The Center for Law and Social Policy's (CLASP) child care and early education work focuses on promoting policies that support both child development and the needs of low-income working parents and on expanding the availability of resources for child care and early education initiatives.
Moving Forward: Head Start Children, Families, and Programs in 2003
Head Start Comprehensive Services: A Key Support for Early Learning for Poor Children

This report from the Catherine E. Cutler Institute for Child and Family Policy examines current practice across systems in order to determine the degree to which the educational needs of children younger than five in the child welfare system are being addressed through collaborations between child welfare agencies, early intervention/preschool special education programs under IDEA, and quality early care and education programs. The report also identifies best practices and policy recommendations for how the multiple agencies which provide these services can coordinate their efforts better.

Analyzing data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a nationally representative sample of approximately 5,000 births between 1998 and 2000 in 20 large United States cities, this report from the Institute for Children and Poverty examines young children’s experiences with homelessness and its effects on their development and well-being.

Evaluation Exchange, the evaluation periodical of the Harvard Family Research Project, addresses current issues facing program evaluators of all levels, with articles written by the most prominent evaluators in the field. This issue focuses on early childhood programs. Contributing authors offer a range of views on how best to communicate the importance of investing in a child's early years and how to improve early childhood programs and policies.

This Congressionally-mandated study, conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, quantifies the impact of Head Start separately for 3- and 4-year-old children across child cognitive, social-emotional, and health domains as well as on parenting practices.

This booklet from Project HOPE will help parents and shelter providers support children's early learning. Goals of the booklet include helping those working with young children to use everyday activities to encourage learning and growth, notice any concerns in a child's development, and locate resources for more information about early development.

This annotated minibibliography from the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC) provides a selection of resources that address the needs and educational rights of young children experiencing homelessness, as well as strategies for working with homeless children and their families in early childhood care and education programs.

This paper, published by the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) provides general background on the legislation behind Title I, an overview of the available data on the use of Title I funds for preschool, and examples of how some states and local communities have used Title I funds for these programs. It also examines the U.S. Department of Education’s statutes, regulations, and guidance on the use of Title I funds for preschool and raises some unanswered questions.

Set for Success: Building a Strong Foundation for School Readiness Based on the Social-Emotional Development of Young Children compiles seven papers that present the latest scientific findings on the importance of social and emotional school readiness. The papers, published by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, also provide compelling evidence of programs that help to prepare young children for early school success.

These state profiles from the National Center for Children in Poverty provide a unique picture of the policy choices states make to promote healthy development and school readiness. It reviews policies that promote healthy development, high-quality early care and education, and effective parenting for young children.

Funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Strengthening At Risk and Homeless Young Mothers and Children is under the guidance of a Coordinating Center consisting of The National Center on Family Homelessness (NCFH), the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) and ZERO TO THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families (ZTT). The Initiative seeks to improve the housing, health, and development of homeless and at-risk mothers and children, and provides valuable resources to assist other groups addressing similar issues on its website.