Social
and Emotional Development in Children and Adolescents
Knowledge
Path
September 2007
Introduction
This knowledge path has
been compiled by the Maternal
and Child Health Library at
Georgetown University. It offers a selection
of current, high-quality resources about
the promotion of healthy social and emotional
development in infants, children, and
adolescents. Resources tap into the health,
education, and social services literature.
The path identifies tools for staying
abreast of new developments and for conducting
further research. Separate sections present
resources by age group and cover topics
such as developmental stages; factors
that impact social and emotional development;
policies and programs to promote social
and emotional well-being in homes and
community settings; and strategies for
integrating health, developmental, and
educational services. The final section
presents parent-education materials.
This knowledge path is aimed at health
professionals, program administrators,
policymakers, educators, and families,
and it will be updated periodically.
Related knowledge paths: Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges in Children and Adolescents and Community Services Locator: An Online Directory for Finding Community Services for Children and Families.

Resources
for Professionals
Overview
See the Bright
Futures materials, What
to expect and when to seek help: Bright
Futures developmental tools for families
and providers (2006).
Based on Bright
Futures in practice: Mental health (2002),
this set of four tools in English and
Spanish aims to help professionals
and families begin important conversations
together on how best to support the
social and emotional development of
infants, children, and adolescents.

General
Resources
- Web Sites
- American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
Contains policy statements, guidelines,
schedules, health-education materials,
and other resources for health
professionals about child and adolescent developmental
stages.
Information is organized by the
age of the child or adolescent.
Tools and initiatives include
Bright
Futures: Guidelines for health
supervision of infants, children,
and adolescents, 3rd ed. (2007).
Identifying
infants and young children with
developmental disorders in the
medical home: An algorithm for
developmental surveillance and
screening.
(2006).
Mental
Health.
Presents program information, meeting
materials, and other resources
for health professionals to address
mental health concerns in primary
pediatric care.
Recommendations
for preventive pediatric health
care.
(2000). Also see the one-page summary of
recommendations.
Also see Healthy
Child Care America.
- American
Psychological Association (APA). Contains
news, articles, brochures, and
information about publications
and programs on a wide range of
mental health issues affecting children
and families. APA
Books offers
several publications about
child and adolescent social and
emotional development.
- Annie
E. Casey Foundation (AECF).
Contains program information, data,
publications, and other resources
to foster public policies, human
service reforms, and community
supports that more effectively
meet the needs of vulnerable children
and families. Publications and
initiatives include
Making
Connections.
Describes this effort to improve
outcomes for families and children
in tough or isolated neighborhoods
by strengthening their connections
to economic opportunity, positive
social networks, and effective
services and supports. Offers
tools for sharing knowledge
and resources.
Relationships
matter: How agencies can support
family and social network development.
(2006).
State
Early Childhood Policy Technical
Assistance Network (SECPTAN): Village
building and school readiness:
Closing opportunity gaps in a diverse
society.
(2007).
Strengthening
kindergarten transition for children
in tough neighborhoods.
(2006).
Tapping
the power of social networks: Understanding
the role of social networks in
strengthening families and transforming
communities.
(2006).
Ties
that bind: The practice of social
networks.
(2006).
- Bright
Futures at Georgetown University.
Contains guidelines, distance-education
resources, and training tools for
a practical developmental approach
to providing health supervision
for infants, children, and adolescents,
including those with special health
care needs. Topics include general
health and development, mental
health, nutrition, oral health,
and physical activity. Some materials
are available in Spanish. Bright
Futures is funded by the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
Materials include
Bright
Futures in practice: Mental
health.
(2002). This guide contains
mental-health-promotion- and
substance-use-prevention guidelines
for infants, children, and adolescents.
It is designed to inform primary
care pediatric health professionals
about the essentials of mental
health promotion; to identify
the support that infants, children,
and adolescents need for good
mental health; and to assist
in the development and implementation
of mental-health-promotion programs
and policies. A companion volume
provides tools to assist in
mental health screening, education,
and health care management.
What
to expect and when to seek help:
Bright Futures developmental tools
for families and providers (2006).
A companion referral
tool helps
professionals identify resources
in their own communities.
- Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC): Child Development. Offers
background information, screening
tools, and recommendations for developmental
screening.
Includes information about and
resources to support the role of
primary care health professionals
in children's developmental health.
Also see CDC's Learn
the Signs. Act Early, Legacy
for Children, Healthy
Youth!,
and the Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance System
(YRBSS).
- Georgetown
University Center for Child and
Human Development (GUCCHD).
Offers program, conference, and
training information; publications;
and other resources to improve
the quality of life for all children
and adolescents, especially those
with special health care needs
or at risk for poor outcomes. Promoting
early childhood development and
school readiness; building culturally
and linguistically competent service
delivery systems; and enhancing
partnerships between primary health
care and mental health practices
to identify children at risk for
poor outcomes are among the issues
addressed. GUCCHD is a division
of Georgetown University's Department
of Pediatrics. Recent publications
include
Social
and emotional health in early
childhood: Building bridges
between services and systems.
(2007). This book is available
for purchase
online.
- High/Scope
Educational Research Foundation.
Offers curricula, assessment materials,
and research and training information
for infant and young child, preschool,
elementary, youth development,
and movement and music programs.
Includes information about the Perry
Preschool Project,
a landmark, long-term study of
the effects of high-quality early
care and education on 3- and 4-year-olds
from families with low incomes.
High/Scope Educational Research
Foundation is an independent nonprofit
research, development, training,
and public outreach organization.
- MCH
Training Program: Developmental-Behavioral
Pediatrics.
Offers information about these
programs working to prepare health
professionals to develop or improve
the behavioral, psychosocial, and
developmental aspects of general
pediatric care. The training program
is part of the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
- MDRC:
Families and Children.
Contains program information and
reports about how the life chances
of children and adolescents from
families with low incomes are influenced
by policies that affect their families'
economic circumstances, family
relationships, or the opportunities
available for child and adolescent
development in settings such as
child care, preschool, and afterschool
programs.
- Prevention
Institute: Children and Youth.
Presents information and publications
about primary prevention efforts
that result in positive child and
adolescent development outcomes.
The institute's projects for children
and adolescents include developing
strategies and policies for improving
nutrition and increasing physical
activity in schools, examining
the relationship between early
childhood development and violence
prevention, and conducting an evaluation
of long-term violence-prevention
efforts in schools.
- Promising
Practices Network (PPN) on Children,
Families, and Communities.
