Identifying factors related to poverty that affect infants, toddlers, and their families, this book describes promising early child care and intervention practices specifically tailored to these children and families' needs. Leading authorities from multiple disciplines present cutting-edge research and discuss the implications for practice and policy. Contributors review salient findings on attention, memory, language, self-regulation, attachment, physical health, family processes, and culture. The book considers the strengths and limitations of existing early intervention services for diverse populations and explores workable ways to improve them.

The strengths and abilities children develop from infancy through adolescence are crucial for their physical, emotional, and cognitive growth, which in turn help them to achieve success in school and to become responsible, economically self-sufficient, and healthy adults. Capable, responsible, and healthy adults are clearly the foundation of a well-functioning and prosperous society, yet America's future is not as secure as it could be because millions of American children live in families with incomes below the poverty line. A wealth of evidence suggests that a lack of adequate economic resources for families with children compromises these children's ability to grow and achieve adult success, hurting them and the broader society. A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty reviews the research on linkages between child poverty and child well-being, and analyzes the poverty-reducing effects of major assistance programs directed at children and families. This report also provides policy and program recommendations for reducing the number of children living in poverty in the United States by half within 10 years.

"In Fostering Resilience and Well-being in Children and Families in Poverty, Dr. Valerie Maholmes sheds light on the mechanisms and processes that enable children and families to manage and overcome adversity"--

The number of children living in poverty in the United States increased dramatically during the 1980s and remains high. Why are so many children growing up in poor families? What are the effects of poverty on children's physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development? What role can public policy and policy research play in preventing or alleviating the damaging effects of poverty on children? Children in Poverty examines these questions, focusing on the child rather than on parents' income or self-sufficiency.

Identifying factors related to poverty that affect infants, toddlers, and their families, this book describes promising early child care and intervention practices specifically tailored to these children and families' needs. Leading authorities from multiple disciplines present cutting-edge research and discuss the implications for practice and policy. Contributors review salient findings on attention, memory, language, self-regulation, attachment, physical health, family processes, and culture. The book considers the strengths and limitations of existing early intervention services for diverse populations and explores workable ways to improve them.

Eighteen new chapters have been added to the 2000 edition of this valuable Handbook, which serves as a core text for students and experienced professionals who are interested in the health and well being of young children. It serves as a comprehensive reference for graduate students, advanced trainees, service providers, and policy makers in such diverse fields as child care, early childhood education, child health, and early intervention programs for children with developmental disabilities and children in high risk environments. This book will be of interest to a broad range of disciplines including psychology, child development, early childhood education, social work, pediatrics, nursing, child psychiatry, physical and occupational therapy, speech and language pathology, and social policy. A scholarly overview of the underlying knowledge base and practice of early childhood intervention, it is unique in its balance between breadth and depth and its integration of the multiple dimensions of the field.