How Should Policymakers Invest to Promote Social and Emotional Health and School Readiness?
In general, clinical and developmental knowledge indicates that the best way to help young children thrive socially and emotionally is to ensure that those who are closest to them have the needed knowledge and emotional support to be good guides. The primary aim is to change the child’s environment and to intervene directly with the child only when the child’s problem cannot be addressed by changing the way the caregivers respond or how the environment is structured. Based on scientific evidence, intervention research, and real-world experience, capacity building should focus on three broad types of interventions. • Promotion and prevention strategies targeted to all children, but especially low-income children. Many of these strategies focus on improving the skills of parents, other caregivers, and front-line providers. Screening, in a variety of settings, with follow-up advice and support for caregivers, is core to promotion and prevention. Promotion and prevention strategies include
