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Clearinghouses   Government Links   Kids and Trauma   Legislative Updates   Libraries   ListServes   Newsletters   Organization Links   Publications   Research & Reports Keeping Current Publications Adventures in Parenting Adventures in Parenting is a no-frills approach to parenting from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Based on decades of scientific research on parenting, Adventures in Parenting gives parents the tools they need to make their own decisions about parenting. This booklet includes real-world examples and stories about how some parents use Adventures in Parenting in their own daily parenting activities. A Vision for the Children: Child Care in the Year 2000 This Child Care Bulletin looks at what can be done to expand and improve child care services to meet the needs of children and families across the country. It explores the definition of high quality care and offers examples of exciting and successful programs across the country. Board of Directors Child Care Resource Book-GSA This GSA resource book can serve as a guide for developing a Nonprofit Board which contracts for child care services. Specific steps are outlined and sample documents are provided to assist agencies that are starting Boards and opening centers. Even if you aren't in a Federal center you will still get lots of great ideas from this resource book! Child Care Fundraising Ideas Fundraising for child care centers is allowed and encouraged on Federal property. You are still bound by the Federal Property Management Regulations, so always have your proposed plans approved through the Property Management Center or your building's manager. Caring for Our Children--2002 Caring for Our Children:National Health and Safety Performance Standards, Second Edition, 2002 is now available. This includes a comprehensive set of health and safety standards for high quality child care services. Child Care Bulletin The Child Care Bulletin is published by the National Child Care Information Center under the direction of the Child Care Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services. It focuses on one topic per issue. You can get on their mailing list or view back issues on this site. Child Care Center Design Guide GSA has developed a child care center design guide based on years of experience to find out what works. This guide can help you make plans to design and furnish your center. Child Care and Education Parents are concerned about obtaining the best care and education for their children from infancy to adulthood. This page guides users to helpful information about education from preschool through the college level. Consumer Product Safety Review Link to the most recent Consumer Product Safety Review Publication. CPSC Commission Publications Link to the latest CPSC publications by the topic, title, or category. CPSC Guide to Public Information This Guide explains what kind of information is available from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and how to find it. DoD, Child-care test program provides peace of mind A test program began recently at 25 Air Force installations designating a special-care provider for children who are mildly ill -- children who would, under Air Force rules, not be allowed to stay in base child-care facilities with healthy children. Early Childhood Development and Family Housing Community Interventions to Promote Healthy Social Environments: Early Childhood Development and Family Housing. The sociocultural environment influences children's health. Improved education, housing, employment, and access to health care contributes to healthy and safe environments and improved community health. The Task Force on Community Preventive Services reviewed early childhood development interventions and family housing interventions. They reviewed evidence that shows interventions effectively address sociocultural factors that influence health. Based on these reviews, the Task Force strongly recommends publicly funded, center-based, comprehensive early childhood development programs for low-income children aged 3--5 years. Early Childhood Research and Practice (ECRP) ECRP is a peer-reviewed electronic journal sponsored by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education (ERIC/EECE) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It covers topics about the development, care, and education of children from birth to approximately age 8. Early Childhood Research Quarterly Sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, Early Childhood Research Quarterly includes articles presenting significant research and scholarship on all topics related to the care and education of children from birth through 8 years. Articles reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the field and of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, a professional organization with over 100,000 members. Education for Four-Year-Olds State Initiatives How did five states manage a major shift in education policy by establishing state-funded pre-K programs? Officials in Georgia, Illinois, New York, South Carolina and Texas were interviewed. Includes lessons learned and recommendations for states thinking about beginning or extending pre-K programs. Also read the supplement to this report. It continues and extends the earlier study by examining the development of Prekindergarten policy in California and Ohio. Enhancing the Transition to Kindergarten—Linking Children, Families and Schools This new manual explains what communities can and are doing to form social networks between children and teachers, children and their peers, parents and teachers, and preschool teachers and kindergarten teachers so that kids and families can make a smooth transition into kindergarten. FAA Guide For Childcare Center Board of Directors The FAA Guide For Child Care Center Board of Directors deals with communication issues, parent support, and much more! FAA Guide For Quality Child Development Center Curriculum The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FM) are committed to quality programming in DOT/FM childcare centers consistent with the national accreditation standards established by the Academy of Early Childhood Programming. The FAA Guide for Quality Child Development Center Curriculum is designed to help achieve that goal. Facility Management Child Care Resource Book With over 110 centers, the General Services Administration has years of experience taking care of child care centers. This resource book gives you tips and checklists for cleaning, equipment, maintenance, safety and health, playgrounds, and more. You will save yourself hours of research if you start right here! Family-Centered Child Care Promoting Family-Centered Child Care