Chicago Child-Parent Center Research Articles

Early Education and Adult Health: Age 37 Impacts and Economic Benefits of the Child-Parent Center Preschool Program.

This paper evaluates the long-term impacts of the Chicago Child-Parent Center (CPC) program, a comprehensive early childhood program launched in the 1960s, on the physical and mental health outcomes. This study follows a cohort of 1539 participants born in 1979-1980 and surveyed most recently at age 35-37 by employing a matched study design created by including all students who were enrolled in kindergarten classrooms in CPC school sites as well as entire kindergarten classrooms in a matched set of similar high-poverty schools. Using propensity score weighting that addresses potential issues with differential attrition and nonrandom treatment assignment, results reveal that CPC preschool participation is associated with significantly lower rates of adverse health outcomes such as smoking and diabetes. Further, evaluating the economic impacts of the preschool component of the program, the study finds a benefit-cost ratio in the range of 1.35 to 3.66 (net benefit: $3,896) indicating that the health benefits of the program by themselves offset the costs of the program even without considering additional benefits arising from increased educational attainment and reduced involvement in crime reported in earlier cost-benefit analyses. The findings are robust to corrections for multiple hypothesis testing, sensitivity analysis using a range of discount rates, and Monte Carlo analysis to account for uncertainty in outcomes.

Relationship between Socio-Economic Status, Interpersonal Communication, and School Climate with Parental Involvement in Early Childhood Education

Relationship between Socio-Economic Status, Interpersonal Communication, and School Climate with Parental Involvement in Early Childhood Education

A Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Tulsa Universal Pre-K Program

In this paper, benefits and costs are estimated for a universal pre-K program, provided by Tulsa Public Schools. Benefits are derived from estimated effects of Tulsa pre-K on retention by grade 9. Retention effects are projected to dollar benefits from future earnings increases and crime reductions. Based on these estimates, Tulsa pre-K has benefits that exceed costs by about 2-to-1. This benefit cost ratio is far less than the much higher benefit-cost ratios (ranging from 8-to-1 to 16-to-1) for more targeted and intensive pre-K programs, such as Perry Preschool and the Chicago Child-Parent Center (CPC) program. Comparing benefit-cost results from different studies suggests that our more modest estimates are due to two factors: 1) smaller percentage effects of pre-K on future earnings and crime in Tulsa than in Perry and CPC, and 2) smaller baseline crime rates in Tulsa than in the Perry and CPC comparison groups.

Social and Emotional Learning in Schools: From Programs to Strategies and commentaries

Social and Emotional Learning in Schools: From Programs to Strategies and commentaries

Maltreatment prevention through early childhood intervention: A confirmatory evaluation of the Chicago Child–Parent Center preschool program

Increased recognition of the consequences associated with child maltreatment has led to greater emphasis on its prevention. Promising maltreatment prevention strategies have been identified, but research continues to suffer from methodological limitations and a narrow focus on select prevention models. This investigation uses data from the Chicago Longitudinal Study to examine mediating mechanisms that link the Chicago Child–Parent Center preschool program to a reduction in overall child maltreatment and, more specifically, child neglect. We use structural equation modeling to test child, family, and school measures hypothesized to mediate the effects of CPC participation on maltreatment and neglect. Results indicate that a substantial proportion of the program's impacts can be accounted for by family support processes, including increased parent involvement in school and maternal educational attainment as well as decreased family problems. The CPC program's association with reduced school mobility and increased attendance in higher-quality schools also significantly mediated its effects on maltreatment and neglect. Further, a decrease in troublemaking behavior contributed modestly to mediating the program's association with maltreatment but not neglect. We discuss the implications of these results for the field of maltreatment prevention.

Home Visitation and Young Children: An Approach Worth Investing In? and commentaries

Home Visitation and Young Children: An Approach Worth Investing In? and commentaries

Mechanisms of effects of an early intervention program on educational attainment: A gender subgroup analysis

The purpose of the study was to explore whether the processes that account for the link between participation in the Chicago Child–Parent Center (CPC) Program and educational attainment differed by gender. Five mechanisms derived from previous studies, i.e., cognitive advantage, family support, social adjustment, motivational advantage, and school support, were investigated. The study sample included 1334 youth (682 females and 652 males) from the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate pathways of effects of preschool participation on educational attainment. Findings suggest that cognitive advantage played a more important role for males than for females, and family support played a more important role for females than for males. Motivational advantage and social adjustment hypotheses were not significant mediators for either females or males, although they contributed to the overall model fit. Motivational advantage seemed to play a more important role for males. Findings provide directions for future investigation of the two groups.