Offers a wealth of evidence-based
information about what works to
improve the lives of children,
adolescents, and families. Features
descriptions of evaluated
programs that
improve outcomes for children and
adolescents in four major areas:
(1) healthy and safe children,
(2) children ready for school,
(3) children succeeding in school,
and (4) strong families. Also offers
a collection of summaries from
the research literature about evidence-based
programs related to children and
families. In addition, PPN contains
information about and links to
resources on forming, funding,
and maintaining community partnerships
and collaborations; service integration;
program implementation; evaluating
the process and monitoring outcomes;
and results-based decision-making. Partner
Pages link
to collections of research and
information on specific priority
areas regarding child and adolescent
well-being. Most of the pages focus
on a particular state. PPN is a
service of the RAND
Corporation.
- Additional Electronic
Publications
- Isaacs
JB. 2007. Cost-effective
investments in children.
Washington, DC: Brookings
Institution.
This paper identifies four areas of
investment in children where there
is sufficient evidence of positive
outcomes and sound benefit-cost ratios
to merit expanded federal funding.
Target areas are early-childhood-education
programs, home-visiting programs to
promote sound prenatal care and the
healthy development of infants and
toddlers, school reform, and programs
that reduce the incidence of adolescent
pregnancy.
- Maternal
and Child Health Bureau.
2006. Child
health USA 2006.
Rockville, MD: Maternal and Child
Health Bureau. This annual book reports
on the health status and service
needs for infants, children, adolescents,
children with special health care
needs, and women of childbearing
age. The first section of the book,
Population Characteristics, presents
statistics on factors (including
poverty, education, and child care)
that influence children's well-being.
The second section, Health Status,
contains vital statistics and health
behavior information for the maternal
and child health population. Health
Services Financing and Utilization,
the third section, includes data
on health care financing and newly
implemented health policies. The
final sections, State Data and City
Data, contain information on selected
indicators at state and city levels.
- McLanahan S, Donahue
E, Haskins R. 2005. Marriage
and child well-being. The
Future of Children (Vol
15, No. 2). This issue reviews evidence
showing that marriage is associated
with better health, higher earnings,
and greater wealth among adults as
well as with academic success and mental
health among children.
- Smolensky E, Gootman
JA, eds. 2003. Working
families and growing kids: Caring for
children and adolescents.
Washington, DC: National
Academies Press.
This book presents conclusions and
recommendations for policies that can
respond to the new conditions shaping
America's working families. Among the
family and work trends reviewed are
a growing population of mothers in
the work force who have young children,
an increasing reliance on nonparental
child care, the growing challenges
of families on welfare, and an increased
understanding of child and adolescent
development.

Infants and Young
Children
This section presents
resources that address scientific research
about early child development; early
childhood social, emotional, and communication
milestones; developmental screening;
early literacy and school readiness;
strategies for integrating health, developmental,
and educational services for young children
and families; and state policy approaches
for promoting early childhood care and
education. For an excellent overview,
see the Science
of Early Childhood Development: Closing
the Gap Between What We Know and What
We Do (2007)
by the National
Scientific Council on the Developing
Child (NSCDC).
- Web Sites
- Brazelton
Touchpoints Center®.
Offers information about training
workshops for professionals that
serve children from birth to age
3 in health, education, child care,
and social services settings to
help them build strong family-child
relationships and optimize children's
development.
- Building
Blocks for a Healthy Future.
Offers preschool teaching tools
and parent education materials
about protecting young children
from developing risky behaviors.
Building Blocks is a service of
the Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA).
- CDC's
Learn the Signs. Act Early.
Presents materials in English and
Spanish to help pediatricians and
parents talk about child development
and the warning signs of autism
and other developmental delays.
Includes fact sheets on developmental
milestones for infants and children
from birth to age 5 and a list
of signs that could indicate a
developmental delay.
- CDC's
Legacy for Children.
Presents information about this
set of studies examining the potential
for improving child developmental
outcomes through parenting programs
designed to promote self-efficacy
and a sense of community.
- Center
for Health Care Strategies (CHCS).
Contains program information and
publications from the Enhancing
Child Development Services in Medicaid
Managed Care workgroup comprising
10 health plans and a primary care
case-management program that collaborated
to develop best practices for improving
child development services. CHCS
is a nonprofit policy resource
center that promotes high-quality
health care services for low-income
populations and people with chronic
illnesses and disabilities. Recent
publications include
Call
summary: Partnering with health
plans to improve child development
services.
(2005).
Enhancing
child development services in Medicaid
managed care: A best clinical and
administrative practices toolkit.
(2005).
- Center
for Healthier Children, Families
and Communities.
Offers program information, reports,
PowerPoint presentations, conference
materials, and other resources
for health and education professionals
and policymakers to increase awareness
of the importance of early
childhood;
promote an understanding of the
relationship between specific inputs
and child outcomes such as school
readiness;
and facilitate the provision of
high-quality, integrated health,
developmental, and educational
services to young children and
their families. The center is a
multidisciplinary program of the
UCLA School of Medicine and the
UCLA School of Public Health. Recent
reports include
Clinical
interventions to enhance infant
mental health: A selective review.
(2005).
Improving
maternal and infant mental health:
Focus on maternal depression.
(2005).
- Center
on the Social and Emotional Foundations
for Early Learning (CSEFEL).
Includes training modules and a
series of research briefs about
promoting children's social and
emotional development. With funding
from the Office
of Head Start and Child
Care Bureau,
CSEFEL aims to strengthen the capacity
of child care and Head Start programs
to promote the social and emotional
outcomes and enhance the school
readiness of children from birth
to age 5 from families with low
incomes.
- Commonwealth
Fund.
Contains program information and
an extensive collection of reports
about child
health and development.
The Commonwealth Fund is a private
foundation working to improve health
coverage and quality. Recent publications
and resources include
Beyond
referral: Pediatric care linkages
to improve developmental health.
(2006).
Building
a bridge from birth to school:
Improving developmental and behavioral
health services for young children.
(2003).
High-performing
system for well-child care: A vision
for the future.
(2006).
How
to develop a statewide system to
link families with community resources:
A manual based on Connecticut's
Help Me Grow initiative.
(2006).
Parental
depression screening for pediatric
clinicians: An implementation manual.
(2007).
Practical
guide for healthy development.
(2006).
Promoting
healthy development survey: Implementation
guidelines for health systems.
(2006).
Studying
and tracking early child development
from a health perspective: A review
of available data sources.
(2006).
The Commonwealth Fund
also supported Practical
Guide for Healthy Development, a
set of six online learning modules
designed to help primary care health
professionals develop office systems
to ensure that services provided
to families are timely and appropriate.
Topics include developmental screening
and surveillance, family psychosocial
screening and surveillance, eliciting
parents' concerns, anticipatory guidance
and parental education, and linking
with the community.
Also see the National
Academy for State Health Policy
(NASHP) for
information about the program,
Assuring Better Child Health and
Development (ABCD). The program
is funded by the Commonwealth
Fund.
- Developmental
Behavioral Pediatrics Online (dbpeds.org).
