In 1993 the Minnesota Legislature provided funding to establish local collaborative initiatives to integrate services and improve outcomes for children and families. This report is based on the individual outcome reports mandated for the 24 collaboratives that first received implementation grants in 1995 or 1996. Information from a variety of…

This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of the Portage Outreach Project, an early intervention project designed to meet the varied needs of state and local agencies around the country through the provision of highly acclaimed training addressing provision of early intervention services from an ecological perspective. The purpose of…

This study examined the role of contextual factors in providing quality early care and education services, focusing on program models from Aboriginal/First Nation settings in four countries. Methods included a search of published literature from mainstream and Aboriginal sources, an electronic search of unique Royal Commission on Aboriginal…

Social service programs for children and families have often distanced themselves from issues of religion and spirituality. However, in recent years, children's services and family therapy have gradually moved toward stronger emphases on ecosystemic influences, including those from organized religions. The overlapping and interacting roles of…

The job of executive director of a parent center can be very rewarding. An executive director is in the position to bring change to the lives of children with disabilities and their families. Directors, assisted by the board of directors and key staff members, are in a position to create many new opportunities for designing and shaping the growth…

A questionnaire concerning reading was sent to Indiana middle, junior, and senior high schools in 1992 and a report was written at that time. The same questionnaire was sent to the same schools in 2003. During this period of time increased interest was shown throughout the nation in reading achievement and high school graduation rates. The purpose…

How a Head Start program expanded to become an early child development program'' which includes training for the parents in a Community Education Center.'' (SP)

This article explores the role of values in social science research and in public policymaking for programs that intervene in the lives of children and their families. A values classification scheme is described that was used in the To Strengthen Families Project. (PP)

Drawing upon survey data from a probability sample of 331 U.S. Air Force married couples and 101 Air Force single parents, determined the attitudes of Air Force families toward family enrichment and support programs. States implications for family programing. (Author)

Describes a three-year training program in family violence that was established at Children's Hospital Medical Center, in Boston, Massachusetts. The program's goals were to link research and clinical practice and to encourage the interchange of perspectives between hospital based practitioners and university based behavioral scientists. (Author/GC)

Reviews empirical research on the effects of deinstitutionalization programs on families, focusing on family treatment, labeling, scapegoating of the youth, and widening the net of the juvenile justice system. Raises concerns about the potential cost of deinstitutionalization to family members brought into treatment. (Author/MJL)

In this project, students in marriage and family courses analyze their families sociologically. Using a list of areas to be considered, students conduct an analysis which teaches them sociological terminology and theory in an enjoyable manner. (Author)

Synthesizes the research on infant-parent interaction and proposes a model for introducing and including infant-parent interaction in family-centered early intervention with young children having disabilities. The model stresses the family's vision for the child's future and the family's role in active decision making. (DB)

This response to Baird and Peterson (EC 617 085) suggests that the original authors' conceptions of family-centered philosophy and intervention in parent-child interaction are inaccurate. They note the importance of parent-child interactions and the need for intervention procedures to be based on the parent-child interaction literature. (DB)

Draws on interviews with children, birth parents, foster carers, and social workers to explore some of the benefits and pitfalls of foster care. Interview respondents asserted that, in retrospect, coming into care was the best solution to their situation, favored maintaining ties and involvement with birth families, and children often had a…