Reviews studies that defined and measured the effects of quality in early child care and education, and analyzes successful programs to determine common traits. Common characteristics include small class sizes; teacher support for greater teaching effectiveness; long-lasting intervention; ongoing, child-focused communication between home and…

Community-researcher partnerships can be powerful mechanisms to understand and effectively address health and social problems such as HIV/AIDS prevention. When the partnership is a positive, productive one, the combined expertise and energy of both parties result in a more effective program and a better evaluation of its effects. This article…

In too many communities, child care, health care, and other family supports and services are rarely coordinated and are too frequently determined by where families live, their level of income, and their community connections. Policy initiatives at the local, state, and federal level influence how communities are able to develop more…

This book presents a rationale for developing new approaches to conceptualizing the costs associated with the implementation and operation of models supporting comprehensive, community-based support systems (CCBSS) for children. CCBSS are broad-based approaches that have no single model or specification for reform; the configuration of the model…

Intended for those interested in building a collaborative system of services for young children and their families, this guide describes models used in developing Oregon's coordinated Head Start and early child care programs. Chapter 1, "Introduction and Overview," sets out the goals of the Oregon Child Care/Head Start Collaboration Work…

Migrant farm workers are the concern and theme of this special serial issue. Migrant farm workers arrange much of their social and economic life around seasonal changes as they follow jobs up the eastern migrant stream to its northenmost part in New York state, then south to Florida. The education, health, and folk arts program at the Board of…

This manual on health and safety considerations in caring for young children with exceptional health care needs is a product of Project EXCEPTIONAL (EXceptional Children: Education in Preschool Techniques for Inclusion, Opportunity-building, Nurturing And Learning), which has the goal of increasing the quality and quantity of inclusive child care…

This monograph presents 12 reports of successful programs serving children with special needs in various nations. The program locations and the program report titles and authors are as follows: (1) Austria: "Integration Models for Elementary and Secondary Schools in Austria" (Volker Rutte); (2) China: "Integrated Education Project,…

Parent involvement in their children's schooling declines dramatically as students move through middle school and high school, though students still want and need their parents' help to reach educational goals. This newsletter presents several articles on partnerships between schools and families and between families and community programs. The…

Intended for community development professionals and volunteers who work with preliterate communities, this illustrated handbook accompanies a library of visual aids that allow rural people to formulate their own projects. (The curriculum, called Pictorial Apprenticeship, transfers the process of project design into visual forms that literate and…

This volume reports on the fifth nationwide survey of trends in mental retardation (MR) and developmental disabilities (DD). It begins with four chapters summarizing trends in the nation as a whole. The first chapter is "Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives" (David Braddock). This…

Workplace literacy programs are employer- and/or union-sponsored basic skills upgrading programs for workers and their families. Community-based literacy programs can support workplace programs. Several factors should be considered in Northern Ontario workplace literacy programs: (1) technological change; (2) aging population; (3) outmigration of…

This report surveys the vocational education system, work experience programs, and job training programs for youths in Chicago. The report is organized in five sections. It begins with a brief review of the socioeconomic context that affects youth employment in the city of Chicago. Section 2 examines vocational training in the Chicago public…

Twenty years after the War on Poverty was launched, dependency on public support remains widespread. Part 1 of this report summarizes current research concerning the following issues affecting welfare programs: (1) evaluating the economic effects of welfare; (2) dynamics of dependency; (3) welfare and work; (4) welfare and family structure; (5)…

This paper brings together information on the conditions and needs of children who have been exposed to drugs, federal programs that affect the well-being of these children, and policy questions that need resolution. Discussion concerns: (1) characteristics of infants who have been exposed to drugs and their families, including prevalence and…