I study the effects of early childhood intervention on children's development from school entry to early adulthood. I also investigate the family and school influences on children's educational success. Evaluation research and prevention science are key aspects of my projects.
The focal point of my current work is as Director of the Chicago Longitudinal Study, one of the largest and most extensive studies of the effects of early childhood intervention. The project tracks the life-course development of 1,500 children who attended early childhood programs in inner-city Chicago. The main focus is on the effects of the Child-Parent Center program, a school-based intervention from preschool to the early school grades.
This on-going, 26-year project is now in the adult phase. In addition to examining the effects of intervention on education, economic well-being, health, mental health, and family outcomes, our project team is documenting the determinants of child maltreatment, delinquency and crime, educational attainment, and economic well-being. A major aspect of these explanatory studies is understanding the processes by which early childhood experiences affect development into adulthood. With economist Judy Temple, we also conduct cost-benefit analyses. A cost-benefit analysis of the Child-Parent Center program has been published up to age 26.
I am interested more broadly in school and family influences on children's development, the evaluation of social programs, prevention science, intervention research, and the determinants of economic and social well-being in early adulthood. I also study how child development and evaluation research affect social policy.