Reducing Disparities Beginning in Early Childhood

Research shows that many disparities in health and well-being are rooted in early childhood. These disparities reflect gaps in access to services, unequal treatment, adverse congenital health conditions, and exposures in the early years linked to elevated community and family risks. Early health risks and conditions can have long-range implications for physical, emotional, and intellectual development as well as health. Their contribution to disparities in health status, disabilities, and educational achievement is well documented. But many risks can be addressed in the early years, starting with quality prenatal care and interventions in the earliest stages of life. Thus, literally, reducing disparities begins with babies. Risks for disparate outcomes disproportionately affect young children, low-income children, and minority children. Poverty brings risks for children of all races; however, racial/ethnic status is an independent risk factor. Young children are more likely than older children to live in families without economic security. Of the 10.2 million U.S. children ages birth through 5 years, 42 percent lived in low-income families (with income below twice the federal poverty level—FPL) and 20 percent lived in poor families (income below 100 percent of FPL) in 2005. Minority young children also are overrepresented among the 2.2 million U.S. children ages birth through 5 who live in extremely poor families (income below 50 percent of FPL). The younger the child, the more harmful poverty is to developmental outcomes. Below we highlight patterns of disparities in both risks and outcomes, and access and treatment

State of the States' ECCS Initiatives

The primary purpose of the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration's (MCHB-HRSA) State Maternal and Child Health Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) grants is to assist states and territories in their efforts to build and implement comprehensive statewide systems of care that support family and community approaches to promote positive early development and early school success for young children. These grants originated with a MCHB-HRSA Strategic Plan for Early Childhood that called on State Title V MCH programs to use their leadership and convening powers to foster the development of cross-agency early childhood systems development planning. Building a more comprehensive early childhood system requires intentional efforts to bridge the gaps created by multiple, discrete funding streams for early childhood services to create a deliberate framework to foster integrated early childhood service systems at the federal, state, and community levels. This Project THRIVE Short Take summarizes the results of Project THRIVE's review and analysis of state ECCS plans, reports, and other related documents related to early childhood systems

Local Systems Development

State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) grants are designed to provide state Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Agencies and their partner organizations with small amounts of funding as an incentive for strengthening systems of care for young children and their families. States are encouraged to plan, develop, and ultimately implement collaborations and partnerships that support families and communities in the development of children who are healthy and ready to learn at school entry. But, to make a difference, integrated service strategies must work at the local level, on the ground where families live and providers practice. Therefore supporting local systems is a key strategy for ECCS grantees. Project THRIVE reviewed state ECCS plans and proposals for evidence of local systems development, and collected additional information from selected states. In our scan, we found that 38 states are developing local systems to build their Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems and to improve outcomes for children and families (see Project THRIVE Short Take No. 5, State of the States‘ ECCS Initiatives). This Short Take highlights the efforts of 10 states and illustrates various approaches for state-to-local support for developing early childhood systems

Reducing Maternal Depression and Its Impact on Young Children: Toward a Responsive Early Childhood Policy Framework

This issue brief reflects NCCP's continuing commitment to ensuring that every low-income child enters school with the skills to succeed, and that policymakers have access to the very best research to create policies that use public resources in the most effective, smartest way. It is based on a meeting convened through NCCP's Project THRIVE to identify and promote solutions to emerging issues that impact young children's healthy development and school readiness. The brief is being jointly published by Project THRIVE, through which NCCP serves as a resource to the Maternal and Child Health Bureau-funded State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) systems program and Pathways to Early School Success, NCCP's on-going project to help policymakers, program administrators and practitioners address barriers that get in the way of reducing the achievement gap for young low-income children

Pre-Pennsylvanian Rocks of Aquidneck and Conanicut Islands, Rhode Island

Guidebook for field trips to the Boston area and vicinity : 68th annual meeting, New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference, October 8-10, 1976: Trip B-1

An analysis of the variables in the decision to revert from a dual source to sole source acquisition method