Risk Factors for Child and Adolescent Maltreatment

This study investigates associations between individual, family, and extrafamilial factors and the likelihood of subsequent childhood and adolescent maltreatment. The authors analyzed 1,411 participants in the Chicago Longitudinal Study whose maltreatment records were verified from administrative data. Findings suggest that maternal age at the child's birth was a robust predictor of maltreatment outcomes. Receipt of public assistance and single-parent family status were significantly associated with select outcomes. Among school-age indicators examined, parent participation in school was negatively associated with most maltreatment outcomes. Participation in the Chicago Child-Parent Center program was negatively associated with maltreatment, although effects varied by type and timing of maltreatment. In separate analyses, several factors were associated with neglect, but only maternal age at the child's birth was associated with physical abuse. Findings suggest that prevention programs may need to target select populations and specific mechanisms associated with different types of maltreatment to maximize effectiveness.

Educational Success and Adult Health: Findings from the Chicago Longitudinal Study

Growing evidence indicates that education is associated with health, yet we lack knowledge about the specific educational experiences influencing health trajectories. This study examines the role school factors play in the emergence of poor young adult health outcomes for a low-income, minority sample. The following research questions are addressed. First, what are the education-based predictors of daily tobacco smoking, frequent substance use, depression, and no health insurance coverage? Second, do later-occurring school factors explain the association between earlier school measures and the outcomes and, if so, what pathways account for this mediation effect? Data were derived from the Chicago Longitudinal Study, an investigation of a cohort of 1,539 individuals, born around 1980, who attended kindergarten programs in the Chicago Public Schools. Participants were followed prospectively from early childhood through age 24, and study measures were created from various data sources and multiple assessment waves. Findings from probit hierarchical regressions with controls for early sociodemographic covariates indicated that elementary school socioemotional classroom adjustment and high school completion were significantly and negatively associated with all four study outcomes. Participation in the Chicago Child Parent Center preschool program predicted lower rates of both daily tobacco smoking and no health insurance coverage (p < .05). Middle school reading achievement was inversely related to depression (p < .01), while middle school frustration tolerance was inversely associated with daily tobacco smoking and frequent drug use (p < .05). Also, negatively linked to frequent drug use was a high school measure of students' expectation to attend college (p < .01). In nearly all cases, later-occurring school factors fully mediated significant associations between earlier ones and the outcomes. Patterns of mediation were explored along with implications of results.

Early childhood intervention and early adolescent social and emotional competence: second-generation evaluation evidence from the Chicago Longitudinal Study

Background: To explore whether social or emotional outcomes for high-risk early adolescent youth that attended an established preventive intervention called the Chicago Child–Parent Center Preschool Program (CPC) are moderated by individual, family and program variations. Purpose: Two questions are addressed: (1) Do the effects of CPC preschool participation on early adolescent social and emotional competency vary by sex of child, family risk status, parent education and family structure? (2) Do estimated effects on early adolescent social and emotional competency vary by program length in the preschool and school-age components of the program? Programme description: Located in or close to elementary schools in the Chicago public school system, the CPC program provides educational and family-support services to children between the ages of 3 and 9 (preschool to 2nd or 3rd grade). Within a structure of comprehensive services similar to Head Start, the intervention emphasises the acquisition of basic skills in language arts and math through relatively structured but diverse learning experiences that include teacher-directed, whole-class instruction, small-group and individualised activities, and frequent field trips. Sample: Data for this investigation were drawn from the Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS). The CLS follows a cohort of 1539 disadvantaged, minority children (93% African-American, 7% Latino or Other) who were born in 1980 and attended kindergarten programs within the Chicago Public School System in 1985/86. Out of the full sample of 1539, a subset of 989 children (64% of the sample) received preschool services from one of Chicago's 20 Child–Parent Center (CPC) programs. An additional set of 550 children (36% of the sample) did not attend CPC preschool and serve as a non-CPC comparison group. The study sample are 1378 primarily African-American youth who participated in the CLS and had scores for two or more identifiable social and emotional competency indicators by age 15. Design and methods: Follow-up of a non-randomised alternative intervention matched-group cohort at age 15 years. Differential effects were estimated using multiple regression. Program interaction terms (e.g., program × sex or program × parent high school graduate) were added to the basic regression model specification that already included the main effects of each variable included in the interaction. Results: Some 12% (or 11 of 92) of the interaction terms for social and emotional outcomes by age 15 were significant at the 0.01 or 0.05 level. The most frequently detected differential effects were for family risk level (high or low) and sex of child. Conclusions: Most children appear to benefit equally from participation in the CPC program. The prediction from ecological theory that children experiencing a large number of environmental risk factors (e.g., high family risk status and low parental education levels) are more likely to benefit from program participation was supported.

