Social Policy Report Archives
The Social Policy Report is available for reprinting with appropriate citation. Each SPR since 2006 has an accompanying brief which highlights key findings of the research. Reports from 1984 - 1993 are for reference only and are not linked to a PDF. To read Social Policy Reports published after 2017, visit the Social Policy Report page.
Browse past Social Policy Reports
Volume 1 (1984)- Volume 30 (2017). The below Reports are available in PDF format to view and download.
2017
Supporting Parents: How Six Decades of Parenting Research Can Inform Policy and Best Practice
Volume 30, Number 5
Douglas M. Teti, Pamela M. Cole, Natasha Cabrera, Sherryl H. Goodman, and Vonnie C. McLoyd
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Research-Practice Partnerships: Building Two-Way Streets of Engagement
Volume 30, Number 4
Vivian Tseng, John Q. Easton, and Lauren H. Supplee
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Children, Youth and Developmental Science in the 2015-2030 Global Sustainable Development Goals
Volume 30, Number 3
Abbie Raikes, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Pia Rebello Britto, and Iheoma Iruka
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PK-3: What Does It Mean For Instruction?
Volume 30, Number 2
Deborah Stipek, Doug Clements, Cynthia Coburn, Megan Franke and Dale Farran
2016
Corporal Punishment in U.S. Public Schools: Prevalence, Disparities in Use, and Status in State and Federal Policy
Volume 30, Issue 1
Elizabeth T. Gershoff and Sarah A. Font
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The Influence of Health Care Policies on Children's Health and Development
Volume 29, Issue 4
James M. Perrin, Thomas F. Boat, and Kelly J. Kelleher
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Development of Boys and Young Men of Color: Implications of Developmental Science for My Brother's Keeper Initiative
Volume 29, Issue 3
Oscar A. Barbarin, Velma McBride Murry, Patrick Tolan, Sandra Graham, and the Boys of Color Research Collaborative
2015
Children and Terrorism
Volume 29, Issue 2
James Garbarino, Amy Governale, Patrick Henry, and Danielle Nesi
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Federal Expenditures on Children: What Budget Policy Means for Children's Policy
Volume 29, Issue 1
Heather Hahn
2014
Opportunities and Challenges in Evidence-based Social Policy
Volume 28, Issue 4
Lauren H. Supplee & Allison Metz
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Military and Veteran Families and Children: Policies and Programs for Health Maintenance and Positive Development
Volume 28, Issue 3
Col (Ret) Stephen J. Cozza, Richard M. Lerner, & Ron Haskins
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Common Core: Development and Substance
Volume 28, Issue 2
David T. Conley
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The Biological Embedding of Child Abuse and Neglect Implications for Policy and Practice
Volume 28, Issue 1
Sara R. Jaffee & Cindy W. Christian
2013
Multilingual Children Beyond Myths* and Toward Best Practices
Volume 27, Issue 4
Allyssa McCabe, Catherine S. Tamis-Lemonda, Marc H. Bornstein, Carolyn Brockmeyer Cates, Roberta Golinkoff, Alison Wishard Guerra, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Erika Hoff, Yana Kuchirko, Gigliana Melzi, Alan Mendelsohn, Mariela Paez, & Lulu Song
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The Role of Public Policies and Community-Based Organizations in the Developmental Consequences of Parent Undocumented Status
Volume 27, Issue 3
Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Jenya Kholoptseva, & Carola Suárez-Orozco
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Positive Development of Minority Children
