Despite the multitude of obstacles that low-income parents face, many of them succeed in helping their children flourish. They raise children who possess the social-emotional competence needed to develop and keep friendships; establish good relationships with parents, teachers, and other adults; and experience a range of achievements that…

Outlines a conceptual model of parental involvement in family support programs, anchored in ecological and family systems frameworks. Proposes that parental decisions to enroll and remain in support programs are shaped by a variety of factors at different levels of influence, including individual characteristics of the parent and family, provider…

Describes a paradigm for identifying male involvement in Comprehensive Child Development Programs (CCDP) that is based on 4 years of service delivery for 40 adult males participating in Project EAGLE, a federally funded CCDP in Kansas City (Kansas). The paper addresses issues of diversity of characteristics and participation patterns of the males…

A study examined family-centered practice in terms of six early-intervention service providers' philosophies and behaviors. Five underlying components of family-centered services were identified: positiveness, responsiveness, orientation to the whole family, friendliness, and sensitivity. Moreover, these service providers displayed skills both…

For more than a decade, Florida's Palm Beach County has been building an infrastructure of prevention and early intervention services to promote and support the healthy development and school readiness of children from birth to age 8. The county began this effort with a set of programs focused on serving families in four targeted geographic areas…