The Family Development Research Program (FDRP) was an omnibus effort to serve low-income, low education families by providing education, nutrition, health, safety, and human service resources for the 108 families initially recruited. This paper describes the program and summarizes findings from the longitudinal evaluation. Home visitors provided…

Surveys examined the perceptions of 22 early-interventionists about their degree of involving families in the Individualized Family Service Plan process, and assessed the satisfaction of 90 parents regarding the services they and their child received. Parents appeared equally satisfied with interventionists regardless of interventionist's degree…

This introductory article provides an overview of the national evaluation conducted within the original 22 grantee communities funded from 1993 to 1999. The history and underlying foundations of the evaluation are presented. Specific evaluation questions and components are outlined, and issues that evolved out of the evaluation process are…

This article describes three potential levels of accountability for providing certain types of support for families in early intervention and preschool programs for children with disabilities: providing the legally required services for families, providing services that are considered recommended, and achieving certain outcomes as a result of…

This reaction to an article (Bailey, 2001) that describes three potential levels of accountability for providing family support in early intervention and preschool programs, recommends articulating inclusive and functional family support outcomes and developing outcomes that describe growth toward a long-range goal but also allow for individually…

This reaction to an article (Bailey, 2001) that describes three potential levels of accountability for providing family support in early intervention and preschool programs, comments on the role of the families at each level. The need to include parents in the development of procedures and guidelines for evaluation is stressed. (Contains five…

Describes development of the Sure Start program in the United Kingdom, focusing on the level of government support, policy development, and implementation. Maintains that the program is a prime example of "joined-up government" and evidence-based policy making. Outlines the program's evaluation strategy, including indicators of success.…

Assessed effects of Head Start and Head Start plus Family Empowerment Transitioning Programming for family risk and child developmental outcomes. Analyzed change in parent-centered, child-centered, and family economic risk and progress in personal-social, adaptive, motor, communication, and cognitive skills. Found that, overall, both programming…

What might family support services look like in the reconfigured children and family services after the Children Act? This is the question this article attempts to explore by drawing on evidence from the National Evaluation of the Children's Fund in England. The article describes common features in two case-study sites that might indicate the…

This annotated bibliography on family support services for families of individuals with disabilities lists 115 print resources published from 1979 through 1994. Most references were chosen for inclusion on the basis of addressing the issue of "whatever it takes" to aid families in caring for an individual with a disability and avoiding placing the…

This paper is a description and an evaluation of the Families First program in Sydney, Australia. The Families First program was set up to provide innovative family-centered early intervention services to families with young children with disabilities from birth to school age living within the South-Western Metropolitan Health Region. The program…

This collection of 21 suggested outcome measures for early childhood intervention services is designed to assist families in evaluating the quality of early intervention services they receive. The measures apply to all types of service and support program models for children with various developmental delays and/or disabilities and their families.…

This report describes results of an evaluation of respite care programs and crisis nursery programs for children with disabilities, based on survey forms received from 81 programs and site visits to selected programs across the United States. The survey of crisis nursery programs and the survey of respite care programs gathered data on amount of…

This executive summary crystallizes the main themes of a study that is intended to help policymakers, advocates, community members, and welfare administrators create a welfare system to do more for children and do it better. The study was prompted by the Family Support Act of 1988. The following programs that have been successful in providing…

Smart Start is North Carolina's partnership between state government and local leaders, service providers, and families to better serve children under 6 years of age and their families. This report describes the comprehensive plan to evaluate the state and local goals and objectives of the program, focusing on the components addressing the…