This research brief is from the Institute for Research on Poverty and provides information on how the needs of children can be met while parents are working. Over the past forty years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of mothers employed, which has changed expectations for all mothers. While expectations for low-income families have changed as well, the need for work supports has increased. In particular, the funding for the Earned Income Tax Credit and child care subsidies has increased to support workers in the workplace and their families.

Over 70 percent of mothers are now in the labor force, and supporting parents in the workforce is crucial for both employers and families. Authors from the Urban Institute summarize what has been done for mitigating work-family tensions, such as paid parental/family leave, paid sick leave, workplace flexibility, child care assistance, and links to public programs. In conclusion, authors provide how supports can be expanded to support families.

The Administration for Children and Families currently funds the Early Head Start program, which is aimed at enhancing the development of infants and toddlers while strengthening families. This report includes research from the Survey of Early Head Start Programs to gain information for program improvement in Early Head Start. The results from this study include demographics of the Early Head Start program participants and information on how these programs are implemented in sites around the country.

From the Finance Project, this strategy brief gives information on the use of TANF funds to finance out-of-school programs to improve outcomes for children. Authors provide information on three strategies for out-of-school initiatives for children and innovative programs from states across the country.

Early care and education has become a reality for many young children with an increasing number of working parents in the United States. The early years for children are extremely important for future development and prove the need for high-quality early care and education for low-income families. This resource, from the Urban Institute, found that more than half of children younger than the age of six in low-income families are enrolled in early care and education programs.

From the Urban Institute, this paper reviews the use and quality of care and education that children in low-income families receive. Authors focus on these issues and provide suggestions for better supporting the development of children in low-income families before they enter the public school system. Current public policies are focused on supporting parental work, child development, and the quality of market-based settings, and many policies do not focus on all three of these issues, which are important.

This report is from the National Center on Children in Poverty, and provides information on state policy choices surrounding early childhood policies. State polices regarding early childhood are affected by federal changes in programs such as Medicaid and the Child Care and Development Fund, and this leads to variance across the country.

This report, co-authored by the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices and Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC) is based largely on a roundtable meeting conducted in April 2000 by both organizations to discuss expanding postsecondary opportunities for low-income working parents and welfare recipients.

After-school programs can play an important positive role in the academic and personal development of young people, especially in an era when many parents work full time. Launched in 1997, the Extended-Service Schools (ESS) Initiative helped establish after-school programs in 17 communities across the country, each of which adapted one of four program models to local circumstances and needs. In this report, Public/Private Ventures and MDRC present the findings from their joint evaluation of the initiative, focusing on ESS programs in six cities where intensive data collection was conducted. Among the themes examined in the report are the programs' implementation, quality, and cost and their effects on students' after-school participation and attitudes toward school.

Because meaningful improvements in literacy require more hours of instruction than most adult learners receive, low student persistence is a critical issue for providers of adult education. This interim report from the Literacy in Libraries Across America persistence study describes adult students' characteristics and patterns of participation in nine library literacy programs and examines new strategies developed by the programs to raise persistence. Based on an implementation analysis and a look at participation levels before and as the strategies were put in place, the findings highlight public libraries' advantages as providers of literacy services and point to lessons for program design and implementation.