The Smart Beginnings project in Arizona is designed to increase public awareness and parent education about early childhood development and family support resources. The program is intended to identify, link, establish, and expand a public/private family support system and improve the quality and increase availability of infant and toddler child…

Since its inception 20 years ago as a public-private partnership, the Ounce of Prevention Fund (OPF) has cultivated promising ideas in early childhood development, has used private funding to test those ideas in real life settings, and has leveraged public funding to support and expand innovative programs that advance the health and well-being of…

Report of an eight-week nutrition education program and a four-month follow-up study. Program directed toward low-income families in a community setting in Louisiana. A change in eating habits four months after the completion of the program was assumed to indicate sustained behavioral change. (LK)

Describes a special Head Start initiative called Free to Grow: Head Start Partnerships to Promote Substance-Free Communities. Notes five such Head Start programs in Puerto Rico, Kentucky, California, Colorado, and New York that have designed substance abuse prevention models to strengthen families and neighborhoods by providing a healthy…

Describes the Community Systems initiative, a collaborative project underway in Ontario to involve neighborhood residents, broad community networks, government, and nongovernmental organizations in the support of children and families. The initiative's goal is to improve the well-being of children, youth, and their families by finding ways to use…

Provides descriptive information about visiting services developed by the Family Connection Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, that could serve as a model for the development of similar services in other communities. Describes the center's services to families with children in placement and program variations for divorced parents and their children.…

Varied approaches to providing adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) literacy programs are described, including those connected to community-based organizations and welfare offices. Funding factors for workplace literacy and family literacy programs are noted. (one reference) (LB)

Calls for new approaches to meeting the needs of children and families, specifically through partnerships among Head Start, education, business, and other social service agencies. Discusses steps for establishing such partnerships as well as partnership objectives. Describes some existing collaborative programs around the country. (HTH)

In neighborhoods of wide socioeconomic and cultural variation, liaisons who speak at least two languages are a vital link between school and community. Over several years, Fairfax County, Virginia, program has grown from one part-time position to three positions to meet the needs of the sizable Spanish- and Vietnamese-speaking communities. (MLH)

Describes as example a parents' center in London to examine impact of evaluation exercises on people and services being evaluated. Questions whether evaluators are measuring the right things, whether evidence is valid, and what effects an evaluation may have on services. Identifies features of research and evaluation that are most likely to…

Describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of Project Literacy Education and Families (LEAF), a family literacy program that provides experiences for parents to develop their skills and confidence that will enable them to see possibilities instead of limitations. Details four Program components: adult literacy, early childhood…

This project came about after discussions with the general manager of the Wellington Region Free Kindergarten Association and Jeanette Clarkin-Phillips (University of Waikato) about setting up a research partnership to support the teachers at Taitoko Kindergarten in Levin. The teachers were establishing an integrated community centre (the whanau…

A project was undertaken to identify the training and resources family support workers need to strengthen the programs they provide for young adolescents and their families. Results were designed to help shape the development of training and resource materials for family support workers nationwide. Potential survey respondents were on the Family…

Based on the belief that critical thinking patterns, language abilities, and social skills that develop from birth to age 6 are foundational to children's sociomoral development, the Phoenix Project was developed to explore the factors contributing to and affecting children's sociomoral development. This pilot project was carried out by the…

Ten demonstration grants were awarded to public school systems throughout the state of Minnesota to develop expanded early childhood family education (ECFE) programs that integrate the roles of families, teachers, and social services in serving children in kindergarten through third grade and their families. This report provides an overview of the…