Good child care matters for families; it also makes a difference in the bottom line. Noting that too many children are entering school ill-prepared, the Business Roundtable and Corporate Voices for Working Families are urging lawmakers to protect funding for preschool programs for 3- and 4-year-olds in these tight times. They argue that a government commitment to early childhood education is essential to America's efforts to improve education and develop a world-class workforce.

Finding resources for after-school programs is only part of the problem; getting them running where they're most needed is also important. Philadelphia is using data mapping to get the right programs in the right place.

How much child care workers are paid and their experiences within the subsidy system impact their willingness and ability to serve low-income families, according to the nonpartisan Urban Institute in this February 2003 article.

Many teens' after-school schedules are full with work, school and family responsibilities, but in some neighborhoods far too many have no place to go, nothing to do and no one to be with. The Forum for Youth Investment takes a look at a neglected frontier for after-school advocates in this January 2003 report.

For a significant number of children, bad oral health is a painful and chronic reality. This November 2002 National Governors Association brief describes what states can do to ensure these children have regular access to competent care and prevention.

This Ounce of Prevention Foundation brochure summarizes what we know about the early emotional development of young children, what places them at risk, what signs to look for, and how policymakers can support early childhood mental health strategies that respond to the needs of children under five and their families.

This report funded by the Packard Foundation offers concrete suggestions, from educating parents about safely storing guns to training health providers on the signs of substance abuse among parents and advocating for a refundable pre-tax child credit.

The most recent Afterschool Alliance poll finds that nine out of ten voters support out-of-school programs because they provide safe environments and educational opportunities for kids.

According to this Education Week report, low-income students will be at greater risk than their affluent counterparts because they tend to start school with fewer academic skills, their parents are less able to help with homework and their schools tend to have fewer resources.

Even if your youth program can't afford a full-fledged independent evaluation, you can still set up systems to assess how well you are reaching your objectives. This "Promising Practices" article is one of several on ways to measure your impact through "reflective evaluation" in the Fall 2002 issue of the Harvard Evaluation Exchange.