Contains resources for health professionals
about child development and behavior,
especially in the medical setting.
Includes forms, checklists, and
other screening tools; online tutorials;
and articles to support improvement
in developmental and behavioral
screening, surveillance, and identification
of disabilities. dbpeds.org is
affiliated with AAP's Section on
Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.
- Developmental
Screening Toolkit for Primary Care
Providers.
Presents information for primary
care health professionals considering
beginning to screen or planning
to begin screening children for
developmental needs using a validated
tool. Addresses the issues of time,
resources, and budget, and includes
an online videotape of health professionals
at Children's Hospital Boston who
describe their experiences with
implementing a screening program.
- Enhancing
Developmentally Oriented Primary
Care Project (EDOPC).
Offers training curricula and self-study
guides for health professionals
to improve the delivery and financing
of preventive health and developmental
services for infants and young
children from birth to age 3. EDOPC
is a partnership of several health
associations including the Ounce
of Prevention Fund.
Recent resources include
Social
and emotional development: Screening
strategies for primary care
providers.
(2007).
- First
Signs.
Offers information to health professionals
and educators about the importance
of early detection and intervention
of autism spectrum disorders and
other developmental and behavioral
disorders. Lists key social, emotional,
and communication milestones for
young children (birth to age 3)
and describes critical warning
signs for when a child is at risk
for developmental delays and disorders.
Resources include an educational
videotape, a developmental milestones
wall chart, validated screening
tools, screening guidelines, an
early intervention referral guide,
and brochures for families. First
Signs is a national, nonprofit
organization that aims to improve
screening and referral practices
and to lower the age at which young
children are identified with autism
and other developmental disorders.
- FPG
Child Development Institute (FPG).
Presents information about and
materials to support more than
40 research and outreach projects
that address parent and family
support; early care and education;
child health and development; early
identification and intervention;
equity, access, and inclusion;
and early childhood policy. FPG
is located at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Resources include
National
Center for Early Development
and Learning (NCEDL).
Offers journal articles, policy
briefs, fact sheets, case studies,
technical reports, and bibliographies
for early childhood professionals
and educators about enhancing
the cognitive, social, and emotional
development of children from
birth through age 8.
- Getting
Ready.
Offers program information and
reports about the National School
Readiness Indicators Initiative,
which worked with 17 states to
develop a comprehensive set of
school readiness indicators to
inform public policy for young
children and their families. Includes
links to reports and articles covering
a wide range of school-readiness
topics. Rhode Island KIDS COUNT
is the lead agency for this national
initiative. Publications include
Getting
ready: Findings from the National
School Readiness Indicators
Initiative, a 17 state partnership.
(2005).
- Healthy
Child Care America.
Offers resources for families,
health professionals, and child
care providers about identifying
and ensuring high-quality early-education
and child care for young children
that improves their health and
promotes their development and
learning. Healthy Child Care America
is administered by the American
Academy of Pediatrics.
- Healthy
Steps for Young Children.
Offers information about this approach
to fostering healthy growth and
development in children from birth
to age 3 by enhancing pediatric
and family practice to address
major behavioral and developmental
issues. Includes training information,
educational materials, and protocols
for the implementation of each
of the seven program components.
Also includes links to the Healthy
Steps evaluation reports.
- National
Academy for State Health Policy
(NASHP): Assuring Better Child
Health and Development (ABCD) Program.
Contains program information and
resources to help states improve
the delivery of early child development
services for children with low
incomes and their families. ABCD
is funded by the Commonwealth
Fund.
Resources include
ABCD
Reading Room.
This collection of resources
for state policymakers focuses
on (1) relevant findings from
the science of early child development,
(2) preventive health care guidelines,
(3) promoting young children's
mental health, (4) measurement
and quality improvement in early
childhood services, (5) comprehensive
and systematic approaches to
early childhood services, and
(6) early childhood services
costs and financing strategies.
Financing
strategies for Medicaid reimbursement
of maternal depression screening
by pediatric providers.
(2006).
Improving
the delivery of health care that
supports young children's healthy
mental development: Early accomplishments
and lessons learned from a five-state
consortium.
(2006).
Key
measurement issues in screening,
referral, and follow-up care for
young children's social and emotional
development.
(2005).
Measuring
and evaluating developmental services:
Strategies and lessons from the
ABCD II consortium states.
(2006).
State
policy options to improve delivery
of child development services:
Strategies from the eight ABCD
states.
(2006).
Using
external quality review organizations
to promote young children's healthy
mental development.
(2006).
- National
Center for Children in Poverty
(NCCP).
Offers program information and
publications about its early childhood
public policy and education initiatives
on topics that include healthy
development and early
care and learning.
Resources include publication series, data
tools,
state early childhood policy
profiles,
and a child care and early-education research
database.
Located at the Mailman School of
Public Health at Columbia University,
NCCP works to identify and promote
strategies that prevent child poverty
and improve the lives of children
and families with low incomes in
the United States. A selection
of recent publications include
Early
Childhood Comprehensive Systems
that spend smarter: Maximizing
resources to serve vulnerable
children.
(2006).
Guide
to datasets for research and policymaking
in child care and early education.
(2006).
Maximizing
the use of EPSDT to improve the
health and development of young
children.
(2006).
Pathways
to early school success: Helping
the most vulnerable infants, toddlers,
and their families.
(2006).
Promoting
effective early learning: What
every policymaker and educator
should know.
(2007).
Resources
to promote social and emotional
health and school readiness in
young children: A community guide.
(2005).
Spending
smarter: A funding guide for policymakers
and advocates to promote social
and emotional health and school
readiness.
(2005).
State
early childhood policies: Improving
the odds.
(2007). Accompanying the report
are a set of state-specific
profiles.
- National
Institute for Early Education Research
(NIEER).
Offers policy briefs, fact sheets,
reports, and working papers on
early-education issues including
curricula, child development, and
the cost of quality preschool education.
Also offers an annual
report on
state preschool-education initiatives.
Publications include
Promoting
children's social and emotional
development through high-quality
preschool.
(2005). Also see the fact
sheet based
on this report.
- National
Scientific Council on the Developing
Child (NSCDC).
Presents working papers, articles,
and issue briefs with a science-based
context for understanding the potential
impact of strategic investments
in early childhood for addressing
many of our nation's most complex
social and economic challenges.
NSCDC is a multidisciplinary collaboration
comprising leading scholars in
neuroscience, early child development,
pediatrics, and economics that
aims to close the gap between what
we know and what we do to promote
successful learning, adaptive behavior,
and sound physical and mental health
for all young children. The Council
is housed at the Center
on the Developing Child at
Harvard University. Recent publications
are
Science-based
framework for early childhood
policy: Using evidence to improve
outcomes in learning, behavior,
and health for vulnerable children.
