STRENGTHENING BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS for Early Childhood Interventions
Workshop Summary
Alexandra Beatty, Rapporteur
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Grant No. 08-91104-000-HCD between the National Academy of Sciences and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
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Suggested citation: National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. (2009). Strengthening Benefit-Cost Analysis for Early Childhood Interventions: Workshop Summary. A. Beatty, Rapporteur. Committee on Strengthening Benefit-Cost Methodology for the Evaluation of Early Childhood Interventions, Board on Children, Youth, and Families. Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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COMMITTEE ON STRENGTHENING BENEFIT-COST METHODOLOGY FOR THE EVALUATION OF EARLY CHILDHOOD INTERVENTIONS
Barbara L. Wolfe (Chair),
Department of Population Health Sciences and Department of Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Ron Haskins,
Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC
Robert M. Kaplan,
School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles
Lynn A. Karoly,
RAND Corporation, Arlington, VA
Henry M. Levin,
Teachers College, Columbia University
Jens Ludwig,
Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago
James S. Marks,
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, NJ
Margaret C. Simms,
The Urban Institute, Washington, DC
Jane Waldfogel,
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies, Harvard University and Columbia University
David L. Weimer,
Robert M. LaFollette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Mary Ellen O’Connell, Study Director
Alexandra Beatty, Rapporteur
Bridget Kelly, Program Officer
Wendy Keenan, Program Associate
BOARD ON CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES
Bernard Guyer (Chair),
Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University
Jane D. Brown,
School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Linda Marie Burton,
Sociology Department, Duke University
Angela Diaz,
Department of Pediatrics and Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Gary W. Evans,
Department of Human Development, Cornell University
Christine C. Ferguson,
School of Public Health and Health Services, The George Washington University
Sherry A. Glied,
Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
William T. Greenough,
Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ruby Hearn,
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (emeritus), Princeton, NJ
Michele D. Kipke,
Saban Research Institute, University of Southern California and Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles
Betsy Lozoff,
Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan
Pamela Morris,
Policy Area on Family Well-Being and Children’s Development, MDRC, New York
Charles A. Nelson,
Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital, Boston
Patricia O’Campo,
University of Toronto and Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto
Frederick P. Rivara,
Schools of Medicine and Public Health, University of Washington, and Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Seattle
John R. Weisz,
Judge Baker Children’s Center and Harvard Medical School
Hirokazu Yoshikawa,
Graduate School of Education, Harvard University
Michael Zubkoff,
Department of Community and Family Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School
Rosemary Chalk, Board Director
Acknowledgments
This workshop summary is based on the discussion at a March 4-5, 2009, workshop convened by the Board on Children, Youth, and Families and planned by the Committee on Strengthening Benefit-Cost Methodology for the Evaluation of Early Childhood Interventions. The committee members identified presenters, organized the agenda, made presentations, and facilitated discussion, although they did not participate in the writing of this report. This summary reflects their diligent efforts, the excellent presentations by other experts at the workshop, and the insightful comments of the many workshop participants. The workshop was funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; the interest and support of Michael Stegman, director of policy, is much appreciated.
The summary has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the Report Review Committee of the National Research Council. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process. We thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Steve Aos, Office of the Associate Director, Washington State Institute for Public Policy, Olympia, Washington; Matthew Neidell, Department of Health Policy and Manage-
ment, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University; Mariajosé Romero, National Center for Children in Poverty, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University; and Barbara L. Wolfe, Departments of Economics and Population Health Sciences, La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the report, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Michael A. Stoto, Health Services Administration and Population Health, School of Nursing and Health Studies, Georgetown University. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the author and the institution.