How Poverty and Segregation Impact Child Development: Evidence from the Chicago Longitudinal Study

ABSTRACT Living in poor and segregated neighborhoods has detrimental effects on children's life chances. In an attempt to improve poor children's outcomes, the Chicago Child-Parent Center (CPC) program engages parents and their children in kindergarten and the primary grades to enhance academic achievement. This study looks further at the children's social and emotional development. In particular, it examines the moderating effect of poverty and segregation and the program's ability to enhance developmental outcomes for youth in early adolescence. Using a quasi-experimental research design, findings show that, above and beyond the main CPC impacts, those children living in high poverty and highly segregated areas fare additionally well through their CPC program participation. Effect sizes range from about 0.15 to about 0.40, depending on the outcome

We Think We Can…

AS THE school year opens and the youngest scurry around a school playground for the first time, the sounds are happy and the future seems good. Forget all the screeching about No Child Left Behind, because an exciting beginning for young children drowns out the pessimists and naysayers. But if the states are even going to come close to meeting the stringent requirements of that federal law, these youngest scholars must be part of the solution. This year is more optimistic than most, and a tyke's command to hurry is appropriate for what's happening in early childhood education. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich stepped out in front first, winning approval from the legislature for his proposal to offer preschool programs to all 3- and 4-year-old children regardless of their family income. Oklahoma and Georgia now have universal preschools for 4-year-olds, and, despite California's rejection of a referendum on prekindergarten programs, there is a momentum among state leaders for investment in preschool, and it shows no signs of weakening. At least 43 states now have some kind of pre-K program. As a preschooler might describe these state initiatives, it's a me, too time. Policy makers have obviously read the research. The payoff from high-quality preschool experiences is significant. For those who participated in the High/Scope Foundation's Perry Preschool Project, the benefits continue four decades later in the form of more stable and productive lives than those of their peers who did not have a high-quality preschool experience. Similar results have been documented in large-scale preschool programs for many years. The Abecedarian Project, started in 1972 in Chapel Hill, N.C., was year-round and comprehensive, and it followed some poor and minority children from the age of four months through second grade. The children in the program had I.Q. scores equal to the national average by age 5; those in the extended program maintained higher-than-average reading achievement at least up to age 15. In addition, children enrolled in Chicago's Child-Parent Centers, which operate pre-K through the primary grades and are now functioning at 15 sites, have higher academic achievement and graduation rates than children not enrolled in the program. Overall, according to a review of research by the Education Commission of the States, investments in early childhood education have stronger and longer-lasting benefits than remediation or class-size reduction. At a time when policy makers are looking closely at cost/benefit ratios and federal accountability mandates, investments in preschools make sense. The word at this point in the move toward universal preschools, however, needs to be Whoa! To avoid the silver-bullet mentality that characterized the recent adoption of small schools, policy makers and educators must look deeper into the reasons that particular preschool initiatives work, and they must choose judiciously where resources should really be used. Some of the answers are as delicate as they are complicated. Just providing preschool slots for all families who want them will not ensure that young children acquire the school-readiness skills and habits that policy makers have in mind. Four more steps must be taken--three obvious ones and one that most of us dance around. First, quality has to accompany opportunity. The research is clear and straightforward about what produces positive experiences for children and what wastes money. Preschools need the same high standards as K-12 schools, including teachers trained for their work, small classes, parents as real partners, appropriate curriculum, and plenty of resources. Second, policy makers need the right kind of evaluations of preschool programs, lest they make decisions based on bad information. High-stakes tests have at best limited value with this age group. Moreover, they are difficult to implement, as shown by the current experience with evaluating Head Start on the basis of children's test scores. …

