PPN Newsletter January 2010
Listed below are recent updates to the Promising Practices Network on Children, Families and Communities website (http://www.promisingpractices.net).
WHAT'S NEW
Follow-up evaluation of Head Start program finds that most gains in cognitive development fade out by first grade
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released a follow-up to a 2005 study assessing gains made by approximately five thousand children randomly assigned to Head Start programs compared to children who did not attend Head Start programs. The 2005 study found that children made some progress on cognitive measures, particularly in pre-literacy skills. Kindergarten and first grade follow-up assessments, however, found that Head Start children's gains in these areas faded out, with the exception of small gains in vocabulary. These findings are particularly noteworthy based on the high profile that the Head Start program has in the Obama administration's efforts to promote early learning, particularly with regards to vulnerable children.
Read the news release at the Dept. of Health and Human Services website 
Read the excutive summary at the Dept. of Health and Human Services website
Teen methamphetamine use and cigarette smoking at lowest levels ever in 2009 Monitoring the Future survey
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse's 2009 Monitoring the Future survey, teens are smoking tobacco cigarettes at the lowest rates in the survey's 35-year history. Teen methamphetamine use is also at its lowest level since the question was introduced on the survey in 1999, and teens' perceptions of the harmfulness of certain illicit drugs, such as LSD, heroin and cocaine, has increased. However, teens are increasingly unlikely to view alcohol and marijuana as harmful, and this was associated with a small increase in marijuana utilization among eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade students. Also noteworthy is the continuing use of prescription drugs, such as the ADHD medication Adderall, for non-medical purposes. The vast majority of teens who reported using prescription drugs for non-medical purposes said that they got the drugs from a friend or relative.
Read the news release at the National Institutes of Health website
Children with special health care needs show increasing coverage under SCHIP
Despite recent expansions in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), studies have shown that there are still children who are eligible for SCHIP benefits but remain uninsured. Children with special health care needs are a particularly vulnerable population, though a recent study in Pediatrics finds that the number of SCHIP-eligible children with special health care needs who are uninsured has dropped by half between 2000 and 2005, from over 21 percent to 10 percent. The study also examined the impact of state policies on uninsurance and determined that requiring an asset test at the time of enrollment was related to higher rates of uninsurance.
Read the journal abstract at the Pediatrics website
Over one-third of sex offenders are juveniles, according to National Incident-Based Reporting System
A bulletin from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, based on the National Incident-Based Reporting System, found that juveniles account for more than one-third of individuals known to police to have committed sex offenses against minors. This runs counter to a common perception that all sex offenders are adults. Juvenile sex offenders are much more likely than adult sex offenders to commit their crime in a group, and are more likely to commit the offense in a school setting. This bulletin highlights the need to focus sexual abuse prevention efforts on juvenile as well as adult populations.
Read the bulletin at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention website
RESEARCH IN BRIEF
Listed below are research summaries that have been added to the PPN site this month.
See all in this area » Healthy and Safe Children
Head Start Impact Study: Final Report
— Jan. 2010
State School Nutrition and Physical Activity Policy Environments and Youth Obesity
— Jan. 2010
Journal abstract at American Journal of Preventive Medicine website
Adolescent Exposure to Alcohol Advertising in Magazines: An Evaluation of Advertising Placement in Relation to Underage Youth Readership
— Dec. 2009
Effects of Park Improvements on Park Use and Physical Activity: Policy and Programming Implications
— Dec. 2009
Efficacy of Sexually Transmitted Disease/Human Immunodeficiency Virus Sexual Risk-Reduction Intervention for African American Adolescent Females Seeking Sexual Health Services
— Dec. 2009
The Impact of Industry Self-Regulation on the Nutritional Quality of Foods Advertised on Television to Children
— Dec. 2009
Juvenile Arrests 2008
— Dec. 2009
Juveniles Who Commit Sex Offenses Against Minors
— Dec. 2009
A Longitudinal Population-Based Study of Factors in Adolescence Predicting Homelessness in Young Adulthood
— Dec. 2009
A National Survey of Obesity Prevention Practices in Head Start
— Dec. 2009
National Survey Tracks Rates of Common Mental Disorders Among American Youth
— Dec. 2009
Nutrition and Physical Activity Policies and Practices in Family Child Care Homes
— Dec. 2009
Preschool-Aged Children's Television Viewing in Child Care Settings
— Dec. 2009
Prescription Medication Sharing Among Adolescents: Prevalence, Risks, and Outcomes
— Dec. 2009
Recent Trends in State Children's Health Insurance Program Eligibility and Coverage for CSHCN
— Dec. 2009
Substance Use and the Treatment of Resistant Depression in Adolescents
— Dec. 2009
Survival of Children with HIV in the United States Has Improved Dramatically Since 1990s
— Dec. 2009
Teen Methamphetamine Use, Cigarette Smoking at Lowest Levels in NIDA's 2009 Monitoring the Future Survey
— Dec. 2009
Teens and Sexting
— Dec. 2009
Basic Facts About Low-Income Children: Children Under Age 3
— Nov. 2009
Basic Facts About Low-Income Children: Children Under Age 6
— Nov. 2009
Basic Facts About Low-Income Children: Children Aged 6-11
— Nov. 2009
Basic Facts About Low-Income Children: Children Aged 12-17
— Nov. 2009
Basic Facts About Low-Income Children: Children Under Age 18
— Nov. 2009
Motor Development in Very Preterm and Very Low-Birth-Weight Children From Birth to Adolescence
— Nov. 2009
The Negative Impact of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages on Children's Health
— Nov. 2009
Violence, Abuse, and Crime Exposure in a National Sample of Children and Youth
— Nov. 2009
Impact of Teen Depression on Academic, Social, and Physical Functioning
— Oct. 2009
Primary Access to Vehicles Increases Risky Teen Driving Behaviors and Crashes
— Oct. 2009
See all in this area » Children Ready for School
Head Start Impact Study: Final Report
— Jan. 2010
See all in this area » Children Succeeding in School
Juvenile Arrests 2008
— Dec. 2009
Tracking An Emerging Movement: A Report on Expanded-Time Schools in America
— Dec. 2009
State Test Score Trends Through 2007-08: Has Progress Been Made in Raising Achievement for Students with Disabilities?
— Nov. 2009
Impact of Teen Depression on Academic, Social, and Physical Functioning
— Oct. 2009
See all in this area » Strong Families
A Longitudinal Population-Based Study of Factors in Adolescence Predicting Homelessness in Young Adulthood
— Dec. 2009
Basic Facts About Low-Income Children: Children Under Age 3
— Nov. 2009
Basic Facts About Low-Income Children: Children Under Age 6
— Nov. 2009
Basic Facts About Low-Income Children: Children Aged 6-11
— Nov. 2009
Basic Facts About Low-Income Children: Children Aged 12-17
— Nov. 2009
Basic Facts About Low-Income Children: Children Under Age 18
— Nov. 2009
ABOUT OUR SUPPORTERS
The Promising Practices Network appreciates the generosity of our supporting organizations:
Annie E. Casey Foundation
The California Wellness Foundation
The Colorado Trust
The Community Foundation of Shreveport-Bossier
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
Family Communications, Inc. (FCI)
Family and Community Trust
Georgia Family Connection Partnership
Grantmakers for Children, Youth and Families (GCYF)
Hands On Gulf Coast
Kansas Action for Children
KidsOhio.org
New York State Office of Children & Family Services
RAND Corporation
The Spencer Foundation
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