This paper briefly defines parent involvement in education, outlines several factors that are fueling new state interest in programs to strengthen families, describes programmatic initiatives in several states, and examines some of the issues states have faced in their efforts to craft effective community-based programs that are responsive to…

A widespread bias exists among legal, medical, and social service professionals that the appropriate placement for elderly individuals with cognitive impairment (dementia) is a nursing home. Two major reasons for institutionalization are to remove the patient from a potentially harmful situation and to relieve the family of the burden of care.…

The manual covers the design and implementation of respite care services for families with developmentally disabled members. An introductory chapter examines the concept of respite care, notes the benefits for families, providers, and community residential programs, and places the service as one part of a comprehensive array of family support…

This catalog is intended for potential program providers and individuals interested in the design and prevalence of parent sexuality education programs in the United States. Information offered on 90 programs includes: (1) sponsor; (2) name of program; (3) contact person, address, telephone number; (4) recruitment strategies; (5) problems…

Approximately 800,000 of the 1.3 million children of teenage mothers need child care services. The lack of appropriate, acceptable, and affordable care for these youngsters may severely limit their mothers' educational, training, and employment opportunities--especially if sufficient financial resources are lacking. This directory is the first…

This study examines the use and cost of out-of-home placement for children who live away from their families in the state of Missouri. It was found that during the study period of fiscal year 1985 through fiscal year 1988: (1) an average of 12,321 children were in placement outside their homes annually; (2) the number of children placed in…

In spite of the growing awareness and development of respite services, many families in need of them have little or no access. This is especially true for families whose children have emotional handicaps. A rationale for respite services supports parents' entitlement to respite care, its importance to all family members, and its help in improving…

The paper examines issues of respite care specifically as they relate to developmentally disabled persons in Minnesota. A review of the literature focuses upon the status of respite care services in the state as well as the need for respite care and its role in an array of family support services. Family services are described in terms of those in…

Contemporary Canadian families need a system of child care that is more appropriate to modern conditions than the present system is. Because many Canadian parents do not have extended families to turn to, they are increasingly paying for child care. More than half prefer a form of care other than the one they use. Canadian policy and programs…

The booklet describes Project ABC (Any Baby Can), a model networking effort to promote coordinated services for disabled and high-risk infants in San Antonio, Texas. The model features a volunteer, grass-roots emphasis in an aggressive community awareness campaign with a long-term goal of improving the effectiveness of social services and health…

This annotated directory of family-based service programs is an updated version of a similar, earlier publication prepared in 1982. The programs described are those that responded to a survey of 2,400 agencies drawn from the mailing list of the National Resource Center on Family-Based Services. The decision to include programs which were…

This hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on Family and Human Services of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources celebrates strengths of American families by receiving testimony from seven families participating in one of three panel presentations. The first panel explores both the barriers to adoption and their transcendence by adoptive…

Family impact analyses are focused on one basic question: What will a given law, policy or practice do to families? There are two major activities in the process of analyzing family impact that has been developed by participants in the Family Impact Seminar: the first involves figuring out exactly how a law, policy, or system under study actually…

THE SPEAKER SUGGESTED THAT THE POOR SHOULD PARTICIPATE IN POLICY-MAKING DECISIONS IN ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAMS AND BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY FOR EMPLOYMENT WITHIN THE PROGRAMS THEMSELVES. HE FURTHER SUGGESTS SOME OF THE POWER NOW HELD BY OTHERS SHOULD BE RELINQUISHED TO THE POOR, WHO SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO HELP DECIDE WHAT THEY WANT. PRIORITIES FOR…

The final report describes the development of a program to train neighborhood mothers as home visitors to families with a handicapped child under age 3. The following program aspects are detailed (sample subtopics in parentheses): population (referral sources, family and child characteristics); staff (changes in staffing pattern, hiring core…