Professional Organizations
American Psychological Association
http://www.apa.org
Provides information on the largest professional organization of psychologists in the country. Includes studies and news items focusing on children's behavior, learning, and physical growth and presents information on conferences, publications, and membership.
Association for Childhood Education International
http://www.acei.org
Provides information about one of the leading organizations for professionals in early childhood care and education. Includes materials related to children from birth through the elementary years and presents information on conferences, publications, and membership.
Council for Exceptional Children
http://www.cec.sped.org
Provides information on the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving the education of individuals with special needs. Click on the "Divisions" link for information on the Division for Early Childhood (DEC), devoted to supporting young children with special needs and their families. Included on the DEC web site are reports, position statements, and information on conferences and membership.
National Association for the Education of Young Children
http://www.naeyc.org
Presents information on the largest organization for professionals working with young children and their families. Provides lists of resources, publications, position statements, and information on conferences and memberships.
Society for Research in Child Development
http://www.srcd.org/
Provides information on the largest organization of child development researchers in the country. Presents research findings, position statements, and information on conferences and membership.
Advocacy Groups and Information Centers
Child Trends
http://www.childtrends.org
Provides an overview of this advocacy group that is devoted to protecting children. Includes articles and research findings on child welfare topics, such as child abuse and neglect and child poverty.
Child Welfare League of America
http://www.cwla.org
Presents articles, research studies, and general information on the oldest child advocacy organization in the country. Includes descriptions of advocacy activities of the CWL, which is devoted to promoting policies that protect children and strengthen families.
Children Now
http://www.childrennow.org
Presents information on an organization that advocates for the well-being of children and families. Includes articles, data summaries, and research on such topics as the media, violence in children's lives, children's health issues, and child care.
Children's Defense Fund
http://www.childrensdefense.org
Provides information on one of the leading child advocacy groups in the country. Contains goals and position statements and information on key issues and problems facing children and families in the United States.
Education Commission of the States
http://www.ecs.org
Presents information on an organization devoted to disseminating research and theory that can guide educational practice. Includes articles and research findings on educational issues, including those affecting young children and their families.
Families USA
http://www.familiesUSA.org
Includes information on an organization that advocates for child and family health. Provides articles, summaries of pending legislation, position statements, and other resources related to health issues.
Kids Count
http://www.aecf.org/kidscount
Presents information on a national organization that tracks the status of children in the United States and shares this information with policymakers, educators, and families. Includes surveys and data summaries that profile the well-being of children both nationally and state-by-state.
National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities
http://www.nichcy.org
Includes information on this national organization and referral center that provides resources on disabilities for families, educators, and other professionals. Includes a library of articles and research reports and an information search engine.
National Safe Kids Campaign
http://www.safekids.org
Provides information on an organization devoted exclusively to protecting children from their number-one killer: unintentional accidents. Includes research reports, safety tips, and statistics on childhood accidents.
Stand for Children
http://www.stand.org
Provides information on this grass-roots action group that takes action on issues related to children's health and education. Includes policy statements on national issues, including early childhood education and health care.
United Nations Children's Fund
http://www.unicef.org
Presents information on UNICEF, a United Nations organization devoted to helping children living in poverty in developing countries. Includes press releases, articles, and overviews of its initiatives related to early care and education, gender equity, child health and mortality, and childhood survival during war and natural disasters.
Government Agencies
Administration for Children and Families
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov
One of the largest government agencies serving children and families. Includes hundreds of links to studies, grant opportunities, and announcements of pending legislation and new federal initiatives that support children and families.
Environmental Protection Agency: Office of Children's Health Protection
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/homepage
Presents information and an overview of initiatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency related to children's health. Includes articles and research summaries related to such topics as asthma and respiratory ailments, neurological impairments, and the environmental factors that contribute to these conditions.
National Head Start Association
http://www.headstartinfo.org/
A link to the Head Start Information Center of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Provides access to hundreds of research reports and articles related to early childhood development and preschool education. Contains specific information on Head Start, a federally funded birth-to-preschool program that serves children and families in poverty.
U.S. Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/
Includes data on the U.S. population, including census findings on the social and mental health and socioeconomic status of children and families of diverse cultural backgrounds.
U.S. Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov/index.jsp
Contains hundreds of links to research studies, statistical reports, articles, grants, policy statements, and other documents related to all aspects of education, including topics such as early childhood education, ethnicity, poverty and education, and early reading.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.os.dhhs.gov
Contains links to studies, articles, statistical reports, and information on current initiatives of the largest government agency that supports the health and welfare of children and families.
