This newsletter theme issue focuses on the value of supervision in developing personnel in programs for infants with disabilities and their families. The first article, titled "Learning through Supervision and Mentorship To Support the Development of Infants, Toddlers and Their Families" (Emily Fenichel), is an essay explaining the thinking of the…

This monograph represents the collective thinking of parents of children with special health needs, family members, and professionals concerning what is necessary and important in collaborative relationships. Collaboration is viewed as a way to improve quality of life and health of children and their families, by working together to humanize the…

This fourth document in the Education and Human Services Consortium's Series on Collaboration puts current efforts to create comprehensive and coordinated child and family-serving systems in a 30-year context of related endeavors. Starting from the premise that thinking about ways to structure and improve human services has been clouded by decades…

This monograph synthesizes information presented at a July 10, 1991, Congressional staff briefing on many dimensions of the child welfare service system and its reform. Summaries of the participants' statements at the briefing are presented and a reproduction of a background paper on child welfare: "Child Welfare: The Context for Reform"…

An evaluation was made of the programs of the Des Moines Independent Community School District's Department of Community/Adult and Continuing Education. The 1992-93 budget for the department was $1,385,000. Ten full-time staff and 300 part-time staff administer, teach, and support program offerings. The department provides educational,…

Years of categorical funding have led to fragmented service delivery systems related to children and families. States have had to devise mechanisms to coordinate the variety of funding streams which finance the array of children's programs. Creation of a single focal point for children's policy at the national level is recommended. Attempts to…

This policy brief reports on the status of state policies and programs that relate to integrating community services for children and families. Problems with the current service delivery system are discussed, and guidelines for creating a profamily system through effective collaboration are outlined. Information from a questionnaire on early…

The Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) program is a statewide parent education and support program for all families in Minnesota with children between birth and kindergarten. This document describes the program evaluation procedures and contains forms related to the evaluation. The program evaluation uses a multi-level approach incorporating…

There has been widespread acceptance of the principles of family preservation as congruent with the best interests of children in situations of abuse and neglect. This paper discusses the "best interest" ideas articulated by Joseph Goldstein, Anna Freud, and Albert Solnit in the books "Before the Best Interests of the Child"…

A longitudinal assessment of interagency cooperation was conducted as part of a research project designed to monitor the implementation and development of the Smart Start collaboration process. Telephone interviews were conducted with key informants from organizations providing services to children, and the resulting qualitative, quantitative, and…

A comprehensive program of services for working parents who are employees of a consortium of companies is described and evaluated. With the support of the Prospect Hill Executive Office Park in Waltham, Massachusetts, the Prospect Hill Parents' and Children's Center offers parent support services, such as information and counseling, information…

This newsletter issue contains 10 articles focusing on failture to thrive and the feeding of infants and toddlers with disabilities. Articles have the following titles and authors: "The Feeding Relationship" (Ellyn Satter); "Cultural Dimensions of Feeding Relationships" (Carol Brunson Phillips and Renatta M. Cooper);…

A critical element in South Carolina's Early Childhood Development and Academic Assistance Act is the parenting and family literacy component that targets families of children aged birth to 5 years, with a special emphasis on serving parents and families of children at risk for school failure. This manual offers guidelines for developing parenting…

This annual report describes the programs and staff for 1993 of Grassroots Educare Trust, an organization that helps South African communities provide preschool education and health care. Contents of the report are: (1) a list of the board of trustees; (2) a message from the chairman; (3) the director's report on external efforts and internal…

Family literacy programs have been demonstrated to have significant and widespread benefits for children, parents, families, and society. Documented benefits of family literacy programs to children appear in the following areas: children's achievement in school, school attendance, oral language development, reading comprehension and vocabulary,…