In the past few years, people have come to realize that family and child well-being are public health issues. Helping families and children be happy, healthy and resilient helps the larger community. This report will discuss various aspects of family life including the systems that exist to support them, ways families can have more positive…

Families influence their children's health in two ways that are amenable to public policy- through their financial and other investments in children, and through the quality of care that they provide. In general, children who receive more resources or better parenting are healthier than those who don't. Public policies, therefore, might improve…

The profound injuries caused by child maltreatment are well documented in the neurological, attachment, cognitive, and developmental literature. In this review paper, we explore the potential of early childhood education (ECE) as a community-based resilience intervention for mitigating the impacts of child abuse and neglect and supporting families…

As support for intervening early in the lives of vulnerable children has risen in the United States in recent years, so has interest in home-visitation programs. Home visitation is increasingly recognized for its potential to foster early child development and competent parenting, as well as to reduce risk for child abuse and neglect and other…

The prevalence of traumatic stress in the lives of families who are homeless is extraordinarily high. Often these families are headed by single mothers who have experienced ongoing trauma in the form of childhood abuse and neglect, domestic violence, and community violence, as well as the trauma associated with poverty and the loss of home,…

All OECD governments want to give parents more choice in their work and family decisions. This book looks at the different ways in which governments support families. It seeks to provide answers to questions like: Is spending on family benefits going up, and how does it vary by the age of the child? Has the crisis affected public support for…

This manual provides a state-of-the art review of child neglect in the United States, its nature, causes, and the implications of that knowledge for preventive and remedial intervention. After an introduction, the first chapter considers the definition of neglect including types of neglect, the withholding of medically indicated treatment from…

This issue brief focuses on the special needs of teenage parents and their children ("teen parent families") and on how the unique set of services available through Early Head Start (EHS) programs can support them. Teen parent families face multiple risks, risks that may be substantially different from those faced by families with older parents…

The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is the nation's oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization committed to engaging people everywhere in promoting the well-being of children, youth, and their families and protecting every child from harm. By publishing a diverse range of views on a wide array of topics, "Children's…

This compilation of extensive facts and figures on topics pertaining to America's children and families is a ready reference for journalists, advocates, and others who need easy access to data on conditions and trends. The book's first nine chapters are: (1) "The Changing American Family"; (2) "Children's Growth and…

This paper focuses on the challenges of helping children after abuse and neglect has occurred by strengthening the web of supports for children and families in foster care. It examines the current state of the foster care system and finds that it is really not a cohesive system but a combination of many overlapping and interacting agencies, all…

This book is an innovative approach to the primary prevention of child maltreatment. It focuses on the impact that child care providers can make in helping to reduce the risk of abuse and neglect in families with very young children. This research- and practice-based curriculum offers concepts, information, strategies, and practices focused on…

Family issues are an abiding concern for members of the profession of early education, and debate regarding government policies about families and child care continues to be timely. This volume provides a foundation for understanding programs, families, and the current social context, as well as particular areas of concern for families and child…

This report outlines what is known about the requirements for optimal development during the first 3 years of life, considers the ways in which society might reverse the trends toward risk for families and children, and describes the necessary conditions for families to function well in the interests of their young children. Part 1 describes "the…