Preface -- Contents -- Figures -- Tables -- Summary -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- CHAPTER ONE-Introduction -- Disparities in Early Childhood and the Associated Consequences -- The Promise of Early Childhood Interventions -- CHAPTER TWO- Strategies for Intervention -- Theoretical Foundations of Early Childhood Intervention -- Strategies for Early Childhood Intervention -- Strategies for Program Evaluation -- Early Childhood Intervention Programs with RigorousEvaluations and Strong Evidence to Date -- Taxonomy of Selected Early Childhood Intervention Programs -- CHAPTER THREE- What Works in Early Childhood InterventionPrograms -- Outcomes Improved by Early Childhood InterventionPrograms -- Outcomes During the School-Age Years -- Outcomes in Adulthood -- Magnitude of the Effects -- Cognitive Outcomes for Younger Children -- Other Outcomes for School-Age Children -- Longer-Term Outcomes and Effects for Other Program Participants -- Features Associated with More-Effective Programs -- Studies of Program Characteristics -- Analysis of Model Program Evaluations -- CHAPTER FOUR- The Economics of Early Childhood Interventions -- Potential Economic Benefits of Early ChildhoodInterventions -- Spillover Benefits and Beneficiaries -- The Use of Benefit-Cost Analysis -- Benefit-Cost Studies of Early Childhood Interventions -- Programs Analyzed and Methods Used -- Results of Benefit-Cost Analyses -- Other Economic and Noneconomic Benefits of Early -- Labor Market Benefits -- Macroeconomic Benefits -- Noneconomic Benefits -- Strengths and Limitations of Economic Evidence -- CHAPTER FIVE- Conclusions -- APPENDIX A- Descriptions of Early Childhood Intervention Programs Included in the Study -- APPENDIX B- Methodology for the Analysis of Cognitive Outcomes in Chapter Three -- References.