Public enforcement agencies such as criminal justice, child welfare, and immigration directly or indirectly impact children and families, often through mandated requirements and forced separations. As a result, families involved with these agencies can be wary of trusting early childhood home visitors and mental health providers. Through case…

Using data from the National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study, this study provides a framework for characterizing the delivery of early intervention services based on the combinations of service providers who work with infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. Five groups of providers were identified. Results showed that the…

This is the fifth and final report of a longitudinal study examining the use of a comprehensive system of prevention and early intervention services in Palm Beach County, and how its use relates to the outcomes of children and families living in four targeted geographic areas (TGAs) with high rates of poverty, teen pregnancy, crime, and child…

A study involving 64 Australian parents of children with mental retardation (ages 4-31) found no significant differences between mothers and fathers in terms of their general positivity-negativity, but that fathers were less represented by overall responses than mothers. Significant differences were also found between subgroups of mothers.…

In this article an Irish mother reflects on her experience of raising a child with Down syndrome, how his presence affected the family, and how she as a person changed as a result. Professionals are urged to recognize the importance of effective listening, ongoing coordinated support, and learning to work in partnership with families. (Contains…

A national survey assessing the degree and kind of family intervention services received was completed by 503 mothers with handicapped children in early intervention programs. Factor analysis was performed and items used to construct the Family-Focused Intervention Scale with 5 reliable subscales. Comparisons among groups of mothers supported…

This paper challenges the traditional view that, in families of children with disabilities, mothers have the primary responsibility for child care because they are the "natural" caregivers. Family support services are an emerging way of delivering services to families of children with disabilities, and they seem to operate within a framework that…

This paper provides further evidence to challenge the scepticism of successful interprofessional working. It is a story of a project to support families and children, more specifically, isolated mothers, and the use of continuous quality improvement and action research methodologies to engage a community and change service provision. Based on…

Literature is reviewed on service delivery to families with adolescent parents of handicapped infants. Stages of adolescence, parenting behaviors, and issues of support are presented. The literature calls for a family focus as a model, case management skills, and a developmental approach as young parents' abilities and needs mature. (Author/JDD)

This policy "alert" summarizes two studies addressing implementation of early intervention for families with infants and toddlers with special needs. The first study examined the distribution of sociodemographic factors associated with underutilization of health and social services. These include poverty, maternal employment, ethnic…

In 1992 CityMatCH, a national organization of urban maternal and child health programs and leaders, initiated a survey of programs to serve as an information resource for urban public health practitioners. This report updates previous data, presents baseline information on maternal and child health (MCH) programs in urban health departments…

This annotated listing provides brief descriptions of the 591 projects funded during 1991 by federal set-aside funds of the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Services Block Grant and identified as special projects of regional and national significance (SPRANS). Preliminary information includes an introduction, an organization chart of the Maternal…

This speech reports on data collected by the Early Intervention Collaborative Study (EICS), which is a longitudinal study following the development of 190 young children with disabilities (and their families) who entered 29 publicly funded early intervention programs in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the period from 1985 to 1987. The…