This thesis examines the various methods the Navy has used to develop and foster competition. It also discusses the economic analysis of using more than one source of supply. Rising costs and budgetary pressures have forced the Navy to reexamine its acquisition process. With the impending force draw down, the Program Manager is faced with reduced quantity requirements. Since the enactment of the Competition in Contracting Act in 1984, the Navy has required the use of dual sources in major weapons systems. However, this method of acquisition may no longer be economically feasible. Faced with reduced requirements and limited resources, the Program Manager must reevaluate the costs and benefits of his acquisition method.http://archive.org/details/annalysisofvaria1094527676Lieutenant Commander, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Effect of Equilibration Time on Bovine Spermatozoa Forzen in Straws

Animal Scienc

State Indicators for Early Childhood

Virtually all State Early Childhood Comprehensive System Initiatives have adopted or identified indicators for monitoring program performance and child outcomes related to early childhood systems. These are primarily based on nationally recommended indicators or on state initiatives. However, although a functional set of indicators is needed to monitor progress of ECCS initiatives across the states, there is no one overarching set of indicators consistently being used. The challenge for states' ECCS leadership is to select an indicator set that is both comprehensive enough to monitor system developments and specific and limited enough to be useful and manageable. This Short Take reviews the characteristics of good indicators and proposes 36 indicators, based on a review of the literature, an analysis of key national indicator sets, and a comparative review of indicators set out in State ECCS reports and plans

Geochemical, Isotopic and Single Crystal 40Ar/39Ar Age Constraints on the Evolution of the Cerro Galan Ignimbrites

The giant ignimbrites that erupted from the Cerro Galan caldera complex in the southern Puna of the high Andean plateau are considered to be linked to crustal and mantle melting as a consequence of delamination of gravitationally unstable thickened crust and mantle lithosphere over a steepening subduction zone. Major and trace element analyses of Cerro Galan ignimbrites (68-71% SiO2) that include 65 new analyses can be interpreted by evolution at three crustal levels. AFC modeling and new fractionation corrected d18O values from quartz (+7.63-8.85%o) are consistent with the ignimbrite magmas being near 50:50 mixtures of enriched mantle (87Sr/86Sr ~ 0.7055) and crustal melts (87Sr/86Sr near 0.715-0.735). Processes at lower crustal levels are predicated on steep heavy REE patterns (Sm/Yb = 4-7), high Sr contents (>250 ppm) and very low Nb/Ta (9-5) ratios, which are attributed to amphibolite partial melts mixing with fractionating mantle basalts to produces hybrid melt that rise leaving a gravitationally unstable garnet-bearing residue. Processes at mid crustal levels create large negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* = 0.45-0.70) and variable trace element enrichment in a crystallizing mush zone with a temperature near 800-850ºC The mush zone was repeatedly recharged from depth and partially evacuated into upper crustal magma chambers at times of regional contraction. Crystallinity differences in the ignimbrites are attributed to biotite, zoned plagioclase and other antecrysts entering higher level chambers where variable amounts of near-eutectic crystallization occurs at temperature as low as 680ºC just preceding eruption. 40Ar/39Ar single crystal sanidine weighted mean plateau and isochron ages combined with trace element patterns show that the Galan ignimbrite erupted in more than one batch including a ~ 2.13 Ma intracaldera flow and outflows to the west and north at near 2.09 and 2.06 Ma. Episodic delamination of gravitationally unstable lower crust and mantle lithosphere and injection of basaltic magmas whose changing chemistry reflects their evolution over a steepening subduction zone could trigger the eruptions of the Cerro Galan ignimbrites.Fil: Kay, Suzanne Mahlburg. Cornell University; Estados UnidosFil: Coira, Beatriz Lidia Luisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Wörner, Gerhard. Universität Göttingen; AlemaniaFil: Kay, Robert W.. Cornell University; Estados UnidosFil: Singer, Bradley S.. University of Wisconsin; Estados Unido