The committee, chaired by Jack Shonkoff of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, said at a 3 October press briefing in Washington, D.C., that the explosion of research on early child development is having little effect on children's lives. While research has shown that there are no proven remedies for making children smarter, the report says much can be done toward a more important end: nurturing their emotional health. Nonetheless, "many early child care and education programs fail to apply such knowledge in their everyday dealings with children." Low average pay for day-care-center workers--at $6.12 an hour, slightly less than that for parking lot attendants--has led to a 30% annual turnover rate. This, says the panel, is despite "the overwhelming scientific evidence of the central importance of early relationships" with caregivers.

"We have a huge body of science that somehow doesn't seem to be listened to" by policy-makers, lamented Shonkoff. And the problems are getting ever more pressing. At a recent workshop, he notes, directors of Head Start programs complained they were "overwhelmed with mental health problems that they have no expertise to deal with"--problems that have worsened over the past decade, as levels of mental illness and drug abuse have risen among young mothers.