three or more years in small classes took more foreign language courses, higher-level foreign language courses, and higher-level mathematics courses than did students in full-size classes. The possibility that small-class participation would benefit low-SES students more than high-SES students was also explored, but no evidence was found of an SES-specific effect. The results are discussed in terms of (a) using class-size policies to promote the taking of advanced courses in high school, and (b) the need to consider long-term outcomes when evaluating class-size reduction initiatives."]

[Request #S60741]

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Framing Early Childhood Development: Recommendations for Infant-Toddler Professionals and Advocates. By Debbie M. Rappaport. (Zero to Three, Washington, DC) [2007.] 6 p.

Full Text at: www.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/Framing4.pdf?docID=3541

["Infant-toddler professionals and researchers are in a prime position to communicate with policymakers about the needs of infants, toddlers and their families. And while it might seem like second nature to talk about our work, in reality, it is quite challenging to communicate effectively about the complex nature of early childhood development. By learning the best ways to communicate about early childhood development, we can help ensure that the needs of babies, toddlers and their families are met through effective public policy. This article… explores some specific early childhood frames, the impact of those frames on how people reason about infant-toddler development, and the consequences of these messages for public policy. The article concludes with practical tools which infant-toddler advocates can use to develop their own messages about infant-toddler policy issues.]

[Request #S60742]

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IMPROVED FAMILY FUNCTIONING

Men’s Pregnancy Intentions and Prenatal Behaviors: What They Mean for Fathers’ Involvement With Their Children. By Jacinta Bronte-Tinkew and others. Research Brief. No. 2007-18. (Child Trends, Washington, DC) June 2007. 7 p.

Full Text at: www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2007_06_11_RB_Prenatal.pdf

["A growing body of research suggests that men’s pregnancy intentions (i.e., how men feel about a pregnancy) and prenatal behaviors (i.e., how men act during the pregnancy) may have implications for fathers’ later involvement with their children. For example, men who exhibit positive feelings about the pregnancies of their partners and who become involved - such as attending childbirth classes and being present at the child’s birth - are more likely to show positive postbirth fathering behaviors. These findings are consistent with prior research demonstrating that having an unintended pregnancy and being uninvolved prior to a child’s birth may signal lower quality and quantity of father involvement in the child’s later life. An understanding of this issue for fathers of infants is important because the transition to fatherhood represents an ideal opportunity to draw men more actively into parenting."]

[Request #S60743]

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Economic Mobility: Is the American Dream Alive and Well? By Isabel Sawhill, Brookings Institution, and John E. Morton, Pew Charitable Trusts. (Economic Mobility Project, Pew Charitable Trusts, Washington, DC) [May 2007.] 12 p.

Full Text at: www.economicmobility.org/assets/pdfs/EMP%20American%20Dream%20Report.pdf%20

["American men in their 30s today are worse off than their fathers' generation, a reversal from just a decade ago, when sons generally were better off than their fathers, a new study finds. The study, the first in a series on economic mobility undertaken by several prominent think tanks, also says the typical American family's income has lagged far behind productivity growth since 2000, a departure from most of the post-World War II period. The findings suggest 'the up escalator that has historically ensured that each generation would do better than the last may not be working very well,' says the study.... In 2004, the median income for a man in his 30s, which is a good predictor of his lifetime earnings, was $35,010, the study says, 12% less than for men in their 30s in 1974 - their fathers' generation - adjusted for inflation. Just a decade ago, median income for men in their 30s was $32,901, 5% higher than 30 years earlier." Wall Street Journal (May 25, 2007.)]

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Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and Their Families: Participants, Services, and Outcomes. Final Report of the National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study (NEILS.) By Kathleen Hebbeler and others. Prepared for the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education. (SRI International, Menlo Park, California) 2007. 116 p.

