Investing in our children : what we know and don't know about the costs and benefits of early childhood interventions / / Lynn A. Karoly ... [et al.].

• Author: California Wellness Foundation.
• TeilnehmendeR: Karoly, Lynn A., 1961-; California Wellness Foundation.; Criminal Justice Program (Rand Corporation); Labor and Population Program.
• Year of Publication: 1998
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (185 p.)
• Notes: "Funded by a grant from The California Wellness Foundation."

There is increasing evidence that the first few years after birth are particularly important in child development and present opportunities for enrichment but also vulnerabilities do to poverty and other social stressors. Elected officials have begun proposing potentially costly programs to intervene early in the lives of disadvantaged children. Have such interventions been demonstrated to yield substantial benefits? To what extent might they pay for themselves through lower welfare and criminal justice costs incurred by participating children as they grow into adults? This study synthesizes

Table of Contents

Cover; Preface; Contents; Figures; Tables; Summary; Acknowledgements; Chapter One - Introduction; The Importance of Early Childhood Education; What is Early Intervention?; Goals and Approaches of This Study; Organization of This Report; Chapter Two - Targeted Early Intervention Programs and Their Benefits; The Origins of Early Intervention; From Theory to Practice: Determining Which Interventions Work; Historical Review of Targeted Early Intervention Programs; First Models for Targeted Early Intervention Programs; The Next Generation of Targeted Early Intervention Programs

More Recent Models of Targeted Early Intervention Summary of Findings; Chapter Three - Comparing Costs, Savings, and Benefits; Programs Selected for Analysis; Comparing Program Costs to the Government Savings the Programs Generate; Additional Monetary Benefits to the Rest of Society; Sensitivity of Results to Discount Rate; Findings from Cost-Savings and Cost-Benefit Analyses; Chapter Four -Issues Relevant to Investment Decisions; What We Know About Early Childhood Intervention; What We Don't Know About Early Childhood Intervention; Next Steps for Research and Policy

Appendix A - Calculation of the Costs and Benefits of the Elmira Prenatal/Early Infancy Project Appendix B - Calculation of the Costs and Benefits of the Perry School; References