Benefits and costs of investments in preschool education: Evidence from the Child–Parent Centers and related programs

We discuss the evidence on the effectiveness of preschool programs using results from three well-known intervention studies: the Chicago Child–Parent Centers, High/Scope Perry Preschool Program, and the Carolina Abecedarian Project. Results from cost–benefit analyses of other programs for younger and older children also are reported. Given that the Child–Parent Center Program is an established, large-scale preschool program for which a cost–benefit analysis has been recently completed, we focus on this program. We examine the longer-term effects in more detail and we investigate the robustness of estimates used in the cost–benefit analysis. Depending on the assumptions made, our results indicate that the benefit–cost ratio for the preschool program offered by the Child–Parent Centers ranges from $5.98–$10.15. We find strong evidence that the consistently positive economic returns of high-quality preschool programs exceed most other educational interventions, especially those that begin during the school-age years such as reduced class sizes in the elementary grades, grade retention, and youth job training.

Predictors of early childbearing: Evidence from the Chicago longitudinal study

Using prospective data from the Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS), we investigated the effects of early childhood and school-age predictors on female childbearing, including participation in the Chicago Child–Parent Center (CPC) Program, and related family and school behaviors. The CLS follows the progress of a single cohort of 1539 low-income, minority children who attended the CPCs and other public early childhood programs in 1985–1986. Birth records were obtained for 706 females (92% of original sample) from survey data collected between ages 22–24 and supplemental public aid and school records. Results from regression and survival analyses indicated that the CPC program had a limited impact on childbearing patterns. There was no evidence that preschool participation was associated with lower rates of early childbearing. CPC school-age participation was linked to significantly lower rates of multiple births by age 20. The most consistent predictor of a female's childbearing status was her parent's educational attainment. Parent involvement in elementary school, children's enrollment in magnet schools, AFDC receipt, and teacher ratings of acting out behavior also were significant predictors of early childbearing. Implications for the tailoring of future interventions are discussed.

Early Childhood Intervention and Educational Attainment: Age 22 Findings From the Chicago Longitudinal Study

This study investigated whether participation in the Chicago Child-Parent Center (CPC) Preschool Program associated with higher educational attainment (high school completion, highest grade completed, and college attendance) at age 22. The study sample included 1,334 youth (869 in the preschool group and 465 in the comparison group) from the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Probit regression was used to examine the group differences in educational attainment controlling for child and family characteristics, including gender, race/ethnicity, and family risk status. Results indicated that CPC preschool participation was significantly associated with more years of education (11.33 vs. 10.93, p < .001), a higher rate of high school completion (Diploma or General Equivalency Diploma [GED], 66.9% vs. 55.3%, p < .001), and a higher rate of college attendance (23.0% vs. 17.9%, p = .055). Only gender subgroups showed an interaction effect with program participation on high school completion among all subgroups. Males benefitted more from the preschool program than females on high school completion. Findings demonstrate that large-scale school-based programs can have enduring effects into early adulthood.

Confirmatory Program Evaluation: Applications to Early Childhood Interventions

Confirmatory program evaluation is discussed as a method for conducting theorydriven evaluations. It is an impact assessment that emphasizes the explication and testing of a priori program theories within a broad assessment of program effectiveness. Greater emphasis is given to identifying the causal mechanisms or active ingredients of intervention effects. Confirmatory evaluation approaches are applied to the field of early childhood intervention. Although significant progress in understanding the effects of early childhood interventions has occurred over the last four decades, questions remain about the causal mechanisms of change, who benefits most from which program components, and the reliability of effects for large-scale programs. Examples from the Chicago Longitudinal Study are highlighted to show how confirmatory evaluation can help validate the effects of social interventions. Studies of the Chicago Child-Parent Centers are described to emphasize how the causal criteria of coherence, specificity, and within- and between-study consistency can strengthen causal inference and generalizability.

