Focused on community play memories, the goals of this project were to: (1) uncover the variety and degree of playful learning memories; (2) ascertain whether community members would spontaneously share memories of play; and (3) appraise whether memories differed between low-income and mixed-income communities. Results indicated that although…

The Annie E. Casey Foundation's Family Economic Success-Early Childhood Education (FES-ECE) initiative, launched in October 2013, is rooted in the belief that families do better when programs can offer simultaneous support to children and parents. The report, designed to aid funders, is part of the Casey Foundation's ongoing commitment to sharing…

Background: Evidence suggests that children and adolescents growing up in low-income families and those with underrepresented ethnocultural backgrounds tend to have high prevalence rates of obesity and more difficulty adhering to childhood obesity interventions. However, less is known about how intergenerational, family-based approaches to…

Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative (ELNC) began as a year-long initiative to support early learning for very young children and families. The program has grown into a self-sustaining, nonprofit, place-based organization committed to improving the lives of children and families in the underresourced neighborhoods of Grand Rapids, MI.…

Literacy is one of the strongest predictors of adult success, yet one in four children are illiterate and 50% of adults cannot read a book that is written on an eighth grade level. Although African American children from low-income homes are three times more likely than White children to be poor, and at greater risk for illiteracy, this author is…

"The Achiever" is a monthly publication for parents and community leaders from the Office of Communications and Outreach, U.S. Department of Education. This issue contains the following articles: (1) President Seeks to Build on Law's Results; (2) Bridging the Gap: Ohio Charter School Surmounts Age, Achievement Barriers; (3) Spellings'…

Alabama's Rural Elderly Enhancement Program is a nurse-initiated project developed on a model of community participation and empowerment. The program's initial goal was to maintain the health and independence of the elderly; it was expanded to an intergenerational focus with an involvement with youth. Most of their target population is African…

Deficit models of low-income parents' involvement in schools are giving way to concepts of empowerment. An after-school computer education program in an inner-city youth club kindled parent interest and participation by focusing on children's educational success and valuing parents both as parents and as adult learners. (22 references) (SK)

This study examines parenting in 290 of the 2,322 families studied in the New Chance Demonstration, a national research and demonstration program operated between 1989 and 1992 in 10 states. The demonstration project sought to improve the economic prospects and overall well-being of low-income young mothers (ages 16 to 22) and their children…

Family Friends is a program that matches senior volunteers with families of chronically ill or disabled children. Rural Family Friends, which is an outgrowth of Family Friends, focuses on rural families in distress. Rural Family Friends has established pilot programs in Arkansas, Georgia, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and West Virginia. The…

The Toyota Families in Schools (TFS) Program is a new family literacy initiative that was developed by the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) with support from the Toyota Motor Corporation. TFS is based on a previous NCFL model calling for providing literacy activities to preschoolers and parents from low-income families. NCFL wanted to…

Early Head Start was designed in 1994 as a 2-generation program to enhance children's development and health, strengthen family and community partnerships, and support the staff delivering new services to low-income families with pregnant women, infants, or toddlers. This document contains the final technical report, appendixes, and local…

In September 1995, the Scranton Area Family Center in Scranton, Pennsylvania, initiated a twice-weekly literacy class designed to build low-income parents' educational skills and personal confidence while simultaneously encouraging family literacy activities. Eight parents of children in the Scranton School District attended the class and received…

Joliet Junior College's Center for Adult Basic Education and Literacy (CABEL) is responsible for providing adult basic education and support services for adults whose skills in reading and mathematics are below the 12th grade level. Its offerings include instruction in Adult Basic Education (ABE), General Educational Development (GED), English as…

Children's poverty rate in the United States, over 20%, exceeds that of all industrialized nations except Australia. This interdisciplinary book examines the impact of changing public policies on children. Section 1 gives a current and historical overview of children in poverty. Sections 2 through 5 address arenas of possible change from policy…