In this article, the author discusses how the JUCONI Foundation in Puebla, Mexico is helping children. (JUCONI is an acronym for "Junto con los Ninos", or "Together with the Children)." This Mexican nongovernmental organization (NGO) has been successfully working with distressed families and children in Puebla since 1989. For…

The "Colorado Children's Budget" presents and analyzes investments and spending trends during the past five state fiscal years on services that benefit children. The "Children's Budget" focuses mainly on state investment and spending, with some analysis of federal investments and spending to provide broader context of state…

The Child and Family Resource Program (CFRP) of the Office of Child Development (OCD) is described. CFRP is designed to provide family-oriented, comprehensive services to children from the prenatal period through age 8, according to their individual needs. The program description stresses the use of existing community resources in a linked program…

How early childhood funds are channeled to communities significantly affects what supports and services are available, how they are provided, how well they are linked to other resources in the community, and who benefits from them. As pressure mounts for states and communities to strengthen their commitment to families with young children and meet…

Discusses the need for a coordinated national policy on family support in the home. Reviews the history of home visiting and gives recommendations for practice, training, and research. Describes the impact of new federal initiatives on family support programs and research demonstration efforts. (DM)

This report describes the extent to which maltreated children have developmental problems or are subject to factors associated with poor developmental outcomes, what services these children might be eligible to receive, what factors influence service receipt, and what solutions have been devised to address barriers to service provision. This final…

This fact sheet examines the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program established by the U.S. Congress in 1990 to support families by increasing the availability, affordability, and quality of child care. It outlines the program's funding level, eligible grantees of CCDBG funds, regulatory requirements, family eligibility, and…

Describes the "Educate Your Child" program, a Cuban family-based program supported by UNICEF and designed to enhance the total development of children from birth until the start of formal schooling for the 80 percent of Cuban children who do not attend the Children's Circle preschool program. Highlights the importance of the regional…

Describes two projects aimed at improving child development. Both the "School-Age Child Care" project and the "Parenting the First Year" project were replicated over 50 times as a means of moving 100 communities to action for child development. The diffusion model of outreach is contrasted with the knowledge generation process…

Considers the requirements of the Children Act (1989) in Great Britain and the use of "Looking After Children" materials in assessing the progress of children in out-of-home care. Demonstrates how simple indicators in the key areas of needs, objectives, services, and outcomes can be used to develop answers to complex questions regarding…

"Food insecurity," which is the lack of access to enough food to fully meet basic needs at all times because of economic constraints, afflicts 40.6% of low-income households with children. Research shows that living in a food-insecure household can lead to negative health and developmental consequences for young children, including obesity.…

Background: An area-based initiative, Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLPs), was established by the UK government to reduce social exclusion through improving the well-being of children aged 0-3 years and their families in disadvantaged communities; a true community intervention in that all children under four and their families in specified areas…

Parents are children's first and foremost teachers. In today's world, a second significant influence on children ages 0 to 5 is the teachers or caregivers who provide child care and early education. Wisconsin's young children typically spend significant amounts of time in early care and education (ECE) programs, like family child care homes, child…

Rich with clinical insights, this volume reviews the state of the science of identifying and treating autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in very young children. Leading authorities examine critical research issues and present innovative approaches to assessing social, cognitive, adaptive, communication, and sensory-motor impairments in the first two…

Research Findings: Early Head Start home-based programs provide services through weekly home visits to families with children up to age 3, but families vary in how long they remain enrolled. In this study of 564 families in home-based Early Head Start programs, "dropping out" was predicted by specific variations in home visits and certain family…