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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2024 May 3.
Published in final edited form as: Annu Rev Econom. 2023 May 3;15:349–388. doi: 10.1146/annurev-economics-021423-031905

Table 4.

Features of Omnibus and Original Home-Visiting Programs

Omnibus Programs
Pioneering Home-Visiting Programs
Perry ABC Jamaica Preparing for Life
Panel a. Features
Setting Ypsilanti, Michigan Chapel Hill, North Carolina Poor neighborhoods in Kingston, Jamaica Disadvantaged neighborhoods of Dublin, Ireland

Year of program start 1962 1972 1986–1987 2008

Annual cost per child participant 9,391 (2021 USD) 21,106 (2021 USD) 862 (2021 USD) 2,363 (2021 USD)

Sample at baseline 65 control; 58 treatment 56 control; 58 treatment 65 control; 64 treatment 118 control; 115 treatment

Socioeconomic characteristics of participants Disadvantage by several measures, which determined eligibility Disadvantage by several measures, which determined eligibility Generally disadvantaged; all child participants were stunted at baseline Generally disadvantaged (high unemployment, low levels of education)

Child age at start of program 3 years 0 (program started at birth) 9 to 24 months When mothers pregnant

Program duration 2 years 5 years 2 years 5 years

Education of home visitors College or teaching degree No visits were implemented. Staff in childcare centers were a mix of HS graduates and education-certified staff All had at least secondary education All had a college degree

Experience required for home visitors Most staff had certification or experience in education Education-certified staff was present in childcare centers None; received 8 weeks of mandatory training on child development Intensive two-day initial training on program manual and child-development matters. Follow-up to this training throughout the following six months.

Education of mothers at baseline Most mothers did not have high school completed Most mothers did not have high school completed Only 24% had more than 9 years of education Relatively low; 30% had less than 16 years

Frequency of home visits Weekly during the school year; one-hour per session No visits were implemented Weekly; one-hour per session Fortnightly; one-hour per session

Panel b. Home-Environment Measures
Child age at measurement 0.5 to 4.5 3 to 5 Not available 3, 5, and 9

Measures available Parental Attitude Research Instrument HOME Inventory Age 3: HOME inventory; Age 5: home learning-environment index; Age 9: parent-involvement index

Panel c. Very Early-Life Skill Measures
Child age at measurement 5 5 3 to 4 3 and 5

Measures available Cognition: Stanford-Binet IQ Test; Non-cognitive: not available Cognition: Stanford-Binet IQ Test; Non-cognitive: not available Cognitive: Griffith Mental Development Scale (performance scale) Non-Cognitive: not available Cognitive (5): BAS (spatial, pictorial, verbal sections). Non-Cognitive (3 and 5): internalizing, externalizing, pro-social, and peer problem behavior inventories

Panel d. Early-Life Skill Measures
Child age at measurement 7 to 9 7 to 9 7 to 8 and 11 to 12 9

Measures available Cognition: Stanford-Binet IQ Test; Non-cognitive: Problem Solving Inventory (externalizing behavior) Cognition: McCarthy Scale of Children’s Abilities; Non-cognitive: not available Cognition: Stanford-Binet IQ Test (age 7 to 8) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (11 to 12) Cognition: BAS Test (spatial, pictorial, verbal sections). Non-cognitive: internalizing, externalizing, pro-social, and peer problem behavior inventories