This volume explores whether the nation's early childhood programs are boosting child development and preparing children for schooling and proposes reforms that would improve the programs. The volume contains contrasting papers on the success of Head Start, Early Head Start, and home-visiting programs and on policies that would improve these three…

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of behavioral parent training (BPT) as adjunct to routine clinical care (RCC). Method: After a first phase of RCC, 94 children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) ages 4-12, all referred to a Dutch outpatient mental health clinic, were randomly assigned to 5 months of BPT plus concurrent…

The Phoenix, Arizona, Early Head Start (EHS) program is for first-time teen parents and their families. The end of 1999-2000 marked the fifth and final year of a research and demonstration grant for EHS and concluded the fourth full year of program implementation. This report provides a five-year perspective on program process and outcomes for…

In 1993, the Connecticut State Department of Education received federal support for the activities of nine existing Family Resource Centers (FRC) and for funding new FRCs. The FRCs were based on the premise that many childhood and adolescent problems can be prevented by strengthening effective family management practices and establishing a…

Discusses considerations in adapting intensive family preservation services developed in the United States to the Australian culture and service system. Based on an evaluation of a pilot Homebuilders-style program in the state of Victoria, Australia. Implications for adapting programs to different cultures and service systems are considered. (JPB)

Assesses a range of family support policy and practice interventions with particular reference to models of assessment, methods of support, and measures of effectiveness. Concludes that there is a renaissance in indirect, voluntary family support in which a range of activities are being undertaken on the basis of limited empirical evidence of…

Describes the establishment, promotion, and five-year progress of a postadoption service in Hampshire, England. (SW)

Examines the benefits and pitfalls of large-scale concurrent planning--working with families toward reunification while developing alternative permanency plans. Notes that as large-scale programs begin to develop nationally, those implementing concurrent planning must be aware of pitfalls that can undermine effectiveness, while keeping in mind its…

Describes the use of administrative data in support of a project to develop outcome measures for the Children and Youth Division of the Department of Human Services in Philadelphia, focusing on safety and permanency indicators for the in-home services program. Considers issues of data file construction and analysis, baseline results for in-home…

This study of time-limited support groups attended by partners of individuals with visual impairments found that participation increased the attendees' knowledge of their visually impaired partners' situations, improved the quality of communication between the partners, and reduced the sighted partners' negative appraisal of their role.

Since 1993, Boston's Jewish community has supported "Sh'arim," a regional initiative in Jewish family education (JFE). This paper examines parents' perceptions of the impact of that initiative on their children, themselves and their families as a whole over the past 10 years. After briefly describing the initiative's original goals,…

This article presents propensity score matching as a method to implement randomized conditions to analyze service effects using nonexperimental data. Most social work research is challenged to implement randomized clinical trials, whereas administrative and survey data are often available and can provide valuable information about services…

This article reports on how integrated services can provide coordinated support for children with AD/HD and their families. The author reports on the effectiveness of a problem-based approach to interagency working by exploring the use of two models of good practice from education, health and social care to provide a framework for working across…

Noncustodial fathers have an essential role to play--both financially and emotionally--in the lives of their children. However, of the 11 million noncustodial fathers in the US, two thirds do not pay any formal child support. Many of these fathers are poor themselves and face multiple barriers, including low education levels, limited work…

Congress created Early Head Start in 1995 to support healthy prenatal outcomes and enhance intellectual, social, and emotional development of infants and toddlers to promote later success in school and in life. This policy brief summarizes findings of the Congressionally mandated National Evaluation of Early Head Start and offers policy…