Library

Looking for new and notable information to help you dig deeper into an issue? Start with these featured reports and web sites, and then browse through our full selection by topic.

Reports: Featured

Notorious to notable: The crucial role of the philanthropic community in transforming the juvenile justice system in Washington, D.C.
The Campaign for Youth Justice, December 2011, 36 pp.
Highlights the ways that the philanthropic community aided the transformation of Washington D.C.'s juvenile justice system. more info >

Best practices for tutoring programs: a guide to quality
Saint Paul Public Schools Foundation, December 2011, 69 pp.
Presents research-based insights into the systems and habits that cultivate the most rewarding learning environments for youth. more info >

oneMinneapolis: Community indicators report
Wilder Research, October 2011, 64 pp.
A look at disparities in education, economic vitality, and social capital indicators for the city of Minneapolis. more info >

Beds not buses: Housing vs. transportation for homeless students
National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, September 2011, 21 pp.
This report explores the idea that providing affordable housing to homeless families is more cost-effective than providing federally mandated transportation for homeless students. more info >

2011 Kids Count data book: State profiles of child well-being
Annie E. Casey Foundation, August 2011, 88 pp.
This report provides data on 10 indicators of child well-being, by state and for the U.S. States are ranked on each indicator and compared to previous years. more info >

Immigrant children: The Future of Children Spring 2011
The Brookings Institution and Princeton University, March 2011, 270 pp.
Includes a variety of articles that look at the well-being of immigrant children and what can be done to improve their educational attainment, health, social and cognitive development, and long-term prospects for economic mobility. more info >

The impact of youth development programs on student academic achievement
National Collaboration for Youth, March 2011, 8 pp.
This brief cites evaluations and profiles of a sample of diverse community-based programs that affect student performance and reduce negative outcomes. more info >

Improving access to healthy foods in family child care settings
Wilder Research, February 2011, 2 pp.
Presents information on a Dakota County initiative that trained child care providers to use a curriculum to increase young children's consumption of fruits and vegetables. Includes lessons learned that may be helpful to other communities. more info >

Should I stay or should I go? : Exploring the effects of housing instability and mobility on children
Center for Housing Policy, February 2011, 19 pp.
Examines the relationships between income, residential moves, and outcomes for kids. The paper finds that in general, low-income families are more likely to experience disruptive moves than other families. more info >

Seven ways to engage teens in civic problem-solving online
Citizens League, January 2011, 15 pp.
Suggestions from teens on civic engagement. more info >

Minnesota student survey, 1992-2010 trends: Behaviors, attitudes and perceptions of Minnesota's 6th, 9th and 12th graders
Minnesota Departments of Education, Health, Human Services and Public Safety, December 2010, 52 pp.
This report identifies trends in the prevalence of behaviors and attitudes of young people, based on 21 years of data from the Minnesota Student Survey. It highlights key indicators across many areas of interest, including: academics and school connectedness, school safety and violence, mental health, ATOD, sexual behavior and family structure. more info >

Uninsured children: Who are they and where do they live?
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute, August 2010, 193 pp.
This report uses data from the 2008 American Community Survey (ACS) to provide detailed state estimates of uninsured children, including uninsured rates for children with different demographic, socioeconomic and family characteristics in each state. more info >

Young children of immigrants: The leading edge of America's future
The Urban Institute, August 2010, 14 pp.
Highlights information about children 0-8 growing up in immigrant families in the United States, including immigration trends, impact on schools, and parental and family characteristics. more info >

America's children in brief: Key national indicators of well-being, 2010
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, July 2010, 22 pp.
Reports data on a set of indicators of child well-being. Indicators included are in the categories of family and social environment, economic categories, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education, and health. more info >

Road map for school readiness in the Hmong community: A five-year plan
Ready4K, June 2010, 12 pp.
Many Hmong families in Minnesota face significant socioeconomic and educational challenges. This report identifies three key priorities and possible solutions to ensure that children from the Hmong community start kindergarten ready for success. more info >

Solving the problem of childhood obesity within a generation
White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, May 2010, 124 pp.
This report is part of the “Let’s Move” initiative to fight childhood obesity. It details a coordinated strategy, identifies key benchmarks, and outlines an action plan to end the problem of childhood obesity within a generation. It presents a series of 70 specific recommendations, many of which can be implemented right away. more info >

Engaging older youth: Program and city-level strategies to support sustained paticipation in out-of-school time
Harvard Family Research Project, April 2010, 106 pp.
This report examines almost 200 out-of-school time programs serving primarily low-income youth. It focuses on programs with high participation and retention rates in order to identify the program characteristics found to be the most successful in retaining older youth, as well as the strategies that cities are using to support participation. more info >

A place to grow and learn: A citywide approach to building and sustaining out-of-school time learning opportunities
The Wallace Foundation, February 2008, 16 pp.
Drawing on early lessons from a Wallace initiative in five cities, this report describes a novel, coordinated approach to achieve widespread, sustained improvements in the quality and reach of "OST" programs so that many more children can benefit. more info >

Dakota County Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative: Results from caregiver focus groups
Wilder Research, August 2007, 45 pp.
A study that examined the perceptions of preschool parents and caregivers regarding key obesity prevention strategies. more info >

Positive youth development so far: Core hypotheses and their implications for policy and practice
Search Institute, November 2006, 13 pp.
Discusses the definition of positive youth development and its movement from being primarily a field of practice toward having increased credibility in academic research institutions, more info >

Web sites

Child care & early education research connections
Promotes high-quality research in child care and early education and the use of that research in policy making. Includes reports, data, a database of instruments, information on policies, and links to other resources. more info >