Recounts an interview with Olivia Golden, Commissioner for the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF) who oversees a broad range of programs for children and families. Discusses her career; goals for her office; and Head Start, particularly the program's future, highlights of the reauthorization legislation, collaborative efforts,…

Discusses issues raised in three workshops organized by the Board on Children and Families devoted to childcare for low-income families. The workshops sought to distill the available information from current research, examine the current status of the childcare delivery system, and consider promising directions for future research. The conclusions…

Describes proposals intended to strengthen the American family, specifically initiatives to improve child immunization programs, expand Project Head Start, advance the Family Preservation and Support initiative, reform welfare programs, and adopt a national health care program. (MDM)

Describes the beginnings of Head Start in detail. Discusses Head Start's record in providing health care for low-income children. Compares early Head Start with the program of recent years. Discusses ways in which Head Start emphasizes children's health and helps Head Start parents and family members. (BG)

Recommends that the Department of Health and Human Services ensure that every Head Start program can strive for excellence; expand the number of children served and the scope of services provided; and encourage community and school partnerships to ensure continuity of services, facilitate state and local collaboration, and link Head Start with…

This report provides a detailed examination of the various federal programs for children and families and outlines ways in which the United States Congress and Executive Branch could make these programs work better. Intricate and often overlapping goals and actions are typical of the Congressional committees and Executive Branch departments that…

This report outlines the views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' 40-member Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers in regard to the Early Head Start Program. This program, introduced in 1995, is designed to provide services to children from birth to age 3 (and their families) who were not previously…

Years of categorical funding have led to fragmented service delivery systems related to children and families. States have had to devise mechanisms to coordinate the variety of funding streams which finance the array of children's programs. Creation of a single focal point for children's policy at the national level is recommended. Attempts to…

This paper examines social welfare policy and its impacts on Appalachian children. The discussion is based on a notion that a just society meets basic needs of all its members. Current social policy: (1) does not include a comprehensive family policy; (2) depends on state and local contributions which are limited in rural Appalachia; (3) has…

The Indian Child Welfare Act places responsibility for implementing Indian welfare legislation onto Indian tribes themselves, rather than on the government bureaucracy. Successful implementation poses challenges concerning the establishment of comprehensive tribal courts, in view of sociocultural and environmental factors that have affected the…

The need for good child care in the South will increase dramatically when the 1988 Family Support Act (FSA) takes effect. The FSA requires mothers receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children or welfare payments to enroll in the Jobs Opportunities and Basic Skills program and calls for states to pay for child care for mothers in the program.…

This introductory article provides an overview of the national evaluation conducted within the original 22 grantee communities funded from 1993 to 1999. The history and underlying foundations of the evaluation are presented. Specific evaluation questions and components are outlined, and issues that evolved out of the evaluation process are…

Notes the accomplishments and deficiencies of Head Start programs as society, and the landscape of social services, have changed since the program's inception. Presents recommendations for programs in the future, including that Head Start expands the number of children served and the scope of services provided and that it forges partnerships with…

Designed to help political leaders plan and organize a systematic set of government initiatives and policies to improve the quality of life for American families, this document provides a blueprint for mounting a comprehensive effort in support of America's children and their families. The document begins by outlining the need for a national plan,…

The objective of the Family Support Services Scheme is to find new ways to prevent the breakdown of families and the institutionalization of children. The view taken in this report is that not much progress has been made toward achieving this goal. Criticisms of and recommendations for the scheme include the following: (1) The program attempts to…