At the state and local level, many school systems, districts and early childhood networks have developed approaches and programs to support children's transition to school. These programs often address school readiness. There are many definitions of school readiness. Some refer to the skills and attributes of individual children, defining it as…

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…

This report consists of brief descriptions of projects that, for the most part, are current or were completed in the last 3 years by the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago. The first section, "Problem-Oriented Services for Children and Families," describes 27 studies involving children's problems and the systems…

This paper reports on the progress of eight Chicago-based community initiatives designed to redefine social services and broaden social responsibility for the development of children and families. The paper has three sections describing: (1) general background on the children, youth, and families initiative; (2) early lessons from an initiative in…

In fiscal year 1983 nearly 1,500 Alaskan children under the age of 6 received Head Start services from a total of 262 staff members--149 of whom were classroom personnel--and 1,473 volunteers. Over 700 Head Start children received medical screening, and more than 100 needed and received medical treatment through Head Start. Over 800 Head Start…

On a budget of $28,000, Child Protection, Inc. has a paid staff of an executive director, 4 foster grandparents, and 3 VISTA volunteers. But with the help of 157 volunteer servide providers, the organization is able to deliver 828 units of service monthly to rural Western Kentucky. The success of the volunteer program is based on recruiting from…

Family support programs have been attracting increased attention, and are at the center of efforts to build systems of integrated, comprehensive, and preventive family-focused services. This handbook, developed by the Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP), profiles 73 school-affiliated family support and education programs in the United States to…