High-quality Child Care for Low-income Children Offset the Risk of Later Depression
This study reinforces my belief that children and families in the Indiana Healthy Families program should have unlimited access to high quality infant and toddler care. The HFI program serves the families during the period of time they are receiving home vistor services. Choices for child care as moms go to work or return to school need to become a high priority of the HFI program. These special preschoolers need every opportunity to access the highest quality child care provided by the best trained and skilled providers.
This is the reason I want to share the following research with you.
Young adults from low-income families who were in full-time early educational child care from infancy to age 5 reported fewer symptoms of depression than their peers who were not in this type of care, according to a new report. The early educational intervention also appears to have protected the children to some extent against the negative effects of their home environments.
Newswise — Young adults from low-income families who were in full-time early educational child care from infancy to age 5 reported fewer symptoms of depression than their peers who were not in this type of care, according to a new report. The early educational intervention also appears to have protected the children to some extent against the negative effects of their home environments.The report, from the FPG Child Development Institute (FPG) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, uses data from the Abecedarian Project, a longitudinal study begun in 1972 in which 111 high-risk children were randomly assigned to early educational child care from infancy to age 5 or to a control group that received various other forms of child care. The study is published in the May/June 2007 issue of the journal Child Development.
Research has shown a relationship between poverty in early childhood and an increased risk for mental health problems in adulthood. A number of early intervention programs have been found to enhance the cognitive development and academic outcomes of children living in poverty, but less is known about the long-term effects of these programs on children’s mental health.
In the Abecedarian Project, 98 percent of the children were black and all came from low-income families with demographic factors known to predict developmental delays or academic problems. As part of the study, developmental and demographic data were collected regularly during the early childhood years with follow-up assessments in adolescence and young adulthood.
The study followed up with 104 study participants when they were 21 and found that those who had participated in the child care program had fewer symptoms of depression than those who did not.
Early child care also moderated the effects of the children’s home environments on subsequent feelings of depression. For children in the control group, the more negative the early home environment, the greater the likelihood of signs of depression.
“The early intervention does not appear to have changed home environments,” according to Frances A. Campbell, a senior scientist at FPG and one of the authors of the study. “Rather, it buffered, or protected, the children from the adverse effects of less-optimal early home environments. This evidence, indicating that good early childhood experiences can make a positive difference in the mental health of individuals born into poverty, underscores the importance of investing in high-quality early childhood experiences for poor children.”
The study was funded, in part, by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the National Institute of Early Childhood Development and Education, and the Office of Educational Research and Improvement.
© 2007 Newswise. All Rights Reserved.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
FSSA's Quality Rating System - Who Pays?
"Recognizing the positive impact of Paths to Quality, a rating system for child care, Mitch Roob, secretary of Indiana's Family and Social Services Administration, has announced the program is going statewide next year.
Paths to Quality helps parents identify and select the best early care for their children by establishing four levels of quality for early care programs. 1: health and safety needs; 2: an environment that supports children's learning; 3: a planned curriculum that fosters optimal development; and 4: national accreditation indicating the highest quality for children.
Paths to Quality was launched in Allen County in 2000 and has since expanded to five more counties in northeast Indiana and 12 counties in southwest Indiana. This program grew out of a Foellinger Foundation grant invitation and is funded by the Child Care and Early Education Partnership, which includes the Foundation, the Early Childhood Alliance, and several other foundations and organizations with a vested in interest in early childhood development.
Reaching these quality levels will definitely improve the quality of care. But, how do we expect providers to reach these levels without additional private partnerships or without government investment?
Let's consider the following:
Facts:
- Out of nine major industries in Indiana, child care employment is 4th from the bottom at $25,204 annual salaries - that is less than gasoline attendants, and personal and laundry services.
- There are over 400,000 children in out of home care for working parents with only 100,000 high quality licensed spaces.
