Traces the development of a deficit perspective of low-income, nonmainstream families through a historical review of parent involvement in kindergarten, preschool programs, and various at-risk early childhood programs. Both covert and overt deficit perspectives toward low-income families have prevented early intervention programs from fully…

Noting the while there may be much support for the principle that families on welfare should have access to 2 years of education and training and then be expected to work, this paper contends that it will be extremely difficult, perhaps impossible, to design a coherent and constructive program within the probable federal budget constraints. In…

The present review of the literature aims to look at two-generation programs and their effects on children and parents as a potential strategy to improve parent involvement in Head Start while responding to the self-sufficiency needs of families. This paper reviews several two-generation program evaluations: Comprehensive Child Development…

Reviews research on black adolescent male development within schools and classrooms and on black, teenage fathers, followed by a discussion of the issues discovered from this research. The article summarizes these issues and provides conclusions for expanding the discourses on black fathers and family support. (GR)

Available data on homeless families and children are reviewed, focusing on definitions of homelessness and the most common methods used to estimate the size of the homeless population. Trends in the duration of homelessness and the numbers of families at risk of losing housing are discussed. (SLD)

Examined the effectiveness of the Wisconsin Learnfare experiment that requires teens to attend school regularly as a condition of receiving family financial aid. Findings from state social services data reveal that, despite a $1.5 million "savings" attributed to the program between September 1988 and December 1989, tremendous family…

This volume examines two-generation interventions as models that represent a new approach to assisting families in poverty. Five of the chapters examine current programs--their design, characteristics of participants, implementation issues, and in one case, evaluation outcomes. Other chapters offer a research and policy context for this…

Early Head Start (EHS) is a comprehensive, two-generation program that includes intensive services that begin before the child is born and concentrate on enhancing the child's development and supporting the family during the critical first 3 years of a child's life. This paper discusses approaches to measuring father involvement in their…

This research review focuses on the effects of early intervention on the preschool children of low-income families, examining studies of intervention programs begun in the 1960s through the present. It then relates this analysis to the new Georgia Prekindergarten Program. The interventions reviewed are grouped into four hierarchical categories…

This report summarizes the activities of two workshops on child care options for low-income families. The workshops focused on factors affecting patterns of child care use among low-income families, child care and children's development, child care and economic self-sufficiency, and the structure and consequences of child care subsidies. It…

Discusses four trends in family life which are particularly affecting Head Start and other programs serving low-income families (1) feminization of poverty, (2) teenage parenting, (3) increasing number of employed mothers, and (4) increasing challenges to attaining economic self-sufficiency. Explores the implications of these trends for Head Start…