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…

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…

This article describes the design and testing of the Family-Centered Program Rating Scale, which is seen as useful during comprehensive evaluation of early intervention programs for young children with disabilities and their families, as well as during program planning, staff development, and research processes. The article provides information…

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 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…

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…

This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of an online professional development course designed to develop an understanding of the foundations, perspectives, and strategies used by key disciplines (e.g., occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, early childhood special education, visual…

This demonstration program evaluated by the Child Welfare League of America indicates that intensive service to families is effective in elinating the need for foster care or in reducing the time spent in care by children of "at risk" families. (Author/GO)

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…

Family support programs have proliferated in many different settings in response to an increasing emphasis in the public policy arena on a family support strategy. This book offers guidelines for effective family support practice representing the consensus of family support practitioners as assessed in focus groups with over 2,000 staff and parent…

Family resource centers (FRC) are emerging as a promising program approach to solving urgent social problems. Evaluation plays an important role in learning how these programs work, what their impact is, and whether they should be expanded. However, FRCs pose unique challenges to evaluation. This report considers the challenges to evaluating FRCs,…

The report presents evaluation findings for a three-year early intervention, home-based program in Vancouver, British Columbia, by comparing 12 served and 12 nonserved families with profoundly deaf children under age three. Results indicated that several families had more developmentally mature communication, lower stress, and higher quality…

The aim of the federally funded National Demonstration Program in Child Abuse and Neglect was to develop and test alternative treatment strategies. This article reports on an evaluation of treatment services in the 11 projects in the program. Implications are presented. (Author)

Asserts that few family preservation evaluations have demonstrated which service components, characteristics, and compositions lead to positive outcomes for families. Proposes a taxonomy and recording instrument for explicating and measuring the process of family preservation services by practitioners and programs in order to improve the…

A 3-year study evaluated a program to prevent unnecessary out-of-home placement of children. The program combines family preservation and family support services into a comprehensive yet individualized response to families. Findings indicate that four program elements correspond with those identified as characterizing family preservation programs,…