Reviews literature on how exemplary child care services in Europe, the United States, and selected Canadian provinces have been planned, organized, and coordinated with other child and family support services, and with education, recreation, and public health services. (JPB)

Describes a formal approach for abuse clarification to be used with families in which maltreatment has occurred. Components include clarification of the abusive behaviors, offender assumption of responsibility, offender expression of awareness of the impact of the abuse, and initiation of a plan to ensure future safety. (Author/CR)

This editorial comments on a study that found that parents of infants prenatally exposed to illegal drugs did not subsequently have more child abuse allegations than a comparison sample. The need for adult and child welfare professionals to work together in serving infants and their parents is stressed. (Contains 1 reference.) (CR)

Explored use of respite care by 60 families to help prevent family breakdown. Found that after nine months, parents were more in control of their lives and had reduced family problems. Ninety-two percent of families remained intact. Social workers were more satisfied with the intervention in less-complex than in more-complex cases. Children…

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,…

This article describes the efforts and special initiatives of New York City's Administration for Children's Services to improve services to immigrant and English language learner populations. Children's Services convened an immigration issues advisory subcommittee, created special tools for child welfare staff, collaborated with legal agencies to…

This study evaluates the effects of the Coping Power Program with at-risk preadolescent boys at the time of transition from elementary school to middle school. Aggressive boys were randomly assigned to receive only the Coping Power child component, the full Coping Power Program with parent and child components, or a control condition. Results…

This chapter presents an overview of studies investigating the role of the family while children cope with problems in their transitions to the labor market. Attention is paid to different support systems in a variety of European countries, depending on different state welfare models.

Although the economic and social conditions of families have changed considerably, the framework of U.S. social policy with regard to families has not changed. Under the framework, policymakers assume that the poverty of families or individuals is largely their own fault. This long-standing belief has impeded the expansion of public spending on…

Liddle and Dakof's (1995) comprehensive review of the status of family-based treatment for drug abuse concluded that this modality offered a "promising, but not definitive" approach to treating drug abuse among adolescents and adults. Less than a decade later, significant progress can be seen in the treatment of drug abuse problems using…

Families First is a NSW Government strategy that aims to improve the effectiveness of early intervention services supporting families and communities to care for children. Its implementation is the joint responsibility of the five NSW Human Services agencies: the NSW departments of Community Services (DoCS); Ageing, Disability and Home Care…

In order to effectively meet the needs of families, this paper argues that there is a need for people working in the arena of family support to incorporate theory and research into their practice and to engage in a process of reflective practice. An inter-disciplinary cyclical model of training for experienced family support practitioners is…

Based on a survey of public assistance and child welfare agency staff, this article examines how state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policy decisions have affected kinship care providers. Findings indicate that most states have continued using TANF to provide income support to kinship caregivers, and some have used TANF to find…

Reliable and valid longitudinal residential histories are needed to assess interventions to reduce homelessness and increase community tenure. This study examined the test-retest reliability, sensitivity to change, and concurrent validity of the Residential Time-Line Follow-Back (TLFB) Inventory, a method used to record residential histories in…

Using grounded theory, this study identified factors that contributed to children's ability to utilize their resilient attributes. Children between the ages of 9 and 12 from high-conflict separated or divorced families participated in a study that examined how family and community interactions promote resilient behaviour. Substantive-level theory…