About Integrated Early Childhood Development

Why CRS

Integration

CRS is a global leader in early childhood development, in 2020 reaching 1.8 million children and their families. Our approach integrates ECD into on-going maternal, child health, and nutrition interventions within existing national and sub-national systems. By collaborating with other service providers, we can share resources – facilities, transportation, and distribution systems – and thereby increase the efficiency of our work. By strengthening the capacity of government ministries and national service providers to implement ECD, we ensure that these programs will be around for a long time to come.

View/Download CRS' Guiding Framework for ECD

Research

Our ECD work is evidence-based and evidence-generating. Our research partnerships with leading universities allow us to test and learn from our innovations. Thanks to experimental and quasi-experimental studies, we have recently shown that:

1. Our lay counselor model is ethical, effective, and of high quality

2. Participating in our ECD programs is associated with lower rates of post-partum depression

3. Our integrated programs are effective at changing health and parenting behaviors, resulting in healthier children

STORIES

Kenya Families Help Ease Mothers' Burden

 

Community Health Day: Making Health Care Accessible

Ghana: Treating Depression In New Mothers

RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS

CRS partners with institutions of higher education to conduct iECD-related research. Collaborations with Duke University and Emory University have published the following articles in peer-reviewed journals.

• “The Impact of a Maternal Mental Health Intervention on Intimate Partner Violence in Northern Ghana and the Mediating Roles of Social Support and Couple Communication: Secondary Analysis of a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial” BMC Public Health 21 (2021)

• “Effect of a lay counselor-delivered integrated maternal mental health and early childhood development group-based intervention in Northern Ghana: a cluster-randomized controlled trial.” Cambridge University Online (2021)

• “The Effects of Antenatal Depression and Women’s Perception of Having Poor Health on Maternal Health Service Utilization in Northern Ghana.” Maternal and Child Health Journal 25 (2021)

• "Effect of a lay counselor delivered integrated maternal mental health and early childhood development group-based intervention in Siaya County, Kenya.” Journal of Affective Disorders 292 (2021)

• “Depression Among Pregnant Women Enrolled in a Maternal and Newborn Health Program in Rural Northern Ghana.” Global Social Welfare 7 (2021)

• “Prevalence and correlates of maternal early stimulation behaviors during pregnancy in northern Ghana: a cross-sectional survey.” BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 21 (2021)

• “Practices and Perspectives on Latrine Use, Child Feces Disposal, and Clean Play Environments in Western Kenya.” American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 102 (2020)

• “Designing integrated interventions to improve nutrition and WASH behaviors in Kenya.” Pilot Feasibility Study 6 (2020)

• “Impact of a demand-side integrated WASH and nutrition community-based care group intervention on behavioral change: a randomized controlled trial in western Kenya.” BMJ Global Health 5 (2020)

• “Experimental Evidence from an Integrated Early Childhood Parenting Program in Sierra Leone.” IZA Discussion Paper Series 14054 (2020)

Links to Resources

Early childhood – the period between conception and three years of age – is a crucially important period of life. Young children’s health and nutrition, the care they receive, and the way they are parented, affect not just their childhood wellbeing, but their lifelong physical and mental health and development.

• Maternal and Child Health Innovations: A Toolkit Antenatal Care Research

• mHealth as means to Reduce Maternal and Newborn Deaths: Steps to Success , a Learning Brief, a Midterm Evaluation Summary, a Journal Article, and a News Article

• Male Engagement: An Operations Research Brief, Facilitator’s Guide for a 3-Day Training

• Better Parenting Plus: Community Discussion Guide

• Journey of Life Community Workshops: A Toolkit

• Helping Partners Develop or Strengthen their Organizational Child Protection Policies: A Facilitator’s Guide

• Tree of Life: A Workshop Methodology

• Singing to the Lions: A Guide to Overcoming Fear and Violence in our Lives

• Strengthening Teacher Capacity: A Guide and Flipbook

• Using Play for Growing Smart Children: A Manual for Creating Toys

• Growing to Thrive: Integrated early childhood development, nutrition, health and baby hygiene and sanitation

CONTACT INFO

To learn more, contact [email protected].