(2007).
Science
of early childhood development:
Closing the gap between what we
know and what we do.
(2007). This paper presents a set
of core developmental concepts
that have emerged from research
in neurobiology, developmental
psychology, and the economics of
human capital formation, and considers
their implications for a range
of issues in policy and practice.
This paper builds upon the landmark
report, From
Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science
of Early Childhood Development (2000).
- NCAST-AVENUW.
Offers information about training workshops
and a variety of programs and assessment
tools to help professionals work with
families on providing nurturing environments
for young children. Materials are available
for purchase online. NCAST-AVENUW is
a program at the University of Washington.
- Office
of Head Start: Early Childhood
Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC).
Offers information about Head Start,
a national program that serves
the development needs of infants
and children from birth through
age 5 and their families with low
incomes through the provision of
educational, health, nutritional,
social, and other services. In
addition to policy, program, and
training information for Head Start
program staff, the site includes
resources and information about
early child development and health,
family and community partnerships,
and program design and management.
Also included are an online
directory of
Head Start programs and fact sheets
for parents in English and Spanish
about child growth and development,
health and safety, and school readiness.
The Office
of Head Start is
part of the Administration
for Children and Families (ACF).
Also see the Early Head Start National
Resource Center (EHSNRC) at Zero
to Three.
- Ounce
of Prevention Fund.
Contains program information, reports,
fact sheets, and other materials
about the fund's efforts to foster
the healthy development of at-risk
infants, toddlers, and preschool-age
children using an innovative cycle
of family-focused programs, research,
training, policy analysis, and
advocacy to help young children
succeed in school and throughout
life. The fund is a public-private
partnership that works with families
and communities to foster optimal
child development. Recent publications
include
Children's
play is their work.
(2006).
Educare:
A catalyst for change.
(2006).
Foundations:
How states can plan and fund programs
for babies and toddlers.
(2006).
Home
visitation: Assessing progress,
managing expectations.
(2006).
Illinois'
infant toddler set-aside: What
it is and how it works to promote
school readiness.
(2006).
Raising
young children to the top of the
policy agenda: Lessons from Illinois.
(2006).
Snapshots:
Incorporating comprehensive developmental
screening into programs and services
for young children.
(2006).
- Parents
as Teachers (PAT).
Presents information about this
parent-education and family-support
program that serves families throughout
pregnancy and until their child
enters kindergarten. The program
is designed to enhance child development
and school readiness. Professional
development resources include course
descriptions, training schedules,
sample curricula, a state program
directory, and advocacy and funding
resources. PAT also presents child-development
materials for purchase online on
topics that include providing parenting
support to military families; the
developmental characteristics of
dual-language learners; supporting
immigrant and refugee families;
screening young children for health,
hearing, vision, and developmental
delays; and managing ethically
challenging situations as a home
visitor. Some materials are available
in Spanish. Resources for parents
include information about the PAT
program, parenting tips, and a
list of recommended children's
books.
- Reach
Out and Read (ROR).
Offers program information and
materials for this national initiative
to promote early literacy by making
books and reading aloud part of
pediatric primary care.
- State
Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems
Grant (SECCS).
Offers information about this grant
program to assist states and territories
in their efforts to build and implement
systems that support families and
communities in promoting the health
and well-being of children from
birth to age 5 who are ready to
learn at school entry. The plans
must address the key components
of health and the medical home,
early care and education, mental
health and social-emotional development,
family support, and parenting education.
The site provides information about
and resources to support each state
ECCS component area. Also included
are a set of state ECCS plans and
materials from each of the national
grantee meetings. State EECS is
funded by the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
Also note: the National
Center for Children in Poverty
(NCCP) offers
information and publications to
strengthen and expand state ECCS.
- Technical
Assistance Center on Social
Emotional Intervention for
Young Children (TACSEI).
Offers fact sheets, policy briefs,
research syntheses, and teaching
and training tools for early childhood
professionals on evidence-based
recommendations for positive behavior
support. TACSEI is funded by
the Department
of Education to
promote the use of evidence-based
practice to meet the needs of young
children who have, or are at risk
for, problem behavior. Recent publications
include
Program-wide
positive behavior support: Supporting
young children's social-emotional
development and addressing challenging
behavior.
(2005).
Promoting
social, emotional and behavioral
outcomes of young children served
under IDEA.
(2007).
Recommended
practices: Linking social development
and behavior to school readiness.
(2005).
- United
Way Success By 6®. Presents
program information and materials
about this network of early childhood
coalitions focused on improving
school readiness through community
change.
- Zero
to Three.
Provides a wealth of research-based
resources to promote the healthy
development of infants and toddlers
by supporting and strengthening
families, communities, and those
who work on their behalf. Select
the topics, Early
Childhood Mental Health and Social
Emotional Development,
for extensive lists of materials
for parents, early childhood professionals,
and policymakers. Recent publications
and initiatives include
Building
system capacity: Improving infant
and early childhood mental health
in Philadelphia.
(2006).
Helping
young children succeed: Strategies
to promote early childhood social
and emotional development.
(2005).
Early
Head Start National Resource Center
(EHSNRC).
Provides conference materials and
publications to support Early Head
Start (EHS) programs in their effort
to design and implement high-quality
services to pregnant women and
families with infants and toddlers.
Child development, infant mental
health, early literacy, and school
readiness are topics addressed.
Includes an EHS program locator.
EHSNRC is funded by the Office
of Head Start.
Magic
of Everyday Moments.
Highlights developmental milestones
from birth to 3, including social-emotional
skills, and shows how parents can
support their children's healthy
development through everyday interactions
and routines.
National
Infant and Toddler Child Care Initiative.
Presents information about infants,
toddlers, and their families and
the child care system that serves
them in each state and territory.
Also includes state and territory
action plans for improving infant
and toddler child care and publications
about improving early learning
and early care as a foundation
for school readiness. Funded by
the Child
Care Bureau,
the initiative works collaboratively
with Child Care and Development
Fund (CCDF) administrators and
other partners in their efforts
to move forward system initiatives
to improve the quality and supply
of infant and toddler child care.
- Also see General
Resources and Resources
for Families.
Both sections contain Web sites and
electronic publications relevant
to the social and emotional development
of infants and young children. See
also the Collaborative
for Academic, Social and Emotional
Learning (CASEL), Child
Trends DataBank, Children,
Youth and Families Education and
Research Network (CYFERnet), and
the Educational
Resources Information Center (ERIC)
Database.
- Additional Electronic
Publications
- Calman LJ, Tarr-Whelan
L. 2005. Early
childhood education for all: A wise
investment.
New York, NY: Legal
Momentum.
This report brings together research
and state experience to show that high-quality
early childhood education benefits
children from all social and economic
groups and enhances economic development.
