This paper presents a discussion of recent and pending legislation dealing with day care, child advocacy, family services, juvenile delinquency, and maternal and child health care. Six suggestions are offered concerning legislation which needs to be enacted: (1) a child and family services program along the lines of the child development bill…

This paper examines social welfare policy and its impacts on Appalachian children. The discussion is based on a notion that a just society meets basic needs of all its members. Current social policy: (1) does not include a comprehensive family policy; (2) depends on state and local contributions which are limited in rural Appalachia; (3) has…

The domestic health profile, family and community role, and federal efforts to help at-risk children are discussed. Federal efforts center on maternal and child health programs that strengthen the family, but other initiatives are necessary to give each child the security and stability needed for healthy development. (SLD)

Most discussions of welfare reform ignore two factors: its effect on children; and the fact that a welfare reform law, the Family Support Act of 1988 (FSA), already exists. FSA created state Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) welfare-to-work programs, and if the JOBS program is adequately funded, it can improve the lives of welfare…

Presents remarks on welfare reform by Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services, at the National Job Opportunity and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) Directors Conference. Four basic principles that guide current work on welfare reform are (1) making work pay; (2) improving child support enforcement; (3) strengthening education and…

Discusses features of the National Literacy Act that are of interest to librarians. Highlights include a new definition of literacy; cooperation between providers and government agencies; new programs, including state resource centers, national workforce strategies, services for prisoners, and family programs; amendments to existing legislation;…

This paper describes the assessment procedures used by the Child and Family Resource Program (CFRP) to identify and address the needs of families and of individual family members. CFRP was developed as part of the Head Start Improvement and Innovation effort to provide individualized comprehensive developmental services to families with children…

In this document, a "two-generation program" is defined as a program "that addresses the developmental needs of children within a family support context." The rationale for Head Start as a two-generation program that includes, but goes beyond, the boundaries of the welfare reform strategy, is explored. Major program goals…

The current status of and future prospects for the nation's children and their families are discussed in this progress report by the director of the Office of Child Development. Successes of the Head Start program are noted, with particular mention of the parent involvement component. Other early intervention programs are cited, many of which…

Project Know-How, a small intensive early childhood intervention program, stresses family involvement in attempting to maximize the development of children. Three main components are involved: a preschool program, a mothers' program, and a fathers' program. Project goals are addressed through a three-fold intervention plan involving cooperative…