Volume 27, Issue 2
Natasha J. Cabrera
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Preserving and Enhancing the Responsible Conduct of Research Involving Children and Youth: A Response to Proposed Changes in Federal Regulations
Volume 27, Issue 1
Celia B. Fisher, Donald J. Brunnquell, Diane L. Hughes, Lynn S. Liben, Valerie Maholmes, Stuart Plattner, Stephen T. Russell, & Elizabeth J. Susman
2012
Social and Emotional Learning in Schools: From Programs to Strategies
Volume 26, Issue 4
Stephanie M. Jones & Suzanne M. Bouffard
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Children, Families and Poverty: Definitions,trends, emerging science and Implications for policy
Volume 26, Issue 3
Lawrence Aber, Pamela Morris, & Cybele Raver
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The Uses of Research in Policy and Practice
Volume 26, Issue 2
Vivian Tseng
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Building the Workforce Our Youngest Children Deserve
Volume 26, Issue 1
Holly Rhodes & Aletha Huston
2011
Promoting Equity, Tolerance, and Justice in Childhood
Volume 25, Issue 4
Melanie Killen, Adam Rutland, & Martin D. Ruok
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Household Food Insecurity: Serious Concerns for Child Development
Volume 25, Issue 3
Barbara H. Fiese, Craig Gundersen, Brenda Koester, & LaTesha Washington
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Quality of Early Childhood Development Programs in Global Contexts
Volume 25, Issue 2
Pia Rebello Britto, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, & Kimberly Boller
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Evidence-Based Interventions for Juvenile Offenders and Juvenile Justice Policies that Support Them
Volume 25, Issue 1
Scott W. Henggeler & Sonja K. Schoenwald
2010
Safe Schools Policy for LGBTQ Students
Volume 24, Issue 4
Stephen T. Russell, Joseph Kosciw, Stacey Horn, & Elizabeth Saewyc
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Review of Three Recent Randomized Trials of School-Based Mentoring: Making Sense of Mixed Findings
Volume 24, Issue 3
Marc E. Wheeler, Thomas E. Keller, & David L. DuBois
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Autism Spectrum Disorders Diagnosis, Prevalence, and Services for Children and Families
Volume 24, Issue 2
Catherine Lord & Somer L. Bishop
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Protecting Children from Exposure to Lead: Old Problem, New Data, and New Policy Needs
Volume 24, Issue 1
Claire Cole & Adam Winsler
2009
Home Visitation and Young Children: An Approach Worth Investing In?
Volume 23, Issue 4
Jennifer Astuto & LaRue Allen
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Evidence-Based Programming in the Context of Practice and Policy
Volume 23, Issue 3
Robert B. McCall
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Early Educational Opportunities for Children of Hispanic Origins
Volume 23, Issue 2
Eugene Garcia & Bryant Jensen
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The Difficult Transition to Adulthood for Foster Youth in the US: Implications for the State as Corporate Parent
Volume 23, Issue 1
Mark E. Courtney
2008
Reclaiming the Family Table: Mealtimes and Child Health and Wellbeing
Volume 22, Issue 4
Barbara H. Fiese & Marlene Schwartz
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Children in Immigrant Families: Looking to America's Future
Volume 22, Issue 3
Donald J. Hernandez, Nancy A. Denton, & Suzanne E. Macartney
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After-School Programs and Academics: Implications for Policy, Practice, and Research
Volume 22, Issue 2
Robert C. Granger, Ed.D.