- Business and economic development leaders throughout the state have expressed concern that there are not enough well trained young workers in the state; there is difficulty in attracting and retaining young workers; and, there is a child care shortage, especially for infants and toddlers.
- Each region of the state expressed a desire to improve the workforce and the child care situation.
If we do not rise to this challenge, the child care industry will remain an unrecognized and undervalued industry - families will continue to be forced to confront the challenges of family time, the growing conflict between work and home and a pervasive anxiety about the future of their children.
It is also a challenge to Indiana to decide how our culture will participate in the reshaping of childhood.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
ARE WE LEAVING CHILDREN BEHIND?
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
The Indianapolis Star's study of June 7th asked the question "Are Indiana Schools Passing or Failing? And the answer depends on whom you ask! Data suggests states satisfy NCLB law by expecting less from their students. If that is the case, then we are leaving children behind. It is yours to study!
Even before the NCLB Act raised the stakes in 2002, The Stein Group team was exploring how and if schools, parents, providers, and teachers were meeting the needs of young children. Early childhood education research has captivated the country during the last decade.
Introduced by President Bush in 2002, NCLB stresses accountability in public education, and instituted a slew of requirements around school testing and performance. The Act is up for re-authorization.
But critics have pointed to how NCLB mandatory testing, and penalties for not meeting certain bars, has schools more focused on preparing for these exams than on teaching children to think about what they are learning. The NCLB fails to look at the gains a student has made, and is instead focused on statistics.
One example is the required testing of students who have been in the United States for at least a year. This includes students who are limited English proficient. While the progress of English Language Learners should be regularly gauged, it doesn’t take an expert to guess that it takes more than one year to achieve English proficiency, especially for high school aged students.
A new NCLB should change the one-year requirement for English Language Learners.
It should also include “value-added” measures for teachers, as recommended by a bipartisan commission that has studied NCLB, and resources for drawing quality teachers. NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has emphasized the critical difference that NCLB-designated funding would make in providing incentives to attract and keep quality teachers in the schools that need them the most.
The NCLB commission recognized that the U.S. educational system was not only leaving students unprepared for a globalized, high tech economy but not even helping them achieve proficiency in reading and math. While a good step toward remedying this deplorable status, NCLB needs tinkering that will further accountability without crucifying schools.
The Indianapolis Star's study of June 7th asked the question "Are Indiana Schools Passing or Failing? And the answer depends on whom you ask! Data suggests states satisfy NCLB law by expecting less from their students. If that is the case, then we are leaving children behind. It is yours to study!
Even before the NCLB Act raised the stakes in 2002, The Stein Group team was exploring how and if schools, parents, providers, and teachers were meeting the needs of young children. Early childhood education research has captivated the country during the last decade.
Introduced by President Bush in 2002, NCLB stresses accountability in public education, and instituted a slew of requirements around school testing and performance. The Act is up for re-authorization.
But critics have pointed to how NCLB mandatory testing, and penalties for not meeting certain bars, has schools more focused on preparing for these exams than on teaching children to think about what they are learning. The NCLB fails to look at the gains a student has made, and is instead focused on statistics.
One example is the required testing of students who have been in the United States for at least a year. This includes students who are limited English proficient. While the progress of English Language Learners should be regularly gauged, it doesn’t take an expert to guess that it takes more than one year to achieve English proficiency, especially for high school aged students.
A new NCLB should change the one-year requirement for English Language Learners.
It should also include “value-added” measures for teachers, as recommended by a bipartisan commission that has studied NCLB, and resources for drawing quality teachers. NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has emphasized the critical difference that NCLB-designated funding would make in providing incentives to attract and keep quality teachers in the schools that need them the most.
The NCLB commission recognized that the U.S. educational system was not only leaving students unprepared for a globalized, high tech economy but not even helping them achieve proficiency in reading and math. While a good step toward remedying this deplorable status, NCLB needs tinkering that will further accountability without crucifying schools.
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