Special Education Sites
Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
http://www.cec.sped.org/
This is a website for the largest professional organization in the world advocating for individuals who are gifted and for those with disabilities. CEC has been instrumental in the successful passage of laws that have guaranteed the educational rights of students with disabilities. This organization has divisions—e.g., TAG (talented and gifted)—that focus on different groups of exceptional individuals.
ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education
http://ericec.org/
This is the official ERIC clearinghouse addressing matters on giftedness and disabilities. Contains links, fact sheets, bibliographies, parent information, and other useful information. It is operated by the Council for Exceptional Children.
National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY)
http://www.nichcy.org/
This is the website for NICHCY, which is the national information and referral center that provides information on disabilities and disability-related issues for families, educators, and other professionals. Their special focus is children and youth (birth to age 22). Provides links to many articles, questions and answers, and information on IDEA. A Spanish version can be linked.
United Cerebral Palsy (UCP)
http://www.ucpa.org/
One of the older and largest disability-related organizations, UCP's mission is to advance the independence, productivity, and full citizenship of people with cerebral palsy and other disabilities through their commitment to the principles of independence, inclusion, and self-determination.
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
http://www.afb.org/
Founded in 1921, AFB is a leading national resource for people who are blind or visually impaired, the organizations that serve them, and the public. Links facilitate searches in the area of visual impairments, and the site also includes a section on talking books.
Multicultural/Culture Sites
National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME)
http://www.nameorg.org/
The official website of the National Association for Multicultural Education, the leading organization in the country addressing multicultural education. Website has links to articles, resources, publications, and other areas relevant to multicultural education.
University of Southern California Center for Multilingual Multicultural Research
http://www.usc.edu/dept/education/CMMR/
This website has many useful links, including links to Asian American, African American, Native American, and Latino/Hispanic resources. There are links to articles and audiovideo materials, including a video portion of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech.
Population Reference Bureau
http://www.prb.org/
The Population Reference Bureau website is an outstanding source for a wide range of demographic data. Their best work can be purchased or is received by subscription membership. Information for this is on the website.
American Demographics
http://www.demographics.com/
This is the website for American Demographics, a monthly subscription journal ($69 annually) that provides articles on important demographic issues. The website does provide some articles, links, and data. Tends to focus more on business demographic trends. However, much is useful for educators.
U.S. Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/
This is the official website for the U.S. Census Bureau. It contains demographic data, projections, links, and a wealth of information from poverty statistics to ethnic census data.
National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)
http://databank.ncss.org/index.php?topic=I
This is the website for NCSS, the largest association in the country devoted solely to social studies education. The site contains several valuable links, especially this link on culture.
Council of the Great City Schools
http://www.cgcs.org/
The website for the Council of the Great City Schools contains many helpful resources and links. One link, "What Works in Urban Education," provides descriptions of 155 successful urban programs.
U.S. Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/
The website for the U.S. Department of Education OCR contains many helpful resources. Numerous links will take you to other agencies in the government; federal laws, such as ADA; information on sex, racial, age, and disability discrimination; and many other sites.
http://www.lulac.org/
This is the website for LULAC, which advances for the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health, and civil rights of the Hispanic population of the United States. Contains links to issues such as education, census, legislation, and other Hispanic organizations.National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
http://www.naacp.org/
The website of the NAACP addresses issues of school desegregation, fair housing, employment, and voter registration, as well as elections, health, and equal economic opportunity. Includes numerous useful links including those to other ethnic group organizations.
National Congress of American Indians
http://www.ncai.org
The website for the National Congress of American Indians, which works to inform the public and Congress on the governmental rights of American Indians and Alaska Natives. The website includes a directory of tribes in the United States.
The National Urban League
http://www.nul.org/
The National Urban League has sought to emphasize greater reliance on the unique resources and strengths of the African American community to find solutions to its own problems. It has strong roots in the community that are focused on the social and educational development of youth, economic self-sufficiency, and racial inclusion. Several helpful links.
Annie E. Casey Foundation
http://www.aecf.org/index.htm
The Annie E. Casey Foundation focuses its efforts on fostering public policies, human service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today's vulnerable children and families. Contains links to the organization's publications.
Kids Count
http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/
The Kids Count website is a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Kids Count is a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the United States by providing policymakers and citizens with benchmarks of child well-being.