is a publication from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Family-centered child care begins with the premise that families are the center of children's lives. Programs that are family-centered reflect and respect the unique characteristics of all members of a child's family. This includes not only the child and the child's mother and father, but also all other significant adults who are involved in caring for the child. This publication explains the concept of family-centered child care and recommends additional readings. Family Child Care The National Child Care Information Center has compiled a list of publications, organizations, links, and State Family Child Care Associations to help you find out more about family childcare. Guide For Implementing Child Care Legislation (PL 107-67, Sec. 630) This Guide provides Federal agencies, Federal employees, child care providers, and child care governing boards with useful information related to the child care legislation that permits agencies to spend appropriated funds, including revolving funds otherwise available for salaries, to assist their lower income employees with the costs of child care. Healthy Child Care Update: Action Steps to Support Providers Using the Healthy Child Care America Campaign's Blueprint for Action, communities can link health programs with child care. This Child Care Bulletin can be downloaded from this site. Helping Your Child Learn Science This is a brochure for parents, but you should check out the experiments here, because some of them would make neat science fair projects. You'll find lots of kitchen chemistry tricks and fun with static electricity, and don't miss "celery stalks at midnight"! Innovative Programs In Infant/Toddler Child Care This paper looks at innovative programs in infant and toddler child care in five states. Issues Of Language And Culture Impacting The Early Care Of Young Latino Children This paper focuses on the consideration of cultural and linguistic continuity for Latino children. A review of the connection between early thinking, language, and culture is briefly presented to emphasize the importance of examining the issue. A discussion of two general areas follows: the social, historical, and political reasons for many of the views held about bilingualism and Latino children; and two misconceptions about language acquisition. "It's a New World Sarge" This article looks at how military child care has changed in the last few years. It explores the military child care system as a model for quality child care. Metric Design Guide (PBS-PQ-260) The Metric Design Guide (PBS-PQ-260) designated the metric system as the preferred system of weight and measures for U.S. trade and commerce. Military Child Care Center Designs This document provides guidelines for evaluating and planning a child care site, determining programming requirements, establishing distribution needs, determining building size, and designing all outdoor and indoor spaces to support a child development program. NCCIC. Child Care Bulletin These child care bulletins dated from 1995 to 2000 provide publication information and various early childhood resources. Partnership Profiles: The Childcare Partnership Project This site describes public-private partnerships. These partnerships typically focus on new ways to expand and improve the capacity of a state or locality to meet the needs of young children and their families. Partnerships for Child Care at Nontraditional Hours Today's job market and 24-hour global economy require many employees to work shifts that begin or end before or after most child care programs open or close their doors. According to the Families and Work Institute's 1998 report on the changing workforce, at least one-third of employees are required to work nights, while fewer than 10 percent of child care centers and family child care homes operate during these hours. For parents who work nights, weekends, or holidays, finding quality child care can be a nightmare. For partnerships, the challenge is to find providers and facilities that accommodate overnight care; to staff programs during these hours; and to create activities for children on weekends and during school holidays. This site offers a sampling of successful programs during nontraditional hours. Resource and Referral This Child Care Bulletin summarized the first National Leadership Forum for Child Care Resource and Referral. The forum identified the range and scope of resource and referral services to state, communities, tribes, parents, providers, employers, and the key issues impacting these services. This issue of the Child Care Bulletin highlights the aims, strategies, and promising practices that emerged from the forum. Resources for Tribal Child Care This site lists an overview of publications available to support tribal child care, in addition it provides information and resources for child care providers. Start Early, Finish Strong: How to Help Every Child Become a Reader By starting early, we address the fact that the roots of reading take hold well before children go to school. We cannot focus only on fourth-grade reading scores as the problem, because children's reading habits and skills are already well established by that age. We now know we should start much earlier-even from birth-to develop a child's reading ability. Research shows we can improve reading achievement by starting in early childhood to build cognitive and language skills. This series of articles looks at reading in the early years-the status and the challenge as parents and early caregivers play an essential role in laying the foundations for literacy by talking and reading daily to babies and toddlers. Starting a Child Development Center This General Services Administration manual will take you step=by-step from deciding whether to open a child development center to the grand opening. This is an important starting tool for anyone in the child care business. State Child Care Regulatory Offices A directory of regulated centers and family child care homes. Study Web: Professional Development for Parents & Providers This site has many exciting learning links. Tribal Care Facilities A Guide to Construction and Renovation The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconcillation Act of 1996 allowed tribes to use Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) monies for the construction or renovation of child care facilities. This publication by the Child Care Bureau provides technical assistance to tribes concerning major areas of the construction and renovation processes. Using Science as the Hub of an Integrated Early Childhood Curriculum: The Science Start !TM Curriculum This paper describes the ScienceStart (TM) Curriculum--a science-based early childhood curriculum.