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Mathematics Education for Young Children: What It is and How to Promote It
Volume 22, Issue 1
Herbert P. Ginsburg, Joon Sun Lee, & Judi Stevenson Boyd
2007
NCLB: State Interpretations, Early Effects, and Suggestions for Reauthorization
Volume 21, Issue 4
Andrew C. Porter & Morgan S. Polikoff
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The Benefits and Costs of Head Start
Volume 21, Issue 3
Jens Ludwig & Deborah Phillips
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Teaching Tolerance in Schools: Lessons Learned Since Brown v.Board of Education About the Development
Volume 21, Issue 2
Jennifer H. Pfeifer, Christia Spears Brown, & Jaana Juvonen
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Katrina’s Children: Social Policy Considerations for Children in Disasters
Volume 21, Issue 1
Joy D. Osofsky, Howard J. Osofsky, & William W. Harris
2006
Organized Activity Participation, Positive Youth Development, and the Over-Scheduling Hypothesis
Volume 20, Issue 4
Joseph L. Mahoney, Angel L. Harris, & Jacquelynne S. Eccles
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Understanding and Facilitating the Youth Mentoring Movement
Volume 20, Issue 3
Jean E. Rhodes & David L. DuBois
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The Epidemic of Childhood Obesity: Review of Research and Implications for Public Policy
Volume 20, Issue 2
Jenelle S. Krishnamoorthy, Chantelle Hart, & Elissa Jelalian
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Deviant Peer Influences in Intervention and Public Policy for Youth
Volume 20, Issue 1
Kenneth A. Dodge, Thomas J. Dishion, & Jennifer E. Lansford
2005
Connecting the Science of Child Development to Public Policy
Volume 19, Issue 4
Aletha Huston
PK-3: An Aligned and Coordinated Approach to Education for Children 3 to 8 Years Old
Volume 19, Issue 3
Kimber Bogard & Ruby Takanishi
Effects of Welfare and Employment Policies on Young Children: New Findings on Policy Experiments
Volume 19, Issue 2
Pamela A. Morris, Lisa A. Gennetian, & Greg J. Duncan
Using Scientific Knowledge to Inform Preschool Assessment: Making the Case for "Empirical Validity"
Volume 19, Issue 1
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Anita Kochanoff, Nora S. Newcombe, & Jill de Villiers
2004
From Baby Einstein to Leapfrog, From Doom to Sims, From Instant Messaging to Internet Chat Rooms: Public Interest in the Role of Interactive Media in Children's Lives
Volume 18, Issue 4
Ellen Wartella, Allison G. Caplovitz, & June H. Lee
Putting the Child Back Into Child Care: Combining Care and Education for Children Ages 3-5
Volume 18, Issue 3
Jessica Brauner, Bonnie Gordic, & Edward Zigler
Beyond the Methodological Gold Standards of Behavioral Research: Considerations for Practice and Policy
Volume 18, Issue 2
Robert B. McCall & Beth L. Green
Stimulation Programs for Preterm Infants
Volume 18, Issue 1
Tiffany Field, Maria Hernandez-Reif, & Julia Freedman
2003
Juveniles’ Competence to Stand Trial as Adults
Volume 17, Issue 4
Laurence Steinberg, Thomas Grisso, Jennifer Woolard, Elizabeth Cauffman, Elizabeth Scott, Sandra Graham, Fran Lexcen, N. Dickon Reppucci, & Robert Schwartz
Toward an Understanding of Youth in Community Governance: Policy Priorities and Research Directions
Volume 17, Issue 3
Shepherd Zeldin, Linda Camino, & Matthew Calvert
Kindergarten: An Overlooked Educational Policy Priority
Volume 17, Issue 2
Sara Vecchiotti
Do You Believe In Magic?: What We Can Expect From Early Childhood Intervention Programs
Volume 17, Issue 1
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
2002
Towards an Understanding of the Impact of Welfare Reform on Children with Disabilities
Volume 16, Issue 4
