We will periodically post studies here that may be of interest to our partner, families and service providers. First 5 is not necessarily affiliated with any of the organizations listed.
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Dental Care Disparaties

A recent study, "Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Dental Care for Publicly Insured Children," reveals that nearly 25% of children in California have never been to the dentist and that disparities exist across race, ethnicity, and type of insurance when it comes to the length of time between dental care visits. Proposed solutions include developing strategies to improve dental visits among very young children.

The full study is available here
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Bubbling Over

This landmark study provides important scientific evidence of the direct contribution of sugar-sweetened beverages to California's $41 billion obesity epidemic.

Bubbling Over Policy Brief is available here

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Understanding and Responding to Postpartum Depression

50% of parents experiencing postpartum depression do not seek treatment. Produced by Ventura County epidimiologist Diana Grill, this Power Point presentation provides an overview of the risk factors, signs and screenings related to this silent epidemic that's one of the most common complications after childbirth.

Click here for the full report

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The Latino Educational Crisis

The United States faces an unprecedented challenge. The largest and fastest growing minority group in the nation — Latinos — are performing academically at levels that will soon put the entire society at risk and consign these young people to a permanent underclass. From kindergarten to high school graduation and college matriculation, the gaps in achievement between Latinos and most other students are enormous, and in many cases growing. Projections are that, unchecked, this situation will continue to worsen. No other statistic better captures the plight of the Latino population than college completion rates.

While other groups have continued to increase their share of college degrees over the last three decades, Latinos have made almost no progress. In 2008, they were about half as likely as African Americans and a third as likely as White students to obtain a college degree. As the job market continues to demand more education and Latinos make up a larger and larger portion of the workforce,the consequences will be felt by all of society.

Click here for the full report

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Making Ends Meet

A sobering look at what it takes to cover the basics--food, shelter, healthcare, taxes. . . in counties across the state.

Click here for the full report

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F is for Fat: Obesity Report

Obesity remains one of the biggest public health challenges the country has ever faced, wide disparities remain among different racial and ethnic groups, and our response as a nation has yet to fully match the magnitude of the problem.This 124-page report prepared by the Trust for America's Health offers a sobering look at how obesity is threatening America's future and examines efforts to reverse this trend.

The pdf report is available here
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Oral Health During Pregnancy and Early Childhood:

These evidence‑based guidelines for health professionals were developed by state and national medical, dental and public health experts in partnership with the California Dental Association Foundation and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, District IX.  The are designed to help in delivering oral health services to pregnant women and their children.

The full pdf is available by clicking here.
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2010 Ventura Homeless Count Report

This report is meant to answer the primary question “How many homeless people are there in Ventura County on a given day?” The answer is 1,815 adults and children on a given day. This represents a 17% decrease when compared to last year’s homeless count of 2,193. Please note that the number of persons who are homeless over the
course of a year is higher. Local, regional, and national data suggests that it is three to four times higher than the number of persons homeless on a given day.

Click here for the full report.
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The Cost of Disinvestment

"Cutting effective early childhood programs hurts states now. When public resources are stretched thin, essential programs for young children often lose out in the budget process. Budget cuts that deprive children of a strong developmental start mean society and taxpayers lose, too." This five-page brief by the Pew Center on the States analyzes the social and economic costs of cutting quality early childhood programs.

Access the pdf by clicking here.
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Child Trends Study Shows the Importance of Early Intervention

A new Child Trends study commissioned by the Council of Chief State School Officers finds that disparities in child outcomes between poor, at-risk, and more advantaged children are evident as early as 9 months and grow larger by 24 months of age. These disparities exist across cognitive, social, behavioral, and health outcomes. The study, Disparities in Early Learning and Development: Lessons from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (2009), finds low income and low maternal education to be the factors most strongly associated with poorer outcomes among very young children. It also finds that the more risk factors a child has, the more profound these disparities are.

Access the executive summary by clicking here.
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Newborn Leave Study Shows Positive Impacts

To mark the five year anniversary of California’s Paid Family Leave program and in recognition of the legacy of the Packard Foundations’ support for children and families, the Packard Foundation is pleased to release “Newborn Family Leave: Effects on Children, Parents, and Business.” This is the first report combining the results of more than 150 studies on the impact of family leave on parents, newborns, and businesses. This report synthesizes the most significant research on newborn family leave into one document, providing a broad view of leave’s economic and social impacts. The report summary pdf is available here.
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Overlooked and Undercounted: 2009

This report shows, that there are many more Californians living in poverty than most people think. This is largely because the Federal Poverty Level formula, established more than 45 years ago, was based on the cost of food. And in the decades since, the costs of housing, transportation, child care, health care and other family necessities have risen far more rapidly than food costs.  As a result, the true extent of families contending with poverty is hidden.

Access a pdf of the full report by clicking here.
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On the Cusp in California

This study, which  looks at how pre-K strategies can improve education in California, is by the New America Foundation (www.newamerica.net). California is a state teeming with young children—4.7 million under age 8, to be exact. One in every eight young American children lives in California. And many of these children come from minority ethnic and racial backgrounds and speak languages other than English. If Americans want to get a glimpse at our future as a “majority minority” country they don’t have to look beyond California. Click here for the full report.
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RAND Preschool Study

This is the latest RAND study examining preschool in the California. Prepared to Learn: The Nature and Quality of Early Care and Education in California, is available here in pdf form. Click here for the full 258 page scholarly report and here for the 23 page summary.

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Starting Smart: How Early Experiences Affect Brain Development

This study, by ZerotoThree (zerotothree.org) examines in layperson's terms, the significance of early childhood experiences on brain development. Click here for the full pdf.
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Preschool California Data Sheet

From economics to neuroscience, education to public policy, a vast body of research demonstrates that early education matters. This two-page fact sheet summarizes some of these studies using clear language and visual data. Copies in pdf form are available here.
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The Business Case for Preschool

This fact sheet, compiled by Preschool California,  illustrates the economic and social impact of early childhood education from a business perspective. Click here for the pdf.