This newsletter issue focuses on the issues surrounding and benefits of childcare that actively involves the family. Articles include: (1) "The Working Parents' Dilemma"; (2) "The Consortium of Family Organizations"; (3) "Children's Services: Directions for the Future"; (4) "Implementing Strategic Policies for…

This monograph provides a framework for programs, states, and organizations to think about the issues in developing culturally competent programs for families of children with special needs, and offers a variety of examples from programs across the country that are providing exemplary services. The monograph is designed to help program makers…

The Family and Life Education program at Aims Community College (ACC) in Colorado began in 1967 as prenatal classes taught by volunteer instructors who were registered nurses with backgrounds in maternal-child health. Currently, the program, which is co-sponsored by ACC and North Colorado Medical Center, involves a program coordinator, three staff…

Described are aspects of the Avance Educational Programs for Parents and Children, a non-profit, community-based organization in San Antonio, Texas, with the general goal of strengthening and supporting low income Hispanic families. Introductory remarks focus on the organization's goals, target population, funding, and services. Subsequent to a…

The Adolescent Diversion Project, an alternative to court processing for juvenile offenders, employs intervention strategies of behavioral contracting and advocacy. Youth (N=73) were assigned to one of three conditions: (1) the control group receiving usual court treatment; (2) the family condition involving a trained undergraduate volunteer who…

This study explores the problem of maintaining personal-social gains made by children in a long-term family enrichment day care and home visitation program for low income, mainly single-parent families. A prior study of program participants at 3 years of age indicated that they compared favorably to matched contrast children in other preschool…

The Child and Family Neighborhood Program, located in a suburb of Detroit, is an early childhood intervention project aimed at strengthening informal and formal family suoport systems and increasing parents' knowledge of child development. The program works with clusters of 10 parents and their young children (0-3 years) twice weekly in a…

This comprehensive resource guide describes programs and services for young children (prenatal to age 8) and their families in Alaska. Information for the resource guide was collected from state departmental budget documents, program guides, annual reports, and program personnel. In compiling this information, certain trends concerning children's…

Drawing on lessons from six case studies, this policy paper highlights the most innovative approaches states and communities are currently using to finance preventive and early intervention services as well as more traditional treatment services for young children's mental health. The case studies are based on interviews with policy and program…

A crucial question for evaluating nationally or internationally implemented programs is whether local adaptations detract from program quality and effectiveness. An evaluation examined the program successes and challenges encountered in the first 5 years of Home-Start in the Netherlands, a home-based family support program for families with young…

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…

The Indian Education Program in the Osseo School District (Minnesota) serves approximately 200 American Indian students in grades K-12 from 27 schools and a variety of tribes. The Program's intergenerational approach reflects tribal traditions in that generations learn together and grandparents, parents, and students are involved in the…

In 1997, the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) funded Responsible Fatherhood Demonstration Projects in eight states (California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, Washington, and Wisconsin) to improve the employment and earnings of under- and unemployed noncustodial parents and to motivate them to become…

This document consists of the two 2000 issues of "Alaska's Children," which provides information on the Alaska Head Start State Collaboration Project and updates on Head Start activities in Alaska. Regular features include a calendar of conferences and meetings, a status report on Alaska's children, reports from the Alaska Children's…

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)