This commentary on EC 605 926 examines the issue of whether the family or the individual with developmental disabilities should be the unit receiving services and discusses the impact of disability on the family. It concludes that the best interests of the family generally coincide with the best interests of the individual with disabilities. (JDD)

The Children's Inn, on the grounds of the National Institutes for Health (NIH) near Washington, DC, serves as a national model of the value of family-centered homes for pediatric patients and their families. When parents bring their child to NIH from a distant place, they can stay in the inn with their child while the child is receiving treatment.…

The Families and Schools Together (FAST) Program is a family-support program that helps schools build strong relationships with families of children aged 6-9 experiencing behavioral or academic difficulties. A recent study examined FAST's application in San Antonio, Texas, focusing on six community-building strategies. (Contains 29 references.)…

Studied the construct validity for scores on a measure of psychological empowerment, the Psychological Empowerment Scale, for parents of children with a disability. Results of correlational analyses and group discrimination analyses of responses of 293 parents in 3 family support programs provide evidence of the convergent and discriminant…

Explores communities of learning as innovative models for overcoming homeless children's immediate education obstacles while working toward long-term stability. Sheltered communities provide specialized education services for children and their parents and family support services. Profiles three model communities in New York City, Oregon, and…

Presents challenges to the public child-welfare system in the United States, including growing deprivation, increasing needs for lengthy out-of-home placements, and shortages of foster caregivers. Describes the Family to Family initiative to help public agencies strengthen community-based family support services, improve the quality and quantity…

Purpose: This study describes the preliminary experiences of 10 states in providing support services to family or informal caregivers of elderly adults and adults with disabilities; it focuses on the newly created National Family Caregiver Support Program, state general funds, Medicaid-waiver programs, and other state-funding streams. Design and…

The effect of reforms of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) on caseloads of another program that is Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is examined. The results reveal that a decrease in caseloads in one program cannot be interpreted as an equal-sized decrease in the number of families receiving public assistance.

The purpose of the present study was to examine a common practice in some areas of program evaluation, the retrospective pretest, and to present recommendations regarding its use. The authors review literature to emphasize first, that bias is likely in both prospective and retrospective ratings, and second, that under some circumstances,…

The initial goals of IAMFC included conducting and fostering programs of education in the field of family counseling, and promoting and conducting programs of research in the field of marriage and family counseling (International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors, 1990). The goal of fostering program development shows signs of success,…

We review the literature on the prevalence and conditions resulting in overweight and obesity in people with intellectual disability (ID), followed by obesity treatment research with typically developing children and adaptations for children with ID. In addition to proposing directions for future research and practice, we report a comprehensive…

Background: Given appropriate supports mothers with intellectual disabilities can successfully raise their children. Historically, this support has been provided by extended family members while support from formal services is a recent development. This paper examines the role of extended family members in assisting mothers with intellectual…

The significant and increasing number of people in the U.S. and global work-forces who are infected with HIV or who have AIDS must be managed differently from those who are not infected and those who have other life-threatening diseases. Business schools can prepare their MBA students to effectively, legally, and compassionately manage people with…

Published annually since 1997, Newark Kids Count tracks key trends in child health and well-being in New Jersey's largest city with the latest statistics available. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: population and demographics, family economic security, affordable housing,…

This report presents the findings of the formative evaluation of the Understanding the Early Years (UEY) Initiative. The evaluation was conducted to examine issues of implementation and design, early progress in achieving immediate objectives, and issues related to accountability. The evaluation team was also asked to provide preliminary guidance…