The "Early Childhood Public Engagement Campaign" plans to go beyond a media call for action, however. A sustained push, over many months and in many venues, is under way to foster and promote child-focused programs at every level of government--from Washington, to state capitols to city halls.
The effectiveness of the campaign will depend in large part on its ability to show the public concrete evidence regarding the importance of the first three years of life for the individual child and its family, the implications of these early years of development for the larger community, and the capacity of public- and private-sector programs to turn this development in a positive direction.
With funding from the California Wellness Foundation, RAND will analyze existing evidence in these three areas and provide an objective assessment of the strength and implications of that evidence. RAND's task is to define and quantify--in highly specific terms--the potential benefits of early childhood interventions to children, to their parents and to society at large.
A team of researchers, led by Peter W. Greenwood and Lynn A. Karoly, will first review the many studies that have documented the impact of these programs. Using computer models and other analytic tools, they will then pull together the findings to show the specific nature of the expected benefits; the magnitude in dollar, or other, terms; and the time stream of each benefit (whether it comes early or later in life). This synthesis will be published in a form that is both understandable to a lay audience and supportable by science.
The following are examples of potential benefits of early childhood programs:
An interim report will be available by the end of April, in time for the campaign kickoff--an hour-long, ABC Prime Time Special on the first three years of life, being produced and directed by Rob Reiner. Some of RAND's findings will be highlighted in the program.