Using Prevention Research to Reduce Racial Disparities in Health Through Innovative Funding Strategies: The Case of Doula Care.

Racial disparities in maternal birth outcomes are substantial even when comparing women with similar levels of education. While racial differences in maternal death at birth or shortly afterward have attracted significant attention from researchers, non-fatal but potentially life-threatening pregnancy complications are 30-40 times more common than maternal deaths. Black women have the worst maternal health outcomes.

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.

Does early childhood education enhance parental school involvement in second grade?: Evidence from Midwest Child-Parent Center Program.

This paper examines the impact on parent involvement in second grade in the Midwest Child-Parent Centers (MCPC), a high-quality preschool-to-third-grade school reform model. A new focus of research on early childhood programs is understanding how early childhood learning gains can be sustained. Two-generation programs that provide diverse family services may be one approach.