State-funded pre-Kindergarten is a growing phenomenon in the United States. The majority of 4-year-olds now spend time every weekday in care outside of their home and many of these children are being served in preschool classrooms funded with state education dollars. The public strongly supports such programs and there is generally bipartisan…

It is widely accepted that high quality child care enhances children's cognitive and social development, but some people question if what constitutes quality care depends on the child's ethnic and cultural background. To examine this issue, secondary analysis of the two largest U.S. studies of child care--the Cost, Quality, and Outcomes Study and…

This issue of "Early Developments" is devoted to program evaluation, a type of work that many at FPG are engaged in, either conducting evaluations or helping agencies and states conduct evaluations. Many readers know FPG for its research in prevention, early intervention, child care, and child and family development, but in the past several years,…

What is it about cultural diversity that challenges early childhood programs? One factor is that children enter early childhood and early intervention programs from families with a wide range of values and cultural experiences. Sometimes those values and experiences differ from those of the teachers and caregivers in those programs. Another factor…

Eleven years ago, FPG Child Development Institute (FPG) launched a longitudinal study of a little known form of mental retardation known as fragile X syndrome (FXS). The Carolina Fragile X Project has since grown into a multidisciplinary team studying diverse aspects of the condition, ranging from early identification to school performance. The…

The National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study (NEILS) is the first national study of the Part C (IDEA) early intervention (EI) system with a nationally representative sample (3,338) of children and families receiving early intervention services. The study follows the children from the time they entered early intervention (in 1997 and 1998),…

This "snapshot" presents a review of a new family literacy handbook. Edited by Dr. Barbara Wasik of the FPG Child Development Institute, "The Handbook of Family Literacy" provides scholars, students, policymakers and practitioners (both inside and outside the field) with a valuable snapshot of its current boundaries and rapidly growing content.…

Studies have shown that some children are at higher risk for otitis media. Those at risk may include children with some developmental disorders such as Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, Apert syndrome, fragile X syndrome, Turner syndrome, cleft palate, and autism; as well as all children attending childcare. It has been hypothesized that the link…

A recent FPG study looked at families' initial experiences in determining their child's eligibility for early intervention (EI) services as mandated by Part C (IDEA), interactions with medical professionals, effort required to get services, participation in planning for services, satisfaction with services, and interactions with professionals. A…