Full Text at: www.sri.com/neils/pdfs/NEILS_Report_02_07_Final2.pdf

["For more than 20 years, federal law has recognized the importance of providing early intervention (EI) services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. State systems to serve this population have been established and refined since the federal grant program and its accompanying requirements governing EI were created in 1986. Every state provides EI services, although the states differ in regard to a number of dimensions, including the lead agency that administers the program, the constellation and organization of local programs that provide services, and how services are funded. This National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study (NEILS) report presents the key findings from a national longitudinal study that followed children who were identified when younger than 3 years of age as meeting their state’s eligibility criteria for EI and whose families were subsequently provided with those services. NEILS is the first and only national look at important policy issues such as which children and families are being served in EI programs, what services they receive, and what outcomes they experience. This report summarizes some of the key findings from this 10-year study and notes their implications for policy, practice, and additional research."]

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IMPROVED HEALTH

The Influence of Early-Life Events on Human Capital, Health Status, and Labor Market Outcomes Over the Life Course. By Rucker C. Johnson, University of California, Berkeley, and Robert F. Schoeni, University of Michigan. National Poverty Center Working Paper Series. No. 07-05. (The Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan) February 2007. 58 p.

Full Text at: http://npc.umich.edu/publications/u/working_paper05-07.pdf

["Weighing less than 5.5 pounds at birth increases the probability of dropping out of high school by one-third, reduces yearly earnings by about 15 percent and burdens people in their 30s and 40s with the health of someone who is 12 years older. The study, presented May 22 in Washington, D.C. at the National Summit on America's Children, is the first to link birth weight with adult health and socioeconomic success using a full, nationally representative sample of the U.S. population.... 'The poor economic status of parents at the time of pregnancy leads to worse birth outcomes for their children,' Johnson and Schoeni write in a working paper from the U-M National Poverty Center. 'In turn, these negative birth outcomes have harmful effects on the children's cognitive development, health, and human capital accumulation, and also health and economic status in adulthood. These effects then get passed on to the subsequent generation when the children, who are now adults, have their own children.'" EurekAlert! (June 5, 2007.)]

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Making Food Healthy and Safe for Children: How to Meet the National Health and Safety Performance Standards - Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs. Second edition. Edited by Sara E. Benjamin. (National Training Institute for Child Care Health Consultants, Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina) 2007. 70 p.

Full Text at: http://www2.sph.unc.edu/courses/childcare/course_files/curriculum/nutrition/making_food_healthy_and_safe.pdf

[This publication "offers guidance for providing children with healthy and safe food and for meeting national nutrition standards. The guidelines were revised and updated by the National Training Institute for Child Care Health Consultants with support from the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Chapter titles include Keeping Everything Clean and Safe, Using Foods That Are Safe to Eat, Storing Foods Safely, Planning to Meet Children's Nutrition Needs, Promoting Pleasant Meals and Snacks, and Helping Children and Families Learn About Food. Standards, community resources, and a resource list are provided in the appendix." MCH Alert (June 1, 2007.)]

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Healing the Youngest Children: Model Court-Community Partnerships. By Lucy Hudson and others. Practice and Policy Brief. (American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, Washington, DC and Zero to Three, Washington, DC) March 2007. 35 p.

Full Text at: www.abanet.org/child/practice&policybrief_march07.pdf

["Four model court-community partnerships that focus on the developmental needs of very young children are striving to improve outcomes for maltreated infants, toddlers, and their families. Young children are at particular risk for long-term harm when early relationships, which provide the foundation for a child's social and emotional well-being, are disrupted by placement in out-of-home care. A new policy brief... explains how collaboration among court, child protection, and mental health systems can help young children and their families in the child welfare system achieve permanency and stability. Part I of the policy brief describes the four model programs and includes a sample case illustrating how each program has helped a young child.... Part II focuses on common components that contribute to the success of court-community collaboration." Children's Bureau Express (June 2007.)]

