This policy brief discusses the critical role of family support and how family support programs can help to improve care for young children. It presents an overview of what family support entails, information about financing family support services, and strategies to enhance family support through the State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems…

The federal government's WIC program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, is designed to improve the health and development of low-income women and young children. California's passage of Proposition 10, the "Children and Families First Act," has created a climate that encourages collaborative…

The Phoenix, Arizona Early Head Start (EHS) program is for first-time teen parents and their families. The 1998-99 project year marked the fourth year of a 5-year research and demonstration grant for EHS and concluded the third full year of program implementation. This report analyzes Year Four program services and outcomes for children, families,…

The bibliography is aimed at managers of programs forging links between family support and community development. The bibliography begins with a brief explanation of the eight organizing themes: (1) supporting families; (2) focusing on youth; (3) building unity from diversity; (4) thinking in terms of assets; (5) seeing the big picture; (6)…

The Family Resource Coalition of America (FRCA) and the National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice convened a meeting of evaluators, policymakers, and program practitioners to discuss the issue of evaluation in the field of family support. The goal was to bring together those who were implementing programs, evaluating programs, and…

The Phoenix, Arizona Early Head Start program is a family-centered program providing early, continuous, intensive, and comprehensive child development and family support services for low-income pregnant women and families with children ages birth to three. Analyses were conducted of program and participant data and program processes from Year 3,…

This report provides basic information about some 140 federal programs and tax provisions affecting children and their families. It contains brief descriptions of each program/tax rule, participation and funding information (to the extent available), and table summaries of selected program characteristics, such as how benefits and services are…

Phoenix Early Head Start (EHS) is a program for first-time teen parents and their families. It is a family-centered program intended to provide early, continuous, intensive, and comprehensive child development and family support services for vulnerable families and their very young children. This report presents case studies of 12 families, all…

The child support program enforces the responsibility of parents to support their children when they live apart. The child support program is jointly funded by federal and state governments under title IV-D of the Social Security Act. The program collects child support for families, establishes the legal relationship between children and their…

Analyzes the defeat of the California child care tax credit bill and suggests avenues for parents, child care groups, and professionals to use in future advocation efforts. (BJD)

Provides examples of different kinds of information and activity centers for use in one-day workshops to increase parents' involvement in the socialization and education of their children. Among others, centers include "Family Recreation,""Enjoyment of Reading,""Book Fair," and "Family Support Service." (RH)

Describes four successful public library programs for families and gives suggestions for planning programs and measuring their success. (LLS)

Suggests that there is a pressing need to find ways of developing more services which aim to strengthen and complement families. To do this effectively, these services must be developed according to the families' needs and values. (MP)

Families of female juvenile status offenders were administered the Moos Family Environment Scale. The families could be described as moderately cohesive and adaptive. Results suggest that the dysfunctioning family may not be the primary cause of status offenses and that family-oriented treatment is possibly not the choice treatment for status…