The document provides summaries of 53 programs from around the country demonstrating innovative approaches to identifying needs and developing and delivering services and materials to families. Chapters are organized according to broad themes which underlie their programs' design. Chapter 1 (10 programs) examines programs which explore informal…

Describes the genesis, purpose, goals and activities of parent education and family advocacy programs which are presented as two models for non-traditional intervention methods of working with high-risk families. (ED)

Preventive programs designed to support and strengthen families with adolescents are being implemented in response to changes in American society and the nature of adolescence. This paper examines such programs by addressing these questions: (1) What are the primary functions of families in the raising of adolescents? (2) What factors support and…

Describes how a family community center in Milton, Vermont provides the "base" where rural families, formerly isolated from both agencies and each other by geography and economics, can gather and receive a variety of services under one roof. The program is illustrated with a case study. (Author/BB)

Describes a continuum of services to families in their homes to prevent the necessity of child placement. Presents four categories of services--general case management, the comprehensive social worker, the in-house team, and the intraagency team--to aid families who demonstrate psychological difficulty and resource deficits. (Author/JAC)

Describes one community-based program designed to support and strengthen families with an identified problem of substance abuse. Discusses parents' progress in addressing their problems, reduction of risk in Project families, children's placement experience, and client satisfaction. Concludes with implications for practice with substance…

On June 9, 1987, a hearing was held for the purpose of receiving testimony about family preservation programs that aim to keep children out of foster care by strengthening troubled families. Testifying were program providers, a juvenile court judge, and families who have benefited from family preservation services. Testimony focused on the…

Describes programs designed to help farm families who are forced to leave agriculture because of financial reasons. Includes federal, state, and local government programs that address the need for counseling, legal and technical assistance, financial assistance during the transition to nonfarm work, and skills assessment and job search assistance.…

This report was written in an effort to establish a new strategy for reducing the odds of failure for thousands of Arizona's vulnerable children and their families. It echoes the sentiments of a growing number of policymakers, concerned citizens, and parents who hold that the cost of child and family problems is so dramatic, and the amount of…

This paper describes the Family Development Project which is aimed at developing a systematic model of parenting support for new families and evaluating its effects on family development. The project focuses on Parenting Groups consisting of 6 to 10 couples who meet together as soon after delivery as possible, weekly for 6 weeks, and monthly for 4…

In 1989-90, Full Circle Program's Family Consulting Services (FCS) staff provided family reunification services to 50 children and their families in San Francisco and Marin counties. Staff members developed individualized treatment strategies for each family, acting as advocates for the needs of the child. These services included medical and…

This report details characteristics of 50 family care programs that provide comprehensive, individualized services to families struggling with various problems, as well as services that allow parents and children to continue living together in supervised living arrangements for extended periods. Data were collected through in-depth telephone…

Describes a project at Fort Riley, Kansas, combining military, community and private resources and stressing parent education and problems of isolation and self-concept. (SS)

This document reports on the Family Development Project which is aimed at developing a systematic model of parenting support for new families and evaluating its effects on family development. Parenting groups of six to ten couples begin meeting about six to eight weeks after delivery and meet weekly for six weeks, then monthly for four more…

Describes a program based in St. Paul, Minnesota, which provides whole-family foster care for a population of adult parents and minor children without stable residences, in which the children are at risk of placement in out-of-home care. (HTH)