Cognitive, Language, and Social-emotional Development Among Infants and Toddlers in Early Head Start - an Examination of the Impact of Cumulative Risk

The data for this study were made available from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. All outcomes were examined at the 36 month time period and the analyses included a large sample of low-income families. The results of this research have important implications for the cumulative risk framework and provide valuable insight into the individual factors that critically impact children's developmental outcomes, particularly for high risk, low-income infants and toddlers and their families. The results of this study also provide evidence of mediation effects between the availability of family resources and child outcomes. The first three years of life are crucial for a child's development. The Early Head Start project provides important information on how to assist families and children in overcoming disadvantage and strengthening both academic and social outcomes.