This report is based on recommendations
arising from Economic Impacts of Child
Care and Early Education: Financing
Solutions for the Future, a conference
sponsored by Legal Momentum's Family
Initiative and the MIT Workplace Center.
- Center
for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA.
2006. Preschool
programs: A synthesis of current
policy issues.
Los Angeles, CA: Center for Mental
Health in Schools. This issue brief
highlights basic issues that permeate
public policy discussions of pre-kindergarten
programs: the benefits vs. the costs,
the public financing of pre-kindergarten
programs, and universal preschool.
- Center
on Media and Child Health.
2005. The
effects of electronic media on children
ages zero to six: A history of research.
Menlo Park, CA: Henry
J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
This issue brief provides an overview
of the major research that has been
conducted over the decades on various
aspects of young children's media
use, and it highlights the issues
that have not been researched to
date.
- Committee
for Economic Development. 2006.
Economic
promise of investing in high-quality
preschool: Using
early
education to improve economic growth
and the fiscal
sustainability of states and the
nation. Washington, DC: Committee
for Economic Development. This
report presents economic
evidence
that justifies increasing investments
in preschool.
- National
Institute of Child Health and Human
Development (NICHD).
2006. NICHD
study of early child care and youth
development: Findings for children
up to age 4 1/2 years.
Rockville, MD: National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development.
This booklet describes the findings
of a study about different non-maternal
child care arrangements for infants
and children from birth to age 4
1/2, about children and families
who use these arrangements and those
who do not, and about child outcomes.
- Rouse C, Brooks-Gunn
J, McLanahan S, eds. 2005. School
readiness: Closing racial and ethnic
gaps. The
Future of Children (Vol
15, No. 1). This issue focuses on children's
lives before they enter school and
considers family socioeconomic status,
parenting, child health, maternal health
and behaviors, and preschool experiences
in an effort to understand how to close
racial and ethnic gaps in educational
outcomes.
- Schulman K, Blank H.
2007. Close
to home: State strategies to strengthen
and support family, friend, and neighbor
care. Washington,
DC: National
Women's Law Center.
This report offers a summary of research
and an array of state policies that
target child care provided by family,
friends, and neighbors (FFN) in an
effort to improve FFN providers' capacity
to offer high-quality care that promotes
children's successful development.
- Shonkoff
J, Phillips D, eds. 2000. From
neurons to neighborhoods: The science
of early childhood development.
Washington, DC: National
Academies Press.
This landmark report examines how we
can use our knowledge of early childhood
development and the effect of family,
child care, and community environments
within which a child grows to assure
the well-being of all young children
for their own sake as well as for the
sake of our nation. The report issues
a series of challenges to policymakers
regarding the quality of child care,
issues of racial and ethnic diversity,
and the integration of children's cognitive
and emotional development among other
issues.

School-Age
Children
This section presents
resources about promoting the social
and emotional development of school-age
children and includes resources that
address social and emotional learning
as part of school and after-school programs.
Several resources are applicable to adolescents
as well as school-age children.
- Web Sites
- Afterschool
Investments. Provides
tools and materials for Child Care
and Development Fund (CCDF) grantees,
state and local leaders, and after
school providers supporting after
school program efforts. Includes
tables that highlight important
characteristics about the school-age
population, as well as how CCDF
supports after school care. This
is a joint initiative between The
Finance Project and
the National
Governors Association with
support from the Child
Care Bureau.
A selection of recent resources
include
Afterschool.gov.
Offers a wealth of information
about federal resources that support
children and adolescents during
out-of-school time. Resources
address how to finance, operate,
and sustain an after school program;
program activity ideas for children
and adolescents; Web sites and
reports about the after school
field; and information about youth
development programs
that can inform after school programming.
Linking
and learning: Lessons for afterschool
from early childhood system-building
efforts.
(2006).
Making
smart investments in afterschool:
A policy primer for state and local
leaders.
(2006).
Promoting
quality in afterschool programs
through state child care regulations.
(2006).
Also see State
Afterschool Profiles.
- Character
Counts! Offers
information and resources about
this character-education program
for children and adolescents that
can be used by parents, teachers,
coaches, and community leaders.
The program is based on six pillars
of character: trustworthiness,
respect, responsibility, fairness,
caring, and citizenship.
- Collaborative
for Academic, Social and Emotional
Learning (CASEL). Contains
information about and materials
to support evidence-based social,
emotional, and academic learning
as an essential part of education,
from preschool through high school.
Presents research demonstrating
the positive impacts of social
and emotional practices on students'
academic achievement, on reducing
high-risk behaviors, and on promoting
positive adolescent development.
Resources include journal articles,
program guides, book lists, and
tools for working with families.
Recent publications include
Impact
of after-school programs that
promote personal and social
skills.
(2007).
Sustainable
schoolwide social and emotional
learning (SEL): Implementation
guide and toolkit.
(2006).
- National
Association of School Psychologists
(NASP): Success
In School/Skills for Life.
This online resource for parents,
teachers, and students offers a
series of fact sheets about academic,
emotional, and social development
in children and adolescents. The
topics rotate throughout the school
year and include materials in Spanish.
- Also see General
Resources and Resources
for Families.
Both sections contain Web sites and
electronic publications relevant
to the social and emotional development
of school-age children. Several resources
in the Adolescents section
are applicable to school-age children.
See also Child
Trends DataBank, Children,
Youth and Families Education and
Research Network (CYFERnet), the Educational
Resources Information Center (ERIC)
Database,
and the State School Health Policy Database.
- Additional Electronic
Publications
Adolescents
This section presents
resources that address scientific research
about adolescent development; interdisciplinary
models of physical and behavioral health
care for adolescents; and approaches
for developing, supporting, and sustaining
youth development programs. Several resources
are applicable to school-age children
as well as adolescents.
- Web Sites
- CDC's
Healthy Youth! Adolescent Health.
Offers program information, statistics,
and an annotated list
of publications by
CDC and other organizations about
adolescent health and development.
Includes tools to help schools
promote healthy and safe behaviors
among students. Also presents the Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance System
(YRBSS), which
monitors health risk behaviors
that contribute markedly to the
leading causes of death, disability,
and social problems among adolescents
and adults in the United States.
Initiatives include
National
Initiative to Improve Adolescent
Health.
Links to information and resources
about this public-private partnership
that aims to protect and promote
adolescent health and well-being
by fostering cooperation among
different partners, including
states, for attaining critical
health objectives for adolescents
and young adults.
- Finance
Project: Information Resource Center.
