A new analysis using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), a nationally-representative sample of children entering kindergarten in 1998, found that the local cost of living is correlated with child development outcomes. Higher cost of living was related to lower academic achievement in first grade, even after controlling for family income and a comprehensive set of social and demographic variables. This effect was found only for families with incomes below 300% of the federal poverty threshold (i.e., below $66,339 for a family of four). It may be that families with higher incomes are not as sensitive to geographic variations in cost of living.

"Building Infrastructure to Support Home Visiting to Prevent Child Maltreatment: Two-Year Findings from the Cross-Site Evaluation of the Supporting Evidence-Based Home Visiting Initiative."This report describes planning and early implementation of home visiting programs in 15 states. The programs and report were funded by the Children's Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The report describes the grantees, the home visiting program models they selected, and their progress and challenges. It should be of special interest to states and home visiting providers participating in the new Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting grant programs authorized by the Affordable Care Act and now being implemented in states.

In this brief, Child Trends researchers evaluate two family finding approaches - one with a focus on children "new to out-of-home care" and the other focusing on children who have been "lingering" in foster care. Child welfare agencies implementing - or planning to implement - family finding should examine the implications of serving differing target populations and their capacity to support the different approaches. Four key issues were identified which agencies may want to consider in implementing family finding.