Highlighted Documents

The Discovery Initiative- 2004-2009 Final Summative Evaluation S. A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD and Donna Studdiford, On Point Consulting, July 2011

Some Thoughts about Public Will Sally A. Leiderman, Wendy C. Wolf, and Peter York, March, 1997

Supporting Parent Engagement in Linguistically Diverse Families to Promote Young Children’s Learning: Implications for Early Care and Education Policy S.A. Stephens, Ph.D, Sandra Barrueco, Ph.D. and Sheila Smith, Ph.D. July 2015

Much is known about how to improve development and learning outcomes for individual children pre-natally through their early school years. However, as a nation, we continue to struggle with how to improve outcomes for all children in a neighborhood, community, state or more broadly in the nation as a whole.

Children thrive best when they are raised in a loving and nurturing environment, when attention is paid to their health and positive emotional, cognitive, social, spiritual and physical development, when they spend their time in stable, safe, non-violent and developmentally appropriate in-home or out-of-home settings. This is most likely to occur when their families and communities can provide an array of positive activities and opportunities for socialization, play, learning and maturation. Research suggests that this combination of supports and environments promotes the normal development of babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers, and can, if intensive enough, overcome many of the barriers to positive development linked to poverty, poor birth outcomes, physical limitations and disabling conditions, and chaotic families or neighborhoods. Research about how the brain develops reinforces our understanding that protective factors include: stable attachment to a consistent set of adults (including fathers); parenting and care taking that is responsive to a child's need for both stimulation and relaxation and to individual patterns of growth and development; screening and assessment and early intervention to avoid or address developmental delays; and opportunities and supports that are respectful of parents' expertise, values and cultural backgrounds.

Our work is often aimed at helping families, schools, communities and states strengthen their capacities to promote these factors and provide these supports and environments for the broadest possible number of children. We do this in many ways in many projects, with system development being the major focus of CAPD's early childhood work. Our work in this area includes measurement and tracking of early childhood and early school outcomes, evaluations of system change and early childhood education quality improvement initiatives, and technical assistance to groups engaged in strategic planning for comprehensive approaches to program and system development.

Publications and Presentations

Kindergarten Transition Practices: Changing "The Way We Do Things Here" in Discovery Communities S. A. Stephens, PH.D., CAPD, and Donna Studdiford, On Point Consulting, in consultation with the Connecticut Center for School Change and the Discovery collaboratives of Ansonia, Derby, Norwalk, Seymour, Shelton, and Vernon, July 2011

Discovery Initiative Contributions to State Policy Change Donna Studdiford, On Point Consulting and S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD. September 2011. For the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund

The Discovery Initiative: 2004-2009 Final Summative Evaluation Report Technical Appendix S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD and Donna Studdiford, On Point Consulting. July 2011

Supporting Community Change: Lessons from the Discovery Initiative on the Role and Contributions of Community Liaisons S. A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD, for the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund. June 2011

Collaborative Groups, Collaborative Chairs, and Community Coordinators in the Discovery Initiative as of Mid-2007 S. A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD, for the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, revised March 2011

Quality New York: Assessment of Its Contributions to Program Improvement in Early Care and Education Programs in New York City Prepared by S. A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD, with support from the United Way of New York City. August 2009

Navigating the "Perfect Storm": Moving from Plan to Action During an Economic Downturn. The Experiences of Four Discovery Communities that Received 2008-2009 Partnership Planning Grants S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD and Donna Studdiford, On Point Consulting. June 2011.

The Discovery Initiative: 2004-2007 Interim Summative Evaluation Report S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD and Donna Studdiford, On Point Consulting. Revised June 2009

The Discovery Initiative: 2004-2007 Interim Summative Evaluation Report Summary S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD and Donna Studdiford, On Point Consulting. March 2009

The Kindergarten Transition Institute Model for Providing Capacity-Building Technical Assistance in the Discovery Initiative, 2006 and 2007 Report to the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund Staff S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD. Revised December 2008

Electronic Communications in the Discovery Initiative Report to the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD and Donna Studdiford, On Point Consulting. August 2008

Summary of Evaluation Findings Through 2007, Linked with the Discovery Initiative Theory of Change S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD and Donna Studdiford, On Point Consulting. June 2008

Supporting Improvement In Early Childhood Programs: QNY’s Approach S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD and Alison Pepper, MS. Ed. Quality New York, Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies. Summer 2008

Community Use of Capacity-Building Supports as of Mid-2007 Report to the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund Board of Trustees S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD and Donna Studdiford, On Point Consulting. April 2008

Collaborative Agents in the Discovery Initiative as of Mid-2007 Report to the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund Staff S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., with Matt Leiderman, CAPD. Revised February 2008

Community Reports of Changes in Discovery Objectives S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD and Donna Studdiford, On Point Consulting. June 2007

Collaborative Infrastructure, Collaboration, & Parent Participation in Discovery Communities: Fall 2006 S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD and Donna Studdiford, On Point Consulting. February 2007

Collaborative Infrastructure, Collaboration, & Parent Participation In Discovery Communities S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD. February 2007

Quality Preschool: Quality Rating System: Establishment Of A Quality Rating System For Connecticut's Early Care And Education Programs And Providers S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD. For the Early Childhood Research & Policy Council. November 2006

Discovery 2006: Checking the Dashboard S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD and Donna Studdiford, On Point Consulting. July 2006

Making the Case for Supporting Accreditation as a Strategy for Improving the Success of NYC’s Young Children as They Prepare for and Enter School S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD, for Quality New York. May 2006

Nobles County Family Connections Collaborative Outcomes for Children, Families and Community: Trends, Opportunities, Challenges, Best Practices S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., with Matthew Leiderman, CAPD. May 2006

An Evaluation of the Child Care and Early Education Fund of New York City Mid-2004 through 2005: Summative Report S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD. February 2006

Evaluation Findings for 2003-2004 and 2004-2005: Worthington, MN 21st Century Community Learning Center S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD. February 2006

Assessment of the Family Advocate Program During the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 School Years; Nobles County MN Family Service Collaborative S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD. November 2005

Brief Review Of Research Evidence Related To Effectiveness Of Parent-Child Programs In Improving Child Outcomes S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD. July 2005

Evaluation Findings 2003-2004: Worthington, MN 21st Century Community Learning Center S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD. December 2004

Parents At The Center: A Guide to Parent Inclusion, Engagement and Leadership CAPD for the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund. April 2002

Foster Care And Early Child Development: Implications For Child Welfare Policy And Practice Dr. Davido Dupree and S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD. 2002

Applying CAPD’s School Readiness Approach In Work With Communities In Connecticut S.A. Stephens, Ph.D., CAPD. December 1999

Providing Critical Services and Supports to Teen Parents and Their Children CAPD. October 1999

Using Title IX to Protect the Rights of Pregnant and Parenting Teens Wendy C. Wolf for CAPD. October 1999

New Models Of Community-Foundation Partnerships: Lessons from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation Pre-Birth Through Age Three Initiative S.A. Stephens and Sally A. Leiderman for CAPD. September 1999

Improving Outcomes For Teen Parents And Their Young Children By Strengthening School-Based Programs S.A. Stephens, Wendy C. Wolf and Susan T. Batten for CAPD. April 1999

Some Emerging Lessons On Child Assessment in Early Education Susan T. Batten and Stephanie L. Koenig. March 1999

School-Based Programs For Adolescent Parents And Their Young Children: An Overview CAPD. October 1997

Improving Outcomes for Young Children, Families and Communities: Lessons Learned Wendy C. Williams and Sally A. Leiderman for CAPD. March 1997