Whether the topic is kindergarten readiness, the effect of divorce on a family or teenage conflicts with parents, the University of California, Davis, has a large group of faculty experts in child development, psychology and psychiatry who can provide informed perspectives for news stories.

For example, journalists interested in stories about mandated universal preschool can find UC Davis sources to talk about policy issues behind the politics, intellectual and emotional growth, literacy linked to wellness and classroom inclusion for children with disabilities.

UC Davis' nationally recognized faculty can also address subjects ranging from the positive family dynamics among Latinos to the biological and environmental influences on adopted children to how youngsters learn to use will power.

Other faculty members are studying how ethnic diversity in schools affects bullying, how boys learn to be men, mental health issues in toddlers, the sources of fear in young children, how siblings react when their parents show favoritism and children's memory issues in court cases.

Reporters can also take advantage of staff expertise at the UC Davis Center for Child and Family Studies, which offers toddler and infant programs and a nursery school. The program is recognized as a leader in best practices for child care, and UC Davis has improved the quality of day care in the region by training child-care providers.

The campus also has a number of faculty outside the child development/psychology field who can talk about children in the arts -- music, poetry and other literature, and educational outreach.

To find a UC Davis expert, reporters can contact faculty members directly or with the assistance of the News Service by using the following online source lists:

• Infants and children http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/sources/infants.lasso
• Preteens and adolescents http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/sources/teens.lasso
• School readiness http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/sources/school_readiness.lasso
• Children and the arts http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/sources/children_arts.lasso