Early Intervention Program Review

This work summarizes a report that asks whether money invested early in a child's life pays dividends in the form of government savings or other societal benefits as he or she grows into adulthood. Is there a best method for determining what, if any, dividends have accrued? The authors identify the conceptual and methodological issues associated with the analysis of costs and outcomes of early intervention programs and review the prior application of these methods to several programs. This background leads to recommendations regarding the application of these tools for a particular public-private early intervention program, Starting Early Starting Smart (SESS). SESS was designed to test the effectiveness of integrating behavioral health services within primary care and early childhood service settings for children from birth to age seven. The specific recommendations are framed as a set of more general guidelines for decisionmakers to make choices about early childhood intervention programs.

Does money invested early in a child's life pay dividends in the form of government savings or other societal benefits as he or she grows into adulthood? Is there a best method for determining what, if any, dividends have accrued? The authors identify the conceptual and methodological issues associated with the analysis of costs and outcomes of early intervention programs and review the prior application of these methods to several programs. This background leads to recommendations regarding the application of these tools for a particular public-private early intervention program, Starting Early Starting Smart (SESS). SESS was designed to test the effectiveness of integrating behavioral health services within primary care and early childhood service settings for children from birth to age seven. The specific recommendations are framed as a set of more general guidelines for decisionmakers to make choices about early childhood intervention programs.

What kinds of early intervention practices are other countries developing and implementing--and what can we learn from them? You'll find the answers in this fascinating book, which spotlights effective, innovative practices at work in China, Sweden, Ethiopia, Portugal, India, Israel, Australia, Germany, and more. Along with a detailed overview of and rationale for early intervention, you'll get chapters built around early intervention practices in four areas: service delivery models, including topics like community-based inclusion, mediational approaches to early intervention, and service provision in rural areas family support, including topics like working with families to implement home interventions, addressing challenges like poverty and malnutrition, and forming partnerships with families of children with disabilities professional development, including topics like university-based continuing education programs, low-cost education for paraprofessionals, and development of programs for in-service professionals organizational support, including topics like national legislation, community and agency initiatives, and team development Each chapter highlights early intervention in one country and includes a vignette that provides cultural context; background information on the country's social, political, and economic structure; challenges and successes the country has experienced in implementing specific early intervention practices; and recommendations on how other countries can apply the lessons learned. With this broad international look at early intervention, you'll sharpen your knowledge of the issues other cultures face and get the inspiration and creative strategies you need to improve your own practice. This book is part of the International Issues in Early Intervention series.

How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.

Considers the potential consequences of not investing additional resources in children's lives, the range of early intervention programs, the demonstrated benefits of interventions having high-quality evaluations, the features associated with successful programs, and the returns to society associated with investing early in the lives of disadvantaged children. The findings indicate the existence of a body of sound research that can guide resource allocation decisions.