Sustainability is a critical issue for the vast array of community initiatives that promote healthy children, strong families, and safe communities. Noting that sustaining an initiative over time requires maintaining sufficient fiscal resources as well as a combination of nonfiscal resources from the initiative itself and the broader community,…

Dramatic increases in single parenthood and the number of employed mothers have led to the articulation of policies and programs designed to strengthen the family in Ireland. This report examines the experience of Community Mothers' Programme in Limerick City. Based on the assumption that the understanding, advice, and support of an experienced…

A study reports on the Nevada Even Start Family Literacy Program (NEST), which provides educational opportunities to parents and children as a family unit through core services such as adult, parenting, and early childhood education. Questions asked in the study were who the program serves, what services are received, how funding is allocated, how…

To assist state policymakers in using limited resources to enhance young children's readiness for school, this report examines the development and effectiveness of prekindergarten and parent support programs in the Southern Regional Education Board's (SREB's) 16-state region. States in the region are Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,…

This book examines the history of supportive social services to examine ways in which those services have been helpful, and sometimes unhelpful, to poor families; the factors that have constrained service provision and reform; and what would make the service enterprise viable in the coming years. Discussed are formative influences on the…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of a four-year federal grant providing technical assistance and training for service providers of children with deafblindness in Delaware. The project included annual orientation workshops for new staff, family learning weekends, and eight summer institute graduate courses jointly…

Draws on two studies of the impaired elderly (N=332) to address the potential impact of public payments to persons providing in-home care for the impaired elderly. Findings suggest family members are heavily involved in support for the elderly and institutionalization is most often the result of nonfinancial factors. (Author/JAC)

Studied the role of the family in delinquent rehabilitation using a survey of 94 juvenile offenders and their parents. Results revealed a gross lack of information in parents about rehabilitation and post-release adjustment. Evaluates a pilot family education project addressing specific information deficiencies and presents recommendations for its…

Describes the components of an educational project which teaches parents advocacy skills necessary for successful interaction with various kinds of agencies affecting their children's welfare. The components described include intake and assessment, staffing, medical visits, and program rationale. (Author/DB)

Data are presented in this paper to refute G. C. Wright's allegation that racism is an important factor in the provision of family planning services in the United States. (Author/EB)

Alumni colleges, sometimes called learning vacations or vacation colleges, offer a classroom experience built around an intellectual theme with trips, workshops, sightseeing, and cultural excursions, and are packaged to include room and board. Examples of programs offered at various colleges are described. (JMD)

This paper describes a model demonstration project to provide inclusive early intervention services to young children with developmental delays and their families. It notes the importance of collaborative partnerships among the significant adults in a child's life as a basis for effective program implementation. The project has three major…

This article describes Project Mandela, a federally funded enrichment and family support program for special populations (such as culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged) of gifted learners. Eighty-seven families participated in development of Individual Family Support Plans to enhance children's educational progress. The project found…

This article describes early intervention services provided to families with infants and young children with disabilities in Sweden. The "habilitation model" is based on medical, educational, psychological, and social perspectives placed in a family context. Government legislation stresses intervention focused on the handicapping…

Presents salient features of workshop discussion examining child abuse. Topics discussed include cross-cultural definitions of abuse, prevalence rates, family-centered versus child-centered approaches, educational perspectives on child protection work, the need for international research, abuses of child protection systems, emotional demands on…