Family-focused early learning programs aim to assist parents in supporting their young children language and literacy development. This study examined program access and learning opportunities for diverse families across a wide range of community-based settings in one eastern Canadian province. As well, the study examined practitioners'…

Little research has been devoted to the study of parent centers serving culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) families of children with disabilities. Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs), provide information and emotional supports to families from traditionally underserved communities. The traditionally underserved for the most part are…

In 2007, Walter P. Webb Middle School faced a crisis. One evening in January, the superintendent at the time held a meeting at the school in Austin, Texas, to let students, parents, teachers, and community members know that at the end of the academic year, their school would close. Thanks to a new state law focused on accountability, the…

In a community capacity building project, family and consumer sciences professionals developed a family resource center to provide programs and services to strengthen families. The project exemplifies the civic engagement role of the profession. (SK)

Noting that family resource centers (FRC) embody the comprehensive approach needed to respect families and meet their needs for providing their children with a healthy, nurturing beginning, and that financing issues fundamentally affect how responsive family resource centers will be to the needs of the people they serve, this guide was developed…

When families take part in their young children's education programs, children do better in school. Many early childhood programs offer families the opportunity to participate in their children's learning through family resource centers. Family resource centers provide information on raising and educating children, along with ideas on how to work…

Discusses the services provided by the Iowa-based National Resource Center on Family Based Services. The 4-year-old Resource Center disseminates information, provides technical assistance and training in the "thinking systems" approach to family therapy and social casework, and conducts research to help agencies develop alternatives to…

This annual report describes the programs and staff for 1993 of Grassroots Educare Trust, an organization that helps South African communities provide preschool education and health care. Contents of the report are: (1) a list of the board of trustees; (2) a message from the chairman; (3) the director's report on external efforts and internal…

This report provides a model for the provision of social services to single parents. The activities the center provides include drop-in support groups, workshops on single parent issues, a single parent magazine, individual counseling and community outreach. The report briefly specifies the goals of the center and the rationale behind its…

Fundamental changes in the family unit have led to ineffective and inadequate parenting, and to increasing isolation among families, placing family members at risk for such social problems as child abuse/neglect and school failure. To prevent and treat these problems, parents need knowledge of child development and tools for responding…

One way to improve technology training for teachers is to use multimedia. This article defines multimedia, discusses the benefits and measurable outcomes of interactive multimedia training, and presents a case study of the DeKalb County (Atlanta, GA) School System's teacher training project and family technology resource centers, resulting in a…

This article describes standardized instruments designed to measure physical and emotional health outcomes among children for a statewide implementation of community- and school-based family resource centers. It includes descriptive and psychometric information, strengths and weaknesses of two measures of physical well-being, and four measures of…

Intended for use by school administrators and community leaders serving families of students in the middle grades (6-8), this booklet describes eight family resource programs that illustrate a broad range of practices that attempt to match specific services to those unique needs of the adolescents and families served in each community. Each of the…

Family resource programs seek to foster the development of emotionally stable children and parents. Two underlying assumptions of family resource programs are that programs should focus on family strengths, not weaknesses; and that programs should empower families, not create dependence on professionals. Education of the public about the need 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;…