Confirmatory Program Evaluation: Applications to Early Childhood Interventions

Confirmatory program evaluation is discussed as a method for conducting theorydriven evaluations. It is an impact assessment that emphasizes the explication and testing of a priori program theories within a broad assessment of program effectiveness. Greater emphasis is given to identifying the causal mechanisms or active ingredients of intervention effects. Confirmatory evaluation approaches are applied to the field of early childhood intervention. Although significant progress in understanding the effects of early childhood interventions has occurred over the last four decades, questions remain about the causal mechanisms of change, who benefits most from which program components, and the reliability of effects for large-scale programs. Examples from the Chicago Longitudinal Study are highlighted to show how confirmatory evaluation can help validate the effects of social interventions. Studies of the Chicago Child-Parent Centers are described to emphasize how the causal criteria of coherence, specificity, and within- and between-study consistency can strengthen causal inference and generalizability.

Pathways of long-term effects of an early intervention program on educational attainment: Findings from the Chicago longitudinal study

The present study investigated pathways that might explain the observed linkage between participation in early intervention programs and later educational attainment using a sample from the Chicago Longitudinal Study, an on-going investigation of low-income minority children growing up in high-poverty neighborhoods in Chicago. A review of literature on pathways of early intervention programs on educational attainment was provided. Five mechanisms derived from previous studies, i.e., cognitive advantage, family support, social adjustment, motivational advantage, and school support, were investigated as predictors of educational attainment at age 22 years. LISREL analyses revealed that the relation between participation in the Chicago Child–Parent Center (CPC) program in early childhood and subsequent educational attainment was best predicted by cognitive advantage effects, followed by family support and school support effects. The findings indicated that environmental factors, such as family and school, as well as personal characteristics that may be affected by the intervention, play important roles in predicting educational outcomes. The discussion focuses on how environmental factors such as promoting family-school partnerships and attention to family influences in early intervention programs might maintain and enhance the effects of early intervention so as to promote higher educational attainment much later in development.

More than teacher directed or child initiated: Preschool curriculum type, parent involvement, and children's outcomes in the child-parent centers.

This study investigated the contributions of curriculum approach and parent involvement to the short- and long-term effects of preschool participation in the Title I Chicago Child-Parent Centers. Data came from the complete cohort of 989 low-income children (93% African American) in the Chicago Longitudinal Study, who attended preschool in the 20 Child-Parent Centers in 1983-1985 and kindergarten in 1985-1986. We found that implementation of an instructional approach rated high by Head Teachers in teacher-directed and child-initiated activities was most consistently associated with children’s outcomes, including school readiness at kindergarten entry, reading achievement in third and eighth grades, and avoidance of grade retention. Parent involvement in school activities, as rated by teachers and by parents, was independently associated with child outcomes from school readiness at kindergarten entry to eighth grade reading achievement and grade retention above and beyond the influence of curriculum approach. Findings indicate that instructional approaches that blend a teacher-directed focus with child-initiated activities and parental school involvement are origins of the long-term effects of participation in the Child-Parent Centers.

Paths of effects of early childhood intervention on educational attainment and delinquency: a confirmatory analysis of the Chicago Child-Parent Centers.

This study investigated the contributions of 5 mechanisms to the effects of preschool participation in the Child-Parent Centers for 1,404 low-income children in the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Based on a matched-group design, preschool participation was associated with significantly higher rates of educational attainment and lower rates of juvenile arrest. LISREL analysis revealed that the primary mediators of effects for both outcomes were attendance in high-quality elementary schools and lower mobility (school support hypothesis), literacy skills in kindergarten and avoidance of grade retention (cognitive advantage hypothesis), and parent involvement in school and avoidance of child maltreatment (family support hypothesis). The model accounted for 58% and 79% of the preschool links with school completion and juvenile arrest, respectively. The maintenance early intervention effects are influenced by many alterable factors.