Infants, Toddlers, and Families in Poverty

This book features terrific reviews of the basic and applied science that can form the basis for designing effective programs for infants and toddlers from poor families. It makes a persuasive case for both center-based curricula taught by professionals and interventions to help struggling parents. Equalizing educational opportunity for the poor has been a major goal of the nation’s social policy for nearly a half-century, yet progress has been painfully slow to nonexistent. Interventions like those proposed in this volume could begin to alter this tragic record of failure.--Ron Haskins, PhD, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, and Co-Director, Center on Children and Families, The Brookings Institution

Some of the best minds in the field explore the latest research on infants and toddlers in poverty, with a view toward how science can better inform policy. Our nation’s future depends on how well practitioners, developmental scientists, and policymakers learn from the broad spectrum of research and evaluation covered here.--W. Steven Barnett, PhD, Director, National Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

This volume assembles a dream team of contributors to confront the urgent need to direct cutting-edge science toward the design of early intervention programs. The result is a 'must read' that provides new insights about the key processes that the next generation of interventions need to address. Topics range from caregiving that supports the development of attention and memory to ways to eradicate food insecurity and other sources of toxic stress. The book describes effective approaches including creative uses of pediatric health care settings, attachment-focused parenting interventions, and Web-based professional development strategies.--Deborah Phillips, PhD, Department of Psychology, Georgetown University

This volume could not appear at a better--or worse--time, with rising numbers of infants and toddlers now living in poverty. Chapters comprehensively address important, interacting aspects of early development. The book represents a marriage of the best available research with practical implications for programs and policies. Researchers and early interventionists will benefit from this timely resource as they strive to produce better outcomes for our most vulnerable children.--Marilou Hyson, PhD, consultant, early childhood development and education

Infant and toddler care has been relatively neglected in the literature, given all the attention to getting preschool children ready for school, so it was with considerable joy that I learned about this volume. The book is very thorough, including advances in developmental theory and research as well as implications for optimal group care. I will use this volume in graduate seminars and upper-division undergraduate courses. I can't wait to make it available to my predoctoral research students.--Carollee Howes, PhD, Division of Psychological Studies in Education, University of California, Los Angeles-