Name:   Human Capital Interventions across Childhood and Adolescence

Purpose:   The overall purpose of this research is to examine why human capital-oriented intervention programs and policies, directed at children in the preschool, middle childhood, and adolescent stages of development, have the effects, non-effects, and, in some cases, perverse effects that they do. The study focuses on the congruence (“fit”) between the developmental needs of children and youth and the design and nature of educational interventions designed to augment human capital and promote positive outcomes, particularly for individuals raised in economically disadvantaged families.

Design:   This project, which involves analyses of 18 public use and restricted use existing data sets, is organized as four subprojects and has two overarching key objectives: (1) Secure an interdisciplinary understanding of how children in different developmental stages, and in different personal and environmental circumstances, are affected by human capital policy interventions, and (2) Promote successful child and youth interventions by getting inside the intervention black boxes to identify key program elements for preschoolers and school-aged children and youth in anticipation of future program design and evaluation.

Funding Agency:   NIH (National Institute of Health) P01 HD065704.

Duration:   5  years, starting September 2011, extended through November 2017

Full Summary:  AbstractOverview(pdf)  Overview of Program Project (pdf)

Summary of Results: Summary of P01 HD065704