Offers access to a wealth of information
on policies, programs, and financing
strategies for initiatives striving
to improve the lives of children,
families and communities. Resources
focus on promising practices, guides
to federal funding, out-of-school
time, supporting and sustaining
adolescent programs, and adolescents
who are transitioning out of foster
care. The Finance Project is a
nonprofit firm that helps leaders
make smart investment decisions,
develop sound financing strategies,
and build solid partnerships that
benefit children, families, and
communities. A selection of recent
publications includes
Costs
of out-of-school time programs:
A review of the available evidence.
(2006).
Creating
dedicated local and state revenue
sources for youth programs.
(2007).
Finding
funding: A guide to federal sources
for youth programs.
(2007).
Guide
to successful public-private partnerships
for youth programs.
(2007).
Improving
state coordination of youth workforce
development services.
(2006).
Thinking
broadly: Financing strategies for
youth programs.
(2007).
- Forum
for Youth Investment.
Offers program information about
efforts to improve education, out-of-school
time, adolescent development, adolescent
policy and planning, and adolescent
action to ensure that young people
have the supports, opportunities,
and services needed to prosper
and contribute where they live,
learn, work, and play. Resources
for community leaders, policymakers,
and administrators include training
tools, reports, resource guides,
meeting materials, articles, and
newsletters. Initiatives
include
Ready
by 21: All Youth Ready for College,
Work, and Life.
Offers a framework for child and
youth-focused planning and decision-making
and tools to help change makers
-- from parents to program directors
to policy makers -- optimize resources
and streamline strategies to improve
outcomes for infants, children,
and adolescents.
- Helping
America's Youth (HAY).
Presents the Community
Guide to Helping America's Youth,
an online guide to assist community
leaders in forming effective partnerships
and to provide customized strategic
planning tools and informational
resources to enhance adolescent-serving
efforts. The guide lists evidence-based
programs by relevant risk and protective
factors. HAY also links to federal
agency materials about healthy
development and well-being.
HAY is an initiative of several
federal agencies.
- Incenter
Strategies.
Offers resources to promote comprehensive,
interdisciplinary models of physical
and behavioral health care for
adolescents that are easily accessible
and appropriate. Incenter Strategies
is devoted to education, research,
policy analysis, and technical
assistance to support improvements
in the way adolescent health care
is structured and financed. Recent
publications include
Making
the case for adolescent health.
(2007).
Under
one roof: Primary care models that
work for adolescents.
(2007).
- National
Adolescent Health Information Center
(NAHIC).
Presents program information and
publications about adolescent health
research and policy on topics that
include positive adolescent development.
NAHIC is based at the University
of California at San Francisco.
Recent publications include
Family
environment and adolescent well-being:
Exposure to positive and negative
family influences.
(2006).
- National
Clearinghouse on Families and Youth
(NCFY): Youth Development.
Offers information about positive
youth development. Includes fact
sheets, outreach materials, conference
reports, online journals, Spanish-language
materials, technical-assistance
materials, and news and funding
information. Also includes an extensive
list of links to Web sites that
focus on adolescent development.
NCFY is a service of the Family
and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) of
the Administration
for Children and Families (ACF).
Resources include
Putting
positive youth development into
practice: A resource guide.
(2007).
Also see the NCFY
Literature Database.
- Search
Institute.
Presents the framework of 40
Developmental Assets,
which are positive experiences
and personal qualities considered
critical to the positive development
of adolescents. Offers information
about the institute's research,
publications, conferences, technical
assistance, and training opportunities.
Also see the Institute's initiative, MVParents.com:
Involved Parents Are The Real Heroes.
- Also see General
Resources and Resources
for Families.
Both sections contain Web sites and
electronic publications relevant
to the social and emotional development
of adolescents. Several resources
in the School-Age
Children section
are applicable to adolescents. See
also Child
Trends DataBank, Children,
Youth and Families Education and
Research Network (CYFERnet), and
the Educational
Resources Information Center (ERIC)
Database.
- Additional Electronic
Publications
- Albert B, Lippman L,
Franzetta K, Ikramullah E, Dombrowski-Keith
J, Shwalb R, Ryan S, Terry-Humen E.
2005. Freeze
frame: A snapshot of America's teens.
Washington, DC: National
Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
(NCPTP).
This report presents data about what
adolescents are doing and thinking
in several important areas: health,
family, peers and partners, school,
community, media and consumer behavior,
and religious and spiritual beliefs.
- Beatty A, Chalk R,
eds. 2006. Study
of interactions: Emerging issues in
the science of adolescence. Workshop
summary.
Washington, DC: National
Academies Press.
This report summarizes a workshop attended
by an interdisciplinary group to explore
the different strands of research that
contribute to understanding adolescent
health and development with the goal
of identifying possible means of integrating
research with policy and service needs.
A set of presentations
and background papers from
the workshop are also available.
- Office
of Applied Studies, Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration
(SAMHSA).
2007. Youth
activities, substance use, and family
income.
Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Service Administration
(SAMHSA). This report examines the
associations between adolescent activities,
adolescent substance use, and family
income among adolescents ages 12-17.
All findings presented in this report
are based on data from the 2005 National
Survey on Drug Use and Health.
- Weinberger DR, Elvevag
B, Giedd JN. 2005. Adolescent
brain: A work in progress.
Washington, DC: National
Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
(NCPTP).
The authors summarize scientific research
about brain development in adolescence
and its implications for adolescent
decision-making and behavior, including
sexual behavior.

Databases
The databases listed below
are excellent tools for identifying data,
additional literature
and research,
and programs about
promoting social and emotional
development in children and adolescents.
Many of the entries below contain tips
on how to use the databases efficiently.
Please note that databases vary in how
terms should be entered; for example,
some require quotation marks and others
don't. Enter search phrases as shown
in bold below.
- Data
- Childstats.gov.
Presents statistics and reports about
children and families, including population
and family characteristics, economic
security, health, behavior and social
environment, and education. ChildStats.gov
is a service of the Federal Interagency
Forum on Child and Family Statistics.
The Forum's annual report, America's
children in brief: Key national indicators
of well-being,
details the status of children and
families in the United States.
- Child
Trends DataBank.
Offers data briefs about social
and emotional development in children
and adolescents on topics that
include well-child visits, early
school readiness, kindergartners'
social interaction skills, parental
warmth and affection, and after-school
activities. The DataBank also contains
information about the types of
programs and interventions that
may influence particular outcomes
for child and adolescent well-being. Child
Trends is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan research
organization providing research
and data to inform decision-making
that affects children and adolescents.
- Data
Resource Center for Child and Adolescent
Health (DRC).
Provides access to and use of data
from the National Survey of Children's
Health, 2003, and the National
Survey of Children with Special
Health Care Needs, 2001. Users
can search and compare results
on over 100 indicators of child
health and well-being; view state
and regional profiles on key measures;
explore survey content relevant
to Healthy People 2010 objectives;
and compare findings at all levels
for children by age, race and ethnicity,
income, or health status. Emotional
and mental health, community and
school activities, family health
and activities, and neighborhood
safety and support are among the
health indicators addressed. DRC
is a project of the Child
and Adolescent Health Measurement
Initiative (CAHMI).