[Request #S60748]

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Food and Beverage Advertising to Children on US Television: Did National Food Advertisers Respond? By Ron Warren and others, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. 30 p. Not yet published. TC

Full Text at: http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/10768.htm

["Research at the University of Arkansas shows that a year after major food companies announced new advertising policies to combat childhood obesity, there have been no significant changes in television food advertisements that children view. Not only were unhealthy foods the most frequently advertised, but child-targeted commercials continued to employ the very production techniques and persuasive appeals that make it difficult for children to critically evaluate advertising. In research... presented Friday, May 25, at the International Communication Association annual conference, Ron Warren, associate professor of communication, reports the results of a study that analyzed television food advertising likely to be viewed by children. The research team... compared television commercials recorded just prior to an industry self-regulation effort announced in February 2005 with commercials recorded a year after that industry initiative. 'Our primary conclusion is that little changed across the collection of food and beverage advertising analyzed in the two years of our sample. It appears that many advertisers selling unhealthy foods, at the very least, left their advertising practices unchanged despite a potential backlash from critics or the government,' the researchers wrote." University of Arkansas (May 24, 2007.) NOTE: Food and Beverage... will be available for loan.]

Press Release:
http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/10768.htm

[Request #S60753]

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IMPROVED SYSTEMS OF CARE

Supporting Growth and Development of Babies in Child Care: What Does the Research Say? By Anne Goldstein and others. (Center for Law and Social Policy, Washington, DC, and Zero to Three, Washington, DC) [2007.] 5 p.

Full Text at: www.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/ChildCareResearchBrief.pdf?docID=3542

[This brief, "explores compelling research on the healthy growth and development of babies in child care, as well as state child care licensing, subsidy policies, and quality initiatives that can increase the odds that babies and toddlers have positive early learning experiences. This research brief is the first in a series from Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care, a joint project of CLASP and Zero To Three." The Baby Monitor (June 11, 2007.)]

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We Can Do Better: NACCRRA’s Ranking of State Child Care Center Standards and Oversight. By the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. (The Association, Arlington, Virginia) 2007. Various pagings.

Full Text at: www.naccrra.org/policy/recent_reports/scorecard.php

["The report card ranks every state (including the District of Columbia) on 15 basic criteria related to their current child care center standards and oversight.... Only two states (Illinois and Nevada) require a full background check of child care staff. Only eight states (plus the DoD) address all 10 basic health and safety benchmarks, such as fire drills, administration of medication, prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, diapering and hand-washing, and safe playground surfaces. Four states either allow or do not specifically prohibit corporal punishment. Only three states (plus the DoD) conduct quarterly inspections of child care centers; eight do not even conduct inspections annually. And, 21 states have no minimum educational requirement for child care teachers. States were scored based on a point system of 100 points for child care standards and 50 for oversight, for a total overall possible score of 150 points.... The weakest ten overall - scoring from 15 to 58 points respectively - are Idaho, Louisiana, Nebraska, Kentucky, California, Kansas, New Mexico, Utah, Maine, and New Hampshire." NACCRRA press release (March 1, 2007.)]

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NEW CONFERENCES AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

National Summit on America’s Children. May 22, 2007, Washington, DC. Archived video of the conference and presentation materials.

Full Text at: http://speaker.gov/issues?id=0032

[Watch the National Summit on America's Children. Archived video of the summit is available as well as downloadable presentation materials from conference panelists.]

Conference video and papers: href="http://speaker.gov/issues?id=0032">http://speaker.gov/issues?id=0032

[Request #S60754]

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Venture Grant Fund: New Strategies and Partnerships to Link Economic Development and Child Care. Linking Economic Development and Child Care Project. (c/o Smart Start's National Technical Assistance Center.)

Full Text at: http://government.cce.cornell.edu/doc/pdf/VentureGrantRFP2007.pdf

["The Linking Economic Development and Child Care Technical Assistance Project is soliciting grant proposals for innovative strategies that link economic development and child care. We plan to make funds available in two categories. 1) Small Venture Grants (in the $5,000 range) to help plan or initiate new ideas, policies or programs that apply economic development strategies to the early care and education (ECE) industry; and, 2) Larger Implementation Grants, for organizations that are ready to begin implementing a new idea. While there is no pre-set limit on each individual project, the total 2006 budget for both categories is $100,000. Because funds are very limited, most awards will be in the $5,000 range." Applications due July 13, 2007.]

For more information: href="http://government.cce.cornell.edu/doc/pdf/VentureGrantRFP2007.pdf">http://government.cce.cornell.edu/doc/pdf/VentureGrantRFP2007.pdf

[Request #S60755]

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