Dependents

RAND research on children covers the prenatal period up to age 18 and includes areas such as child health and the role of the family unit, neighborhoods, and communities in influencing child well-being. RAND's family-focused research covers additional topics such as marriage and divorce, senior care, and family finances.

Research conducted by: RAND Child Policy; RAND Health; RAND Europe; UCLA/RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion; RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment; RAND Labor and Population; RAND Gulf States Policy Institute; Initiative for Middle Eastern Youth

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Child Policy Provides Gateway to RAND Research on Children's Issues

RAND Child Policy serves as a gateway to RAND research on children's issues from prenatal to age 18 and provides easy access to objective information that will help improve policy and decisionmaking. RAND research on child policy is conducted by multiple research divisions and draws upon the expertise of over 140 researchers and consultants.

All Items (1376)

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Influence of Peers and Friends on Children's and Adolescents' Eating and Activity Behaviors — Jun 1, 2012

In this article, we synthesize the empirical literature on the influence of peers and friends on youth's eating and physical activity.

COMMENTARY

Celebrating Birth Control on Mother's Day? Not as Counterintuitive as It Sounds — May 11, 2012

Reliable birth control contributed to economic development by reducing women's risk of dropping out of school associated with early childbearing and high fertility rates, contributing in turn to increases in women's labor force participation, the continuity of their careers, and the standard of living of women, children and families, writes Chloe Bird.

PERIODICAL

RAND Review: Vol. 36, No. 1, Spring 2012 — May 11, 2012

Stories discuss Iran's nuclear threat, social security for Mexico's aging population, programs to help veterans and their families, the costs of crime and the value of police officers, psychological operations in Afghanistan, the U.S. health insurance mandate, legal representation in murder cases, marijuana legalization, U.S. competitiveness in educational achievement, and Louisiana's plan for a sustainable coast.

REPORT

How Would Programs Rate Under California’s Proposed Quality Rating and Improvement System? Evidence from Statewide and County Data on Early Care and Education Program Quality — May 1, 2012

This briefing uses existing statewide and county data to provide California early care and education quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) planners and other stakeholders with important information about some fundamentals of the proposed QRIS rating scheme that could inform California's QRIS design in advance of field-based pilot efforts.

REPORT

Assessment of the Content, Design, and Dissemination of the Real Warriors Campaign — Apr 16, 2012

The Real Warriors Campaign, launched in 2009, is a multimedia program designed to promote resilience, facilitate recovery, and support the reintegration of returning servicemembers, veterans, and their families. This report presents the results of an independent assessment of the campaign.

RESEARCH BRIEF

How Do Soldiers’ Deployments Affect Children’s Academic Performance and Behavioral Health? — Apr 9, 2012

With regard to Army families, the study examines the effects of long and frequent parental deployments on children’s academic performance as well as their emotional and behavioral well-being in the school setting.

BLOG

Celebrating the Month of the Military Child — Apr 5, 2012

April is the Month of the Military Child, a national initiative to support and honor America's service members and their families. The celebration is being recognized with events around the country, and is a key national initiative of First Lady Michelle Obama.

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Junk Foods in Schools and Childhood Obesity — Apr 1, 2012

The availability of junk food does not significantly increase BMI or obesity among a group of fifth-graders even though they are likely to buy junk food.

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Intergenerational Relationships Between the Smoking Patterns of a Population-Representative Sample of US Mothers and the Smoking Trajectories of Their Children — Apr 1, 2012

The authors assessed intergenerational transmission of smoking in mother-child dyads.

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Registered Nurse Labor Supply and the Recession: Are We in a Bubble? — Apr 1, 2012

The substantial expansion in the RN workforce between 2005 and 2010 is largely a temporary bubble that is likely to burst between 2010 and 2015 as the unemployment rate falls.

REPORT

A Matrix of New Media Use Measures and Brief Media Survey — Mar 19, 2012

There is a lack of data that address new media use and its potential relationship with adolescent sexual risk behavior and sexual health. The authors developed this matrix of measures to summarize the state of measurement in this arena and set the stage for further research. The measures were extracted from studies of media use, media effects, and interventions that employ new media to improve sexual health. Several new items are also…

NEWS RELEASE

Web-Based Tool for Parents of Children with Flu-Like Symptoms Piloted at DC-Area Hospitals — Mar 15, 2012

Researchers from the RAND Corporation and other institutions have begun pilot-testing a web-based tool designed to help parents and adult caregivers determine whether to seek urgent medical attention for a sick child with flu-like symptoms.

REPORT

The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program Proves to Be Cost-Effective — Mar 1, 2012

The ChalleNGe program seeks to alter the life course of high school dropouts ages 16-18. A rigorous evaluation has shown that the program has positive effects on educational attainment and employment. A cost-benefit analysis supports public investment in the program as currently operated and targeted.

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Resisting Smoking When a Best Friend Smokes: Do Intrapersonal and Contextual Factors Matter? — Feb 29, 2012

The strong link between having a best friend who smoked and increased adolescent smoking isn't affected by individual factors such as self-esteem, depressing and access to cigarettes.

REPORT

Improving the Professional Development System for California's Early Child Education Workforce — Feb 28, 2012

California has taken steps to implement components of a comprehensive professional development system for its early child education workforce. However, further advances are needed and more information is required to identify possible inefficiencies in the current system.

RESEARCH BRIEF

Meeting the Challenge: The Economic Return on Investment in the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program — Feb 28, 2012

A cost-benefit analysis of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program, a program serving high school dropouts, indicates that every dollar invested in the program yields $2.66 in social benefits, an estimated return on investment of 166 percent.

REPORT

The Use of Early Care and Education by California Families — Feb 28, 2012

Uses two sources of representative data, the 2005 National Household Education Survey and the 2007 RAND California Preschool Study, to describe child care and early learning arrangements for the approximately 2.8 million California children ages 0 to 5 who are younger than the age at which they would enter kindergarten.

REPORT

Moving to Outcomes: Approaches to Incorporating Child Assessments into State Early Childhood Quality Rating and Improvement Systems — Feb 28, 2012

Better child outcomes are the ultimate goal of early care and education (ECE) quality improvement (QI) efforts, but assessing these outcomes is difficult and rarely done. This study identifies five strategies for incorporating child assessments into the design, implementation, and evaluation of QI initiatives such as quality rating and improvement systems. The study assesses the merits of each strategy and offers guidance for its use.

RESEARCH BRIEF

Advancing the Professional Development System for California's Early Care and Education Workforce — Feb 28, 2012

Offers recommendations for improving the education and training of California's early childhood workforce.

RESEARCH BRIEF

Incorporating Child Assessments into State Early Childhood Quality Improvement Initiatives — Feb 28, 2012

Identifies five strategies for incorporating child assessments into the design, implementation, and evaluation of initiatives designed to raise the quality of care in early care and education settings such as quality rating and improvement systems.

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