The Peers Early Education Partnership (PEEP) has been in operation in Oxford, England for 5 years, with the aim of raising educational attainment, especially in literacy, by an entire community of children from their birth. This book recounts how PEEP started and its operation over the 5 years, focusing on the impact of the program and the…

The development of community-based programs to support inexperienced parents through home visits by experienced mothers, who are in turned facilitated by child health and development professionals, has become an increasingly common approach in Europe and the United States. This edited volume presents proceedings from an invitational conference on…

Dramatic increases in single parenthood and the number of employed mothers have led to the articulation of policies and programs designed to strengthen the family in Ireland. This report examines the experience of Community Mothers' Programme in Limerick City. Based on the assumption that the understanding, advice, and support of an experienced…

This article describes early intervention services provided to families with infants and young children with disabilities in Sweden. The "habilitation model" is based on medical, educational, psychological, and social perspectives placed in a family context. Government legislation stresses intervention focused on the handicapping…

Presents salient features of workshop discussion examining child abuse. Topics discussed include cross-cultural definitions of abuse, prevalence rates, family-centered versus child-centered approaches, educational perspectives on child protection work, the need for international research, abuses of child protection systems, emotional demands on…

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…

When Canadian institutions would not provide courses for the Canim Lake (British Columbia) Band of the Shuswap Indians, Gonzaga University (Washington), 500 miles away, began a program of classes held on the reservation, linkage with the main campus by computer, and an on-campus summer session that entire families attended. (MSE)

Presents some findings from a 3-year study of a voluntary organization, Home Start, which offers support to mothers with children under 5 through volunteer home visiting. Discusses the activities of Home-Start in the context of debate over appropriate policy and practice linking family support with health visiting, employment policy, education,…

Examines the way the German child welfare system responds to parental requests for help by comparing experiences of families in England and Germany. Describes the German context and provides a case study of one mother's experiences with the welfare system. Highlights key features of the German child care system that facilitate the process of…

This study investigated Venezuelan university students' perceptions regarding domestic violence and possible encounters with domestic violence in programs for young children. Students indicated that they expected to encounter only those situations they were prepared to confront, indicating needs for curriculum changes in teacher-training programs.…

Introduced in 1997, Quebec's family policy includes an integrated family allowance program, comprehensive early childhood development and child care services, and a parental insurance plan. Government funding and regulation ensure that affordable/free child care is available to all children aged 0-12, child caregivers receive training and adequate…

An earlier article published in this journal sought to recover the views of professionals concerned with the delivery and implementation of a "Third Way" multiagency programme tackling the social exclusion of young children and their families known as Sure Start. The tentative findings suggested a "bottom-up" partnership…

Internal Audit Services conducted an Early Implementation Review of the Understanding the Early Years (UEY) Initiative in 2006-07. This review is intended to provide assurance to senior management that program delivery has been established appropriately in order to meet its objectives and highlight any areas that require focused management…

Introduction: The interaction of the family with disabled children with the support networks is a research area of high interest (Hendriks, De Moor, Oud & Savelberg, 2000). It has been shown that support networks may prove to be very helpful for a family and especially for a family with a disabled child. Support networks play a primordial role…

The Australian Family Income Transfer Project (AFIT) is designed to examine the impact of government policies on the economic wellbeing of Australian families. The AFIT Project uses published national statistics as well as data and information collected by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (the project's sponsor) in its own studies and…