Criticizes recent educational and sociological literature for its optimistic assessment of family-school programs. Maintains that these studies fail to address observable differences in parents' educational skills, occupational and economic flexibility, social networks, and positions of power. Illustrates these problems with examples from an…

Describes the partnership between the early childhood program at the University of Vermont and Parent to Parent of Vermont. The partnership was designed to set a context for preparation of family-centered practitioners by modeling the qualities of a collaborative relationship between families and professionals and by developing a family-centered…

Examines relationship between family support and health of children. Reviews the impact of the decline in structural support for child rearing, examines the health effects of support provided in home visitation programs, and considers the health and welfare effects of the provision of day care services for children. Emphasizes results of…

A collaborative approach, both within and outside of the school system, will effectively and comprehensively address the barriers that hinder educational and social service delivery to homeless children. School social workers can be instrumental in assisting this vulnerable population by identifying, assessing, and developing strategies for…

Examines provisions made in Sweden for the education of handicapped and immigrant students and the services offered to their families. Stating that all handicapped persons have the right to receive government services, the article discusses preschool education, day nurseries, mother-tongue language activities, family services, and courses for…

A family literacy project serving Mexican immigrants taught parents how to encourage literacy development of their children aged three through five and fostered parents' critical literacy by first meeting their needs for functional literacy. Parent participants increased the time spent reading to their children, provided more reading materials at…

Cites data from 214 welfare families to support the argument that tougher child-support enforcement can reduce welfare dependency. Suggests that the best way to mend the child-support system for welfare-reliant children is to create a system that takes into account the real-life situations of mothers and fathers, as well as norms regarding…

Describes goals, beneficiaries, offerings, locations, and providers of six current school-linked service efforts. Identifies several integrating elements needed for systemic reforms to make school-linked services produce more successful outcomes for children and families. Programmatic initiatives must complement deep-reaching changes in ways…

Examines the relationship between government programs and individuals within the family context, describing past and present efforts of the federal government toward integrated services. Emphasis is on initiatives of the Department of Health and Human Services. Current shifts in primary responsibility are translated into increasing state and local…

Describes organizational conditions and social processes related to family-school interactions that are necessary to promote school-linked social service systems. Case studies of two elementary schools with students of low socioeconomic status are used to compare school policies and procedures. Policy proposals are presented for expanding and…

Describes a qualitative research project examining homelessness's effects on children's schooling, highlighting a South Carolina intervention program's success. Research disclosed an informal homelessness "caste system," the political unpopularity of providing homeless services, homeless kids' high rates of academic failure and problem…

Examines drug-prevention programs in the United Kingdom and the United States which have included parents within their intervention strategies. Reviews implications for practice, describes a small number of model programs, and identifies critical issues for policy and practice regarding identifying, recruiting, and retaining parents within the…

Compared treatment needs and services received in six areas based on the Treatment Outcome Prospective Study and the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Studies for Adolescents (DATOS-A). Found a general decline in services received that was only partially offset by significant decreases in some self-reported service needs in DATOS-A. Unmet needs…

Many studies have examined the acceptability of treatments for children with disruptive behaviors. However, few studies to date have tested the effects of home environment variables such as family support on treatment acceptability. In the current study, parents' level of familism was used to predict their willingness to accept several behavioral…

Ninety-eight parents experiencing significant difficulties in managing their own anger in their interactions with their preschool-aged children were randomly assigned either to an enhanced group-administered behavioral family intervention program based on the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program that incorporated attributional retraining and anger…