Elisa A. Rosman, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, & Jane Knitzer
Emotions Matter: Making the Case for the Role of Young Children’s Emotional Development for Early School Readiness
Volume 16, Issue 3
C. Cybele Raver
At What Age Should Children Enter Kindergarten? A Question for Policy Makers and Parents
Volume 16, Issue 2
Deborah Stipek
The Effects of Welfare Reform Policies on Children
Volume 16, Issue 1
Pamela A. Morris
2001
Adolescents as Adults in Court: A Developmental Perspective on the Transfer of Juveniles to Criminal
Volume 15, Issue 4
Laurence Steinberg & Elizabeth Cauffman
Strategic Frame Analysis: Reframing America’s Youth
Volume 15, Issue 3
Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. & Susan Nall Bales
Self-Sufficiency Programs and Parent Interventions: Lessons from New Chance and the Teenage Parent
Volume 15, Issue 2
Nancy E. Reichman & Sara S. McLanahan
Youth Civic Development: Implications of Research for Social Policy and Programs
Volume 15, Issue 1
Constance A. Flanagan & Nakesha Faison
2000
Parental Leave Policies: An Essential Ingredient in Early Childhood Education and Care Policies
Volume 14, Issue 2
Sheila B. Kamerman
What Do Adolescents Need for Healthy Development? Implications for Youth Policy
Volume 14, Issue 1
Jodie Roth & Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
1999
Service Learning: Who Benefits and Why
Volume 13, Issue 4
Arthur A. Stukas, Jr., E. Gil Clary, & Mark Snyder
Evaluating the Effectiveness of School-Based Violence Prevention: Developmental Approaches
Volume 13, Issue 3
Christopher C. Henrich, Joshua L. Brown, & J. Lawrence Aber
Perspectives on Father Involvement: Research and Policy
Volume 13, Issue 2
Catherine S. Tamis-LeMonda & Natasha Cabrera
Beyond "Giving Science Away": How University-Community Partnerships Inform Youth Programs, Research, and Policy
Volume 13, Issue 1
Jill Denner, Catherine R.Cooper, Edward M. Lopez, & Nora Dunbar
1998
Improving the Life Chances of Children in Poverty: Assumptions and What We Have Learned
Volume 12, Issue 4
Robert G. St.Pierre & Jean I. Layzer
Implications of the 1996 Welfare Legislation for Children: A Research Perspective
Volume 12, Issue 3
Martha Zaslow, Kathryn Tout, Sheila Smith, & Kristin Moore
Investigating Child Care Subsidy: What Are We Buying?
Volume 12, Issue 2
Helen Raikes
Fathers’ Involvement with Children: Perspectives from Developing Countries
Volume 12, Issue 1
Patrice L. Engle & Cynthia Breaux
1997
Public Policy Schools as Opportunities for Developmental Scientists: An Overview and Illustration
Volume 11, Issue 3
Rachel A. Gordon & P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale
Training the Applied Developmental Scientist for Prevention and Practice: Two Current Examples
Volume 11, Issue 2
Celia B. Fisher & Joy D. Osofsky
Schooling, the Hidden Curriculum, and Children’s Conceptions of Poverty
Volume 11, Issue 1
Judith A. Chafel
1996
A Reconceptualization of the Effects of Undernutrition on Children's Biological, Psychosocial, and Behavioral Development
Volume 10, Issue 5
Ernesto Pollitt, chair; Mari Golub, Kathleen Gorman, Sally Grantham- McGregor, David Levitsky, Beat Schürch, Barbara Strupp, & Theodore Wachs
Building Research and Policy Connections: Training and Career Options for Developmental Scientists
Volume 10, Issue 4
Amy Susman-Stillman, Joshua L. Brown, Emma K. Adam, Clancy Blair, Robin Gaines, Rachel A. Gordon, Ann Marie White, & Sheri R. Wynn
Is the Emperor Wearing Clothes? Social Policy and the Empirical Support forFull Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in the Preschool and Early Elementary Grades
Volume 10, Issue 3
Bryna Siegel
Inclusion at the Preschool Level: An Ecological Systems Analysis
Volume 10, Issue 2
Samuel L. Odom et al.
