Investigates the needs, as perceived by the offender, of families with incarcerated individuals. Seeks to determine inmates' family and parenting issues and concerns, and to assess their interest in formal and informal family services. Results demonstrate that although male and female inmates have different concerns, both seem to value their…

A Maine elementary principal discovered that a family game night, complete with food and door prizes, helps build a sense of community by giving parents an opportunity to interact informally with school staff and students. It is particularly effective with previously uninvolved parents. (MLH)

EDUFAIM (Educating Families to Achieve Independence in Montana) was designed to integrate state efforts to help welfare recipients attain self-sufficiency through education in nutrition, health, family development, resource management, and housing. Evaluation of 34 participants showed changes in locus of control, depression, anxiety, knowledge,…

Studied the perceptions of African American families about involvement with technology in an after-school family-school program. Families reported positive attitudes and outcomes from the program, and indicated that computer use was a major motivational factor in their participation. (SLD)

Examines patterns of use and predictors of unmet needs among a sample of 74 Latino grandparent caregivers. Lack of knowledge was the major barrier to service use, and predictors of unmet needs included low education, poor health, high levels of life stress, and lack of reliable help with child rearing. (Author/GCP)

Describes current approaches to adolescent substance abuse treatment, including the 12-step treatment approach, behavioral treatment approach, family-based treatment approach, and therapeutic community approach. Summarizes research that assesses the effectiveness of these models, offering findings from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment's…

Examines the history and current structure of "children's allowances" (cash grants from the government to families with children) around the world and particularly in the United States, to provide a framework for children's savings accounts--long-term savings and asset accumulation for all children. Considers public policy directions for…

This article presents a multistage migration framework to broaden the lens through which child welfare personnel can view immigrant and refugee families and their children. By better understanding the family's experiences in both emigration and immigration, including reasons for leaving their home country, experiences in transit, and reception and…

This study followed baseline samples of 424 unipolar depressed patients and 424 community controls across 10 years to investigate the association between depression and alcohol-related coping and to examine how life context vulnerabilities underlie the risk for depressed individuals to rely on drinking to cope. Findings supported all hypotheses.…

Family-centered positive psychology (FCPP) is defined as a framework for working with children and families that promotes strengths and capacity building within individuals and systems, rather than one focusing solely on the resolution of problems or remediation of deficiencies. This approach to family-based services is predicated on the belief…

The expansion of child support enforcement system has increased the child-support receipt rates of never-married and previously married mothers. The studies reveal that if this system were not implemented, the child-support rates would be 1-9 percentage points lower.

Waiting lists for people with intellectual disabilities who seek services from Mental Retardation (MR) or Development Disability (DD) systems are a very visible problem across the country and have forced people with disabilities, families and caregivers to respond by pressing their states into action. People living at home with their parents or…

The Foundation for Blind Children, established in 1952, is a private, nonprofit, United Way agency. The foundation's mission is to provide education, counseling, communication and technology services to children and adults who are blind or visually impaired. By helping them to master their environment, it helps families lead lives of independence…

The purpose of this study was to explore the roles of anxiety, depression, and hopelessness as mediators between known risk factors and suicidal behaviors among 1,287 potential high school dropouts. As a step toward theory development, a model was tested that posited the relationships among these variables and their effects on suicidal behaviors.…

The emergence of theory-driven evaluation has drawn attention to the need for practical ways for evaluators to construct program theory to achieve the benefits of the approach. This article illustrates the use of concept mapping as a technique to explicate underlying program theory in the context of family support programs. In this example, 29…