There is a growing ideological divide in the field of family literacy between programs that are striving to colonize families with middle-class European-American literacy practices, and those based on Freire's philosophy which works toward affirming diverse family literacy practices. The Freirean alternative includes "culture circles" for the…

"Childhood Programs and Practices in the First Decade of Life" presents research findings on the effects of early childhood programs and practices in the first decade of life and their implications for policy development and reform. Leading scholars in the multidisciplinary field of human development and in early childhood learning…

This guide to self-evaluation and improvement builds upon the advice given in the publication "A Guide to Evaluating Services for Children and Young People Using Quality Indicators" (HMIE, 2006) (A summary of the quality indicators is reproduced in Appendix I). Local authorities, agencies and professionals who have responsibilities for…

This article presents long-term effects of a preventive intervention for young children at high risk for antisocial behavior. Ninety-two children (M age = 4 years) were randomly assigned to an 8-month family intervention or no-intervention control condition and assessed 4 times over a 24-month period. Intent-to-treat analyses revealed significant…

An expanding body of research suggests an important role for parent or family competency training in children's social-emotional learning and related school success. This article summarizes a test of a longitudinal model examining partnership-based family competency training effects on academic success in a general population. Specifically, it…

This report describes a conference convened by eight child care advocates to create a plan for funding child care services for California's families. Part one describes the participants of the summit, their role, and the assumptions of the summit. Part two details the following three models that were proposed for financing child care: (1) create a…

Goal One of the six national education goals now embodied in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act states that "By the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn." One of the objectives formulated to meet this goal asserts that "Children will receive the nutrition and health care needed to arrive at school…

Stories of living on welfare are told by five women and their children. Each represents a group of women who use Aid to Families with Dependent Children. The reasons these women have turned to public aid, and their means of achieving self-sufficiency illustrate why welfare policy and family policy must be redefined to account for the differences…

This report, in both English and Spanish versions, aims to highlight the Bernard van Leer Foundation's identity, objectives, and major activities, as well as the work undertaken by the projects the foundation supports. The review features articles on the Foundation's work on advocacy, supporting families living in disadvantaged circumstances,…

The study described in this issue of "Look at Even Start" evaluated the Staff Mentoring Sites program, a mentoring program provided as technical assistance in Even Start family literacy programs. Staff from five Even Start programs with successful family recruitment and retention records were selected as mentors. Requests for nominations…

Libraries are faced with changing demographics, emerging technologies, and economic shifts. Families once attended library programs as a unit, children began kindergarten at age five, and libraries offered few programs for children under four. Intact and extended families are a thing of the past. Many children today are raised in single parent…

A study of 44 infants and toddlers with disabilities enrolled in 3 diverse early intervention programs in 3 states examined the cost of early intervention services and the core ingredients of hourly service cost. During the 12-month study, all service events were recorded for 1 week per month. Overall, findings revealed an extremely wide range in…

This manual describes the "New Hampshire Leadership Series," a leadership training program designed to assist individuals with disabilities and their families to create a vision for themselves and to achieve positive futures. The manual is divided into six major sections. The first section, "Introducing the New Hampshire Leadership…

This report describes the Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Waiver to section 1915 (c) of the Federal Social Security Act that was obtained by the New York State Office of Mental Health. The HCBS Waiver affects the services provided to children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances. Three statutory requirements are included in…

This report presents the results of U.S. Senate-House of Representatives conference committee deliberations concerning amendments to S. 2000, the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1994, which is designed to reauthorize appropriations for fiscal years 1995 through 1998 to carry out the Head Start Act, the Community Services Block Grant Act, and…