- KIDS
COUNT.
Contains information about this
national and state-by-state effort
to track the status of children
and adolescents in the U.S. Access
the KIDS
COUNT Data Book online
to generate custom graphs, maps,
ranked lists, and state-by-state
profiles of the educational, health,
and economic conditions of American
children and adolescents. KIDS
COUNT is a project of the Annie
E. Casey Foundation.
- National
Center for Children in Poverty
(NCCP): Data Tools.
Offers several databases containing
national and state statistics on
the income status, education level,
family structure, and employment
status of families and children;
information about state and federal
policies that assist families and
children with low incomes; a family
resource simulator that simulates
the impact of federal and state
work-support benefits on the budgets
of families with low to moderate
incomes, and an income converter.
- Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance System
(YRBSS): Youth Online.
Provides comprehensive results
from the YRBSS that can be viewed
by location (United States, state/territory,
or local) and health topic. The
YRBSS monitors priority health-risk
behaviors that contribute markedly
to the leading causes of death,
disability, and social problems
among adolescents and adults in
the United States. These behaviors,
often established during childhood
and early adolescence, include
tobacco use; unhealthy dietary
behaviors; inadequate physical
activity; alcohol and other drug
use; sexual behaviors that contribute
to unintended pregnancy and sexually
transmitted diseases, including
HIV infection; and behaviors that
contribute to unintentional injuries
and violence. Youth Online is a
service of CDC's Division
of Adolescent and School Health
(DASH).
- Also see Child
health USA 2006.
- Literature
and Research Databases
- Center
on Media and Child Health (CMCH):
Database of Literature.
Comprises an online catalog of
research articles examining the
relationship between media exposure
and the physical, mental, and social
health of children and adolescents.
CMCH is a joint project of Children's
Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical
School, and Harvard School of Public
Health.
- Child
Care and Early Education Research
Connections.
Offers a collection of more than
10,000 resources from the many
disciplines related to child care
and early childhood education.
Search the database by subject
term, author, or state. Use the
thesaurus to identify terms related
to social and emotional development.
Research Connections is a partnership
among the National
Center for Children in Poverty
(NCCP),
the Inter-university Consortium
for Political and Social Research,
and the Child
Care Bureau.
- Children,
Youth and Families Education and
Research Network (CYFERnet).
Presents a collection of program
and educational materials for families,
professionals, and community leaders
who work with children, adolescents,
and families. Materials address
the care and nurturing of young
children, the needs of students
from kindergarten to eighth grade,
the enhancement of social competency
and the reduction of risk behaviors
among adolescents, what parents
can do to raise healthy children,
and developing community and individual
capacity to build stronger families
and communities. Search categories
include social and emotional development.
Conduct a separate search for Spanish-language
resources. CYFERnet is a national
network of land-grant university
faculty and county extension educators
working to support community-based
educational programs for children,
adolescents, and families.
- Cochrane
Database of Systematic Reviews.
Presents systematic reviews of
a wide range of health interventions
internationally. To access the
abstracts of reviews about social
and emotional development, select
Browse Abstracts and Summaries:
By Topic. Under Select Topic, choose
Developmental, Psychosocial, and
Learning Problems. This topic category
includes the effects of social
and policy interventions that impact
the development of children and
adolescents. Click on Go to get
your results. Access to the full-text
article requires a subscription
that is available in many hospital
and university health sciences
libraries. The database is published
by the Cochrane
Collaboration,
an international nonprofit organization
based in the United Kingdom.
- Educational
Resources Information Center (ERIC)
Database.
Covers all aspects of education-related
issues through journal articles,
research reports, teaching guides,
curricula, conference papers, and
books. To identify resources on
the topic, click on Advanced Search.
In the field, Search for, select
Descriptors (from Thesaurus) and
type "Social Development" OR "Emotional
Development". Enter a publication
date range (e.g., From 2005 to
2007). Click on Search to get your
results. Narrow your search further
by adding terms from the ERIC
Thesaurus.
ERIC is sponsored by the Department
of Education.
- Maternal
and Child Health Library at
the National
Center for Education in Maternal
and Child Health (NCEMCH),
Georgetown University. Maintains
several databases to collect, manage,
and disseminate knowledge about
MCH, with special emphasis on knowledge
gained from initiatives and programs
supported by the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
The library's bibliographic database
is
MCHLine®.
Comprises an online catalog of
materials in the Maternal and
Child Health Library with several
items about this topic. A selection
of recent items is listed in a
collection of bibliographies on
topics that include adolescent
mental health,
child developmental screening,
children's mental health,
early childhood development, home
visiting and resource mothers,
mental health in primary care,
and prematurity.
The Maternal and Child
Health Library also offers organizations
and programs databases.
- National
Clearinghouse on Families and Youth
(NCFY) Literature Database.
Contains citations, abstracts,
and contact information for more
than 14,000 publications that focus
on adolescent development and family
issues.
- National
Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC).
Contains evidence-based clinical
practice guidelines and related
materials for health professionals.
Identify guidelines by entering (social
OR emotional) AND development in
the Keyword field of the detailed
search form.
Scroll down on the search form
to select Age of Target Population
(e.g., Adolescent, Child, Infant)
and Publication Date. Hold down
the control key (ctrl) or Apple
command key and click your mouse
to make multiple selections. The
database is an initiative of the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality
(AHRQ).
- PubMed.
Contains over 16 million citations
for biomedical articles that date back
to the 1950s. These citations are from
MEDLINE and additional life sciences
journals. PubMed includes links to
sites providing full-text articles
and other related resources. To identify
articles on the topic, enter the term child
development OR adolescent development in
the search box. Then, click on Limits
and make the following selections on
the page: select a date (e.g. Published
in the last 2 years); click on Humans;
click on Languages: English; click
on Ages: All Child; and select Tag
Terms: MeSH Major Topic. Add search
terms to further limit the search (e.g., (child
development OR adolescent development)
AND poverty). PubMed is a service
of the National
Library of Medicine (NLM).
- Programs
Databases
- Afterschool
Investments: State Afterschool
Profiles.
Contains profiles of statewide
after school initiatives in each
state, which can occur before and
after school, on weekends, and
during summer months. Search the
database by state or by type of
initiative, such as programs that
take place in a particular setting,
target a selected audience, highlight
a method of collaboration, or employ
a specific financing or policy
strategy.
- Maternal
and Child Health Library at
the National
Center for Education in Maternal
and Child Health (NCEMCH),
Georgetown University. Maintains
two databases to identify organizations
and programs focusing on social
and emotional development in children
and adolescents:
MCH
Organizations Database.
