This report seeks to raise awareness of the critical importance of chronic early absence, synthesize available data on the scope of the challenge, and share emerging insights about how schools and communities can use chronic early absence to identify and address challenges affecting the social, educational and physical well-being of children and their families before problems become intractable. While parents are responsible for getting their children to school every day, schools and communities need to recognize and address the barriers and challenges that may inhibit them from doing so, especially when they are living in poverty. Large numbers of chronically absent students could indicate systemic problems that affect the quality of the educational experience and/or the healthy functioning of the entire community. Activities included secondary analyses of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) conducted by the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), analysis of local data on student attendance patterns, a review of relevant literature, and information offered by practitioners, researchers, and funders about promising practices and programs. Appended are: (1) Demographic Characteristics of Participating Localities; and (2) Examples of Promising Programs for Reducing Chronic Early Absence. (Contains 5 figures and 33 endnotes.) [For the "Present, Engaged, and Accounted for: The Critical Importance of Addressing Chronic Absence in the Early Grades. Executive Summary. Report", see ED522727.]