In 1999, South Carolina's First Steps to School Readiness was launched as a comprehensive early childhood initiative to improve childrens school readiness by improving the efficiency and coordination of existing services to children from birth to age 5 and their families, and by providing new services where gaps are identified. A legislatively…

A consensus has emerged in recent years that the fragmented systems serving children and families need to be restructured and integrated in ways that make them accessible, family-focused, and able to accommodate cultural differences. Collaborative partnerships involving schools, families, and other community stakeholders are learning that they are…

Family MAASAI is a multiservice substance abuse prevention and intervention program for African American at-risk urban youth. The program commemorates the Maasai people of Africa and uses MAASAI as an acronym that stands for Maintaining African American Survival, Achievement, and Integrity. Cultural awareness, pride, and respect for self, elders,…

Noting that family literacy can work effectively to break the cycle of undereducation, this book examines the history of the national family literacy movement, discusses the role of the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL), and presents guidelines for designing and developing a family literacy program. The book's introductory section…

Describes PACT (Parents and Children Together), a project designed to help parents create a wholesome environment for the child so that the child can remain in or be returned to the home. Failing this, PACT offers documentation to the social service agency so that the child can be permanently placed. (CT)

Evaluates the first two years of a local welfare reform demonstration, the Family Development Center (FDC), in Baltimore (Maryland). This quasi-experimental study found the FDC successful in programs designed to increase labor market participation and earnings. FDC participants experienced increases in educational aspirations, self-esteem, and…

A survey of 879 early intervention program providers and parents investigated desired outcomes of service coordination, early intervention, and natural environments practices. Results found only two outcome categories (family satisfaction and improved family quality of life) were considered to be valued outcomes of all three services. (Contains…

This packet includes reprints of journal articles, reports from social service agencies, government agencies, and consulting and educational organizations currently implementing or evaluating interagency collaboration in small, rural schools. The five sections of the packet explain integrated services and the impact on rural schools; issues…

This guide presents a framework that identifies what a home, school, and community partnership can do to help families thrive as they experience change and their young children grow. The guide explains how connections among home, school, and community enable families to move from setting to setting with ease and build on their previous experience.…

Caminos Bilingues al Exito (Bilingual Pathways to Success), a comprehensive Title VII Bilingual Education program was established in 1995 to serve the 17 schools of the North Area Management District of the Houston Independent School District (Texas). Through teacher training, staff development, parental involvement, and instructional program…

This report reviews the facts underlying the debate about delinquency in the United States, focusing on evidence of how well various approaches to crime succeed in practice. Do youth programs such as family therapies and recreation initiatives actually make a cost-effective contribution to controlling crime? Research supports a strong foundation…

A 3-year Library Services and Construction Act grant project from 1989-1992 provided for adult learning centers, equipped with Apple IIGS computers and software at each location of the Hammond Public Library (Indiana). User-friendly, job-based software to strengthen reading, writing, mathematics, spelling, and grammar skills, as well as video and…

In 1992 CityMatCH, a national organization of urban maternal and child health programs and leaders, initiated a survey of programs to serve as an information resource for urban public health practitioners. This report updates previous data, presents baseline information on maternal and child health (MCH) programs in urban health departments…

Smart Start is North Carolina's partnership between state government and local leaders, service providers, and families to better serve children under age 6 and their families. The aim of the program is ensuring that all children enter school healthy and ready to learn. This study examined parent and business involvement in local Smart Start…

Teachers from eight East Harlem (New York) day care centers were trained in a program called Literacy Through Love, that was designed to prepare day care center teachers to initiate family reading workshops at their centers. The five-session training program focused on stories, folktales, nonfiction, wordless picture books, and poetry. Each…