The Morale, Welfare, and Recreation program is responsible for the training of personnel who administer, manage, and operate the military recreation system. These personnel must be familiar with both military and public recreation approaches. Army, Navy, and Air Force training programs are discussed. (DF)

Changes in policies and legislation in the past 15 years have created a fundamental shift in the roles of early childhood interventionists. Family-centered approaches to the provision of services to children with disabilities have heightened the importance of family-practitioner partnerships. This FPG Snapshot summarizes a book chapter by Dr. Pam…

Congress created Early Head Start in 1995 to support healthy prenatal outcomes and enhance intellectual, social, and emotional development of infants and toddlers to promote later success in school and in life. This policy brief summarizes findings of the Congressionally mandated National Evaluation of Early Head Start and offers policy…

One effective way schools can involve family members in the important process of motivating children to read is with a family reading night. This kit is designed to streamline the process of implementing a family reading night in schools. The kit begins with success stories from several schools using family reading nights. It then presents the…

Noting that many communities have overlooked a promising approach to reducing violence in the United States, this report examines early risk factors for violence and discusses the potential of prevention and intervention programs for children ages birth to 5 years. The report defines violence and discusses the importance of early experiences in…

Noting that parents often receive little support during their child's first weeks and months, this paper discusses how voluntary home visiting for families with young children can help provide parents of all educational, economic, and cultural backgrounds with the information, advice, and support they need in their new role. The paper notes the…

This paper discusses domestic violence, examining its epidemiology for the general population and for two Asian American groups. It reviews data from 10 empirical studies on domestic violence among Asian American women. Qualitative studies stress the impact of family ties, family honor, and shame; religious values; fear of the legal system; and…

Family support programs have proliferated in many different settings in response to an increasing emphasis in the public policy arena on a family support strategy. This book offers guidelines for effective family support practice representing the consensus of family support practitioners as assessed in focus groups with over 2,000 staff and parent…

Since its inception as a public-private partnership in 1982, the Ounce of Prevention Fund (OPF) has cultivated promising ideas in early childhood development, has used private funding to test the ideas in real life settings, and has leveraged public funding to support and expand innovative programs that advance the health and well-being of…

Family resource centers (FRC) are emerging as a promising program approach to solving urgent social problems. Evaluation plays an important role in learning how these programs work, what their impact is, and whether they should be expanded. However, FRCs pose unique challenges to evaluation. This report considers the challenges to evaluating FRCs,…

Asserting that problems arising within the family may lead to children's problem behaviors, this bulletin from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention describes Parents Anonymous, Inc., a program designed to enhance the capability of families to help their children. The oldest national child abuse prevention organization, Parents…

The Special Child Welfare Advisory Panel of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, created by the 1998 Marisol class action suit, has spent two years examining the work of New York City's Administration for Children's Services (ACS). This panel reviewed the operations of ACS, consulting with caseworkers, managers, lawyers and other advocates, birth…

In September 2003, the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) contracted with ALTA Systems to conduct a project with the goal of providing a comprehensive overview of the relationship between poverty, program participation and obesity by conducting an in depth literature review; and convening an expert panel. The…

The national nutrition safety net consists of 15 programs that provide millions of low-income Americans access to a healthy and nutritious diet. It has been observed that many low income individuals are both overweight and participants in one or more nutrition assistance programs. This has led some to question whether participation in the…

The report presents evaluation findings for a three-year early intervention, home-based program in Vancouver, British Columbia, by comparing 12 served and 12 nonserved families with profoundly deaf children under age three. Results indicated that several families had more developmentally mature communication, lower stress, and higher quality…