Lists over 2,000 government,
professional, and voluntary
organizations involved in MCH
activities, primarily at a national
level. To identify organizations
on the topic, type "child
development" in the keyword
field of the database
search form.
Conduct another search and type "adolescent
development" in the keyword
field. Also see the library's
collection of organizations
resource lists on topics
that include parenting, adoption
and foster care, and child
care.
MCH
Projects Database.
Comprises an online catalog of
projects funded by the Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) through
October 1, 2002. To identify projects
related to the topic, type "child
development" in the abstract
field of the database
search form.
Conduct a second search by typing "adolescent
development" in the abstract
field of the database
search form.
Also see MCH
Training Program: Developmental-Behavioral
Pediatrics.
- National
Association of State Boards of
Education (NASBE): State School
Health Policy Database.
Comprises a collection of state laws and policies in key areas of school health. Click on View by Topic. Scan the categories in the left sidebar and choose a topic (e.g., Emotional, Social, and Mental Health Education).
- State
Early Childhood Policy Profiles.
Integrates state-specific information
about health and nutrition, early
care and learning, and parenting
support policies while also presenting
an overview of a state's efforts
to promote healthy development
and school readiness. This framework
was created by the National
Center for Children in Poverty
(NCCP) with
input from national early childhood
development experts and the Birth
to Five Policy Alliance.
State policy officials representing
child care, pre-kindergarten, and
MCH reviewed the state profiles
for accuracy.
- Also see the Promising
Practices Network (PPN) on Children,
Families, and Communities, Helping
America's Youth (HAY),
and the National
Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP):
Data Tools.

Resources
for Families
- 15+
Make Time to Listen ...Take Time
to Talk.
Gives advice and materials to parents
on how to strengthen their relationship
with their child or teen and guide
them toward more positive, skill-enhancing
activities and friendships by focusing
at least 15 minutes of daily, undivided
time on each child or teen. Also
see the companion resource, Listening
Dads Are Champs.
- About
Our Kids: Parent Letter.
Gives parents tips and advice on
special topics relevant to school-age
children and teens. Articles are
written in English, Spanish, Chinese,
and Korean. An example of a recent
article is
How
parents can facilitate social
success for their children.
(2007).
- American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
Gives information about child and
adolescent developmental
stages that
is organized by age. Also gives
information about behavioral
and mental health on
topics that range from a death
in the family to anger in young
children.
- American
Psychological Association (APA)
Help Center. Gives
information in English and Spanish
about work and school, family and
relationships, health and emotional
wellness, and talking to a psychologist.
- Building
Blocks for a Healthy Future.
Gives tips, materials, and ideas
for helping children ages 3 to
6 to grow up making healthy decisions.
- Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC): Child Development. Gives
child-development information and
positive parenting tips by age
group.
- Developmental
Behavioral Pediatrics Online (dbpeds.org).
Presents handouts for
families on child development topics
such as school readiness, social
skills, and developmental milestones.
- Family
Guide to Keeping Youth Mentally
Healthy and Drug-Free.
Gives articles and other materials
aimed at supporting the efforts
of parents to promote mental health
and prevent the use of alcohol,
tobacco, and illegal drugs among
7- to 18-year-olds. Presents information
about talking with children and
teens, getting involved, setting
rules, being a role model, teaching
children and teens to choose friends
wisely, and monitoring the activities
of children and teens.
- First
5 California.
Offers tip
sheets for
parents about child development
and school readiness in English,
Spanish, Armenian, Chinese, Farsi,
Khmer, Korean, Laotian, Russian,
and Vietnamese.
- First
Signs.
Lists key social, emotional, and
communication milestones for young
children (birth to age 3) and describes
critical warning signs for when
a child is at risk for developmental
delays and disorders. Gives information
about the screening, referral,
diagnosis, and treatment process.
- girlshealth.gov.
Gives girls facts about taking care
of their bodies. Self-esteem, body
image, stress, and relationships are
some of the topics covered.
- Helping
Your Child Series.
Features lessons and activities
in English and Spanish for parents
to help their preschool and school-aged
child master reading and other
subjects, understand the value
of homework, and develop the skills
and values necessary to achieve
and grow in school and life.
- KidsHealth.
Presents health information for parents,
teens, and kids on topics that include
emotions and behavior, growth and development,
and positive parenting. Information
is also available in Spanish.
- Learn
the Signs. Act Early.
Gives information in English and
Spanish about developmental milestones
for infants and children from birth
to age 5 and a list of signs that
could indicate a developmental
delay.
- MEDLINEplus.
Gives links to information in English
and Spanish about infant
and toddler development, child
development, teen
development,
and parenting,
among many other health-related topics.
- MVParents.com:
Involved Parents Are The Real Heroes.
Offers information, tips, and ideas
in English and Spanish for parents
about raising responsible children
and adolescents. Resources are
based upon a framework called Developmental
Assets®,
40 essential building blocks of
healthy development that help all
young people grow up to become
healthy, caring, and responsible
adults. MVParents is an initiative
of the Search
Institute.
- Talking
with Kids About Tough Issues.
Gives tips and suggests techniques
for parents to communicate more
easily with their child about difficult
issues, like sex, HIV/AIDS, violence,
and alcohol and drug abuse.
- Technical
Assistance Center on Social
Emotional Intervention for
Young Children (TACSEI).
Offers handouts for families about
dealing with young children who
have, or are at risk for, problem
behavior. Recent publications include
Positive
solutions for families: Eight
practical tips for parents of
young children with challenging
behavior.
(2006). This fact sheet for
parents is also available in Spanish.
- Whole
Child.
Presents articles, tips, video
clips, and activity ideas about
development from birth to age 5
for parents and early childhood
educators. Social and emotional
development is addressed.
- See the Bright
Futures materials, What
to expect and when to seek help:
Bright Futures developmental tools
for families and providers (2006).
These tools are available in English
and Spanish.
- These Web sites also
have information for families: Healthy
Child Care America, Office
of Head Start: Early Childhood Learning
and Knowledge Center (ECLKC), Parents
as Teachers (PAT), Zero
to Three, Character
Counts!,
and the National
Association of School Psychologists
(NASP).

Author: Susan Brune Lorenzo,
M.L.S., Maternal and Child Health Library.
Reviewers: Lauren Agoratus, M.A., Parent
and N.J. Coordinator for Family Voices
and the Family-to-Family Health Information
Resource Center at the Statewide Parent
Advocacy Network; Alicia Becker, Division
of Specialized Care for Children, University
of Illinois at Chicago; Marie C. D'Amico,
M.P.H., Educational Services, Inc.; Rochelle
Mayer, Ed.D., National Center for Education
in Maternal and Child Health; Olivia Pickett,
M.A., M.L.S., Maternal and Child Health
Library.
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