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Relations of duration and developmental timing of poverty to children's development from birth to age 9 were examined by comparing children from families who were never poor, poor only during the child's infancy (0-3 years of age), poor only after infancy (4-9 years of age), and chronically poor. Chronically poor families provided lower quality childrearing environments, and children in these families showed lower cognitive performance and more behavior problems than did other children.

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care compared 3 statistical methods that adjust for family selection bias to test whether child care type and quality relate to cognitive and academic skills. The methods included: multiple regression models of 54-month outcomes, change models of differences in 24- and 54-month outcomes, and residualized change models of 54-month outcomes adjusting for the 24-month outcome. The study was unable to establish empirically which model best adjusted for selection and omitted-variable bias.

This volume and its companion volumes are the first of two reports designed to share the experiences of the 17 Early Head Start research programs with others. The first report focuses on the programs early in their implementation (fall 1997), approximately two years after they were funded and one year after they began serving families. Volume I examines the characteristics and experiences of the 17 research programs from a cross-site perspective, focusing on the similarities and differences among the programs in fall 1997.

To identify solutions to hunger, Congress created the bipartisan National Commission on Hunger “to provide policy recommendations to Congress and the USDA Secretary to more effectively use existing programs and funds of the Department of Agriculture to combat domestic hunger and food insecurity.”

Evaluate homelessness during pregnancy as a unique, time-dependent risk factor for adverse birth outcomes. 9,995 mothers of children <48 months old surveyed at emergency departments and primary care clinics in five US cities. Mothers were classified as either homeless during pregnancy with the index child, homeless only after the index child’s birth, or consistently housed. Outcomes included birth weight as a continuous variable, as well as categorical outcomes of low birth weight (LBW; <2,500 g) and preterm delivery (<37 weeks).

Objectives. We examined the relationship between timing of poverty and risk of first-incidence obesity from ages 3 to 15.5 years. Methods. We used the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (1991–2007) to study 1150 children with repeated measures of income, weight, and height from birth to 15.5 years in 10 US cities. Our dependent variable was the first incidence of obesity (body mass index ≥ 95th percentile).

Children’s HealthWatch findings do not show any significant associations between participation in nutrition and other safety net programs and increased risk of overweight for young children. Public policies that maintain and enhance social safety net programs are essential to reducing and preventing illnesses and expensive hospitalizations among infants and toddlers. Adequately funded and effectively used safety net programs save short term health care costs and contribute to the long term health, growth and intellectual potential of our nation’s youngest and most vulnerable citizens.

Studies show that low-income families are more likely to be unbanked and “underbanked” than families with higher earnings. Lacking a bank account or depending on alternative financial services leads to significant financial barriers for low-income families that hinder economic growth and social mobility. This session will evaluate strategies that local and state human services agencies are testing to equip TANF recipients with the financial knowledge and resources they need to overcome barriers to financial security, including ACF’s Asset Initiative Partnership.

This report presents the final results for the evaluation of the New Americans Centers (NACs) demonstration project in Arkansas and Iowa.  This demonstration was funded by the U.S.

Hierarchical linear modeling was used to model the dynamics of family income-to-needs for participants of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care (N = 1,364) from the time that children were 1 through 36 months of age. Associations between change in income-to-needs and 36-month child outcomes (i.e., school readiness, receptive language, expressive language, positive social behavior, and behavior problems) were examined.