Latin American Immigration and U.S. Schools
Volume 10, Issue 1
Claude Goldenberg
1995
Children Who Witness Domestic Violence: The Invisible Victims
Volume 9, Issue 3
Joy D. Osofsky
The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child: Its Relevance for Social Scientists
Volume 9, Issue 2
Susan P. Limber & Malfrid Grude Flekkoy
Escaping Poverty: The Promise of Higher Education
Volume 9, Issue 1
Erika Kates
1994
Resiliency Research: Models, Issues, and Policy Implications
Volume 8, Issue 4
Marc A. Zimmerman & Revathy Arunkumar
Developmental Effects of Lead Exposure in Children
Volume 8, Issue 3
Johanna Rich Tesman & Amanda Hills
Children in Poverty: Designing Research to Affect Policy
Volume 8, Issue 2
Aletha C. Huston
Children's Changing Access to Resources: A Historical Perspective
Volume 8, Issue 1
Donald J. Hernandez
1984 - 1993 (For reference only)
1993
Integrating Science and Ethics in Research with High-Risk Children and Youth
Volume 7, Issue 4
Celia B. Fisher
Child Witnesses: Translating Research into Policy
Volume 7, Issue 3
Stephen J. Ceci & Maggie Bruck
Using Research and Theory to Justify and Inform Head Start Expansion
Volume 7, Issue 2
Edward Zigler & Sally J. Styfco
Canadian Special Education Policies: Children with Learning Disabilities in a Bilingual and Multicultural Society
Volume 7, Issue 1
Linda S. Siegel & Judith Wiener
1992
Crack's Children: The Consequences of Maternal Cocaine Abuse
Volume 6, Issue 4
Theresa Lawton Hawley & Elizabeth R. Disney
The States and the Poor: Child Poverty Rises as the Safety Net Shrinks
Volume 6, Issue 3
Julie Strawn
Testing in American Schools: Issues for Research and Policy
Volume 6, Issue 2
Patricia Morrison
Mother-Headed Families: An International Perspective and the Case of Australia
Volume 6, Issue 1
Alisa Burns
1991
Rhetoric or Reality? Child and Family Policy in the United States
Volume 5, Issue 4
Francine H. Jacobs & Margery W. Davies
The Migrant Head Start Program
Volume 5, Issue 3
Mary Lou de Leon Siantz
Infant Mortality and Public Policy
Volume 5, Issue 2
Ann L. Wilson & Gary Neidich
Two-Generation Program Models: A New Intervention Strategy
Volume 5, Issue 1
Sheila Smith
1990
Antecedents of Illiteracy
Volume 4, Issue 4
Barbara J. Fox
Pediatric AIDS and HIV Infection in the United States: Recommendations for Research, Policy, and Programs
Volume 4, Issue 3
Linda A. Valleroy
Child Mental Health: Service System and Policy Issues
Volume 4, Issue 2
Judith H. Jacobs
Social Science and the Prevention of Children's Injuries
Volume 4, Issue 1
Penelope H. Brooks & Michael C. Roberts
1988
Homelessness: Implications for Children and Youth
Volume 3, Issue 4
Andrea L. Solarz
Implications of Public Law 99-457 for Early Intervention Services for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities
Volume 3, Issue 3
Penny Hauser-Cram, Carole C. Upshur, Marty Wyngaarden Krauss, & Jack P. Shonkoff
Head Start: A Backward and Forward Look
Volume 3, Issue 2
Diana T. Slaughter , Valora Washington , Ura Jean Oyemade, & Rachel Washington Lindsey
Children and the Uninsured
Volume 3, Issue 1
Charles N. Oberg
1987
Child Care: Quality, Regulation, and Research
Volume 2, Issue 4
Karen S. Weintraub & Laurie N. Furman
School Dropout: A Federal Perspective
Volume 2, Issue 3
Brian L. Wilcox & Trudy Vincent
The National Center for Nursing Research, National Institutes of Health
Volume 2, Issue 2
Angela Barron McBride
The Juvenile Justice and Deliquency Prevention Act
Volume 2, Issue 1
Ellen Greenberg Garrison
1984-1986
Bilingual Education Act, Title II of the Education Amendments of 1984
Volume 1, Issue 5
Diane L. August
Children and Television
Volume 1, Issue 4
Dale L. Kunkel & Bruce A. Watkins
The Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
Volume 1, Issue 3
Lindsay Chase-Landsdale, Patrick Casey, Kathleen, McCluskey, Ernesto Pollitt, Jill Reich, Henry Ricciuti, Maris Vinovskis, Valora Washington, & Ann Wilson
Adolescent Pregnancy
Volume 1, Issue 2
Barbara Everett, Wendy Baldwin, Urie Bronfenbrenner, Patrick Casey, Susan Crockenberg, Frank Furstenberg, Jr., Hariette McAdoo, Craig Perry, Maris Vinovskis, & Valora Washington
The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1983
Volume 1, Issue 1
Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, Patrick Casey, Byron Egeland, Eli Newberger, Diana T. Slaughter, Maris Vinovskis, & Valora Washington