Early Head Start (EHS) is an evidence-based, federally funded, and community-based program with a two-generation approach to child development for children under age 3 and pregnant women in poverty. The mission of EHS is to support healthy prenatal outcomes; enhance the intellectual, social, and emotional development of infants and toddlers; and…

Only 8 percent of children born into poverty graduate from college by the age of 25. Consider what that means for the estimated 500,000 New York City kids living in poverty. It is a fact: The better educated a person is, the better her chances of upward mobility. So when fewer than one in 10 children born into poverty reach their academic…

The purpose of this study was to conduct a "pilot participatory evaluation" of Every Child Succeeds (ECS), a well-established home visitation program in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, using Photovoice methodology. Every Child Succeeds serves first-time, at-risk mothers and their infants. Seven ECS mothers participated in the…

This paper proposes the use of home-based, family-centered services that are designed to encourage the healthy development of children in their families. Such services would constitute part of a comprehensive approach to the child welfare problem in Indiana. The goals of family-centered services are to: (1) preserve the integrity of the family;…

Home visiting is a way of providing services to children and families. Based on the experiences of home visitors in Vermont, this booklet discusses promising home visiting practices. Following a preface and introduction, the book's sections are: (1) "The Home Visiting Relationship"; (2) "The Home Visit: Essential Components";…

As a result of the impact of economic industrialization on the U.S. economy, the extended family in the United States has fragmented; nuclear families have lost contact with sources of parenting information and, increasingly, when parenting problems have occurred, the assistance of social service agencies has been requested. The lack of parenting…

Compiled as a project of the National Resource Center on Family Based Services, this document contains an annotated directory of a representative listing of family-based services existing in 24 of the United States. (Family-based service programs provide humane, quality and cost-efficient services to families in the least restrictive environment,…

This study assessed child maltreatment group differences in 530 families receiving intensive family preservation services based on the HOMEBUILDERS model. Results indicated that neglectful families, compared to abusive ones, were poorer and more likely to be headed by a single parent, to have mental health and substance abuse problems, and to have…

This report presents an evaluation of the Intensive Services Project in Lincoln and McCook, Nebraska, which was designed to demonstrate that caseworkers with smaller child protective caseloads could offer more effective home-based services. The background of the project is described focusing on staffing and service setting. Service principles and…

The manual discusses home based approaches to support families of developmentally disabled children. The first section presents in question and answer format the rationale for such support services. Succeeding sections address the following aspects: respite care, sitter/companion services; parent counseling, education, and training; in home…

Family based services attempt to maintain and strengthen the client family and prevent family dissolution and the placement of a child or several children in substitute care. This study compared programs that serve children and their families in their home. Variances in program costs were attributed to differences in number of casework hours per…

Family needs assessment is mandated within Head Start programs. Cen-Clear Child Services, Inc., a Head Start program in Pennsylvania, set out to evaluate and revise its approach to information-gathering and to involve families in the planning process using plans based on family strengths and designed to meet family goals. Based on a model designed…

This essay discusses methodological and ethical problems in the implementation and evaluation of home-based intervention programs for young children and their families. Part I notes the difficulties in (1) selecting an appropriate research design to evaluate a program (e.g., preventing sample bias), (2) specifying precisely the intervention method…

This double issue of the journal "Report" focuses on the collaboration among seven social service systems that support and serve children and families. Each of the sections discusses one of the seven systems, presents an overview essay, and profiles programs that execute the service. The first section, on education, emphasizes linkages…

Describes a Baltimore City Head Start project that was designed to provide educational and other services to children from birth to age five years who have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Services are also provided to children's families. (BB)