Experiencing broad play and interaction opportunities is known to support children's learning and development and engagement with museum collections has the potential to stimulate enriching learning opportunities for even the youngest enquiring minds. Here, we describe the development of Toddler Time; a museum-based early years program developed…

A defining feature of Head Start is its whole-family approach where programs partner with parents and guardians to identify their strengths and needs, set goals, and access services to improve family wellbeing. However, little research evidence exists about how Head Start and Early Head Start staff members do this essential work. The "Head…

Women and children coping with issues of domestic violence abuse urgently require help from early childhood professionals. The U.S. Department of Justice (2008) details these women and children are in peril. This article focuses on female domestic violence abuse. It presents some warning signs of domestic violence. It also offers steps on how to…

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the third issue brief in their latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This series explores afterschool and: the Common Core State Standards,…

Support for families of children with autism spectrum disorders continues to be important, but formal support groups may not ft every need. The authors describe Family Fun Days, a program that paired leisure activities with opportunities for support. There was an increase in the number of participants over traditional support meetings,…

The scientific community has provided a wide range of evidence that family and community involvement in schools benefits not only students' learning but also their surrounding community. The INCLUD-ED project has conducted case studies of successful schools around Europe that have strong community participation. Some of them are engaged in the…

This paper presents an overview of current efforts to document or evaluate initiatives for family, friend, and neighbor child care. The initiatives are grouped into two categories: those that view these caregivers through the child care lens and aim to improve the quality of care that they provide to children; and those that see these caregivers…

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an empirically-supported behavioral parent training program designed to be administered in a clinic or laboratory-based setting. Recently, an empirical investigation revealed that in-home PCIT produced comparable results as the PCIT trials conducted in more controlled environments (this issue).…

A communication program for four families with a hearing-impaired child integrated positive communicative dimensions with issues related to this population. Findings indicate that the program had beneficial effects including improved awareness skills, the ability to label feelings and skills, increased perceptions of family cohesiveness, and…

This paper describes an early intervention model demonstration project providing center- and home-based instruction to children with severe/profound handicaps, aged birth to three years, and their parents. The social reciprocity model used, participating children, daily activities, and evaluative findings are discussed. (Author/PB)

The authors, directors of the Chicago-based Pritzker Early Childhood Foundation, advocate "replication," the adaptation of a successful model program or practice to new locations or to new populations. Studies have shown that successful replications of early childhood programs that help at-risk children and their families can have long-term,…

Project LIFT is a 3-year model demonstration program designed to provide family-focused, home-based early intervention services to rural parents of handicapped children under 3 years of age. The LIFT model encompasses: (1) development of an Individual Family Service Plan, (2) case coordination to assist families in identifying and obtaining…

The six articles in this newsletter theme issue focus on three successful infant/family organizations serving families with young children either at risk for a disability or having a disability: Southwest Human Development (Phoenix, Arizona); The Ounce of Prevention Fund (Chicago, Illinois); and New Horizons Center for Children and Families of…