Infants, Toddlers, and Families in Poverty

Samuel L. Odom, PhD, is Director of the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) and Professor in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has published over 100 journal articles and seven books on early childhood intervention and developmental disabilities. Dr. Odom's research interests include preschool prevention and school readiness, effectiveness of programs for children and youth with autism spectrum disorders, and early intervention for infants and toddlers with or at risk for disability. He is a recipient of the Special Education Research Award from the Council for Exceptional Children.Elizabeth P. Pungello, PhD, is a Scientist at FPG, a Research Associate Professor in the Developmental Psychology Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Mentor Faculty member at the Center for Developmental Science. Her research focuses on closing the achievement gap between at-risk and other children. She helps lead the FPG Infant/Toddler Child Care Initiative in the development and evaluation of a model of high-quality center care for infants and toddlers raised in poverty.Nicole Gardner-Neblett, PhD, is an Investigator at FPG at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her main focus is the FPG Infant/Toddler Child Care Initiative, where she works to design and implement a model for infant/toddler care to promote the early learning, development, and health of children living in poverty. Her principal research interests are the effects of parenting practices and the classroom context on children's language and literacy development.

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 InstitutionSome 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 JerseyThis 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 UniversityThis 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 educationInfant 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-

• Introduction, 1. Poor and Low-Income Families, Infant/Toddler Development, and the Prospects for Change: Back to the Future, Lawrence AberI. Cognitive Development 2. The Development of Attention in Infancy and Early Childhood: Implications for Early Childhood and Early Intervention, John Colombo, Kathleen N. Kannass, Dale Walker, and Caitlin C. Brez 3. Facilitating Learning and Memory in Infants and Young Children: Mechanisms and Methods, Patricia J. BauerII. Language Development 4. How Babies Talk: Six Principles of Early Language Development, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff 5. Bilingual Language Learners, Erika Hoff and Silvia PlaceIII. Social–Emotional Development 6. The Development of Self-Regulation in Infancy and Early Childhood: An Organizing Framework for the Design and Evaluation of Early Care and Education Programs for Children in Poverty, Clancy Blair, Daniel J. Berry, and Allison H. Friedman 7. Temperament as a Tool in Promoting Early Childhood Development, John E. Bates 8. Leveraging Attachment Research to Re-vision Infant/Toddler Care for Poor Families, Lisa J. BerlinIV. Health and Physical Development 9. Nutrition and Physical Activity, Robert C. Whitaker and Rachel A. Gooze 10. Impact of Early Childhood on Health throughout the Lifespan, Barry S. ZuckermanV. Implications for Families 11. An Ecological View of the Socialization Process of Latino Children, Natasha J. Cabrera 12. Infant/Toddler Care and High-Risk Families: Quality Services for “Omitted” Children, Brenda Jones Harden, Colleen Monahan, and Meryl YochesVI. Infant/Toddler Care and Education 13. Beginnings of School Readiness in Infant/Toddler Development: Evidence from Early Head Start, John M. Love, Rachel Chazan-Cohen, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Helen Raikes, Cheri A. Vogel, and Ellen Eliason Kisker 14. Research-Based Approaches for Individualizing Caregiving and Educational Interventions for Infants and Toddlers in Poverty, Judith J. Carta, Charles Greenwood, Kathleen Baggett, Jay Buzhardt, and Dale WalkerConclusion 15. Translating Contemporary Developmental and Health Science: Designing an Early Childhood Program for Young Children and Their Families Living in Poverty, Samuel L. Odom, Elizabeth P. Pungello, and Nicole Gardner-Neblett