A study evaluated impact of supportive paraprofessional home visiting on 88 mothers and young children with or at-risk for developmental disabilities and at-risk for inadequate parenting. Mothers who received services demonstrated moderately better mental health than controls, and their children were more likely to have an Individualized Family…

A British summer adventure education program aims to re-engage high risk secondary students into society. A qualitative evaluation found that although the participants had fun, there was not enough focus on transferring skills to daily life. Because of the many factors affecting the experience, any difference made in the lives of the youths was…

Examined developmental trajectories toward violence over middle childhood and children's response to a universal school-based preventive intervention. Found that three growth patterns--positive linear, late acceleration, and gradual deceleration--characterized the children's trajectories, and these trajectories varied meaningfully by child…

Summarizes and provides a quick reference to information from papers and participant discussions from the Symposium on Graduated Driver Licensing held November 5 - 7, 2002, in Chatham, Mass. (Contains 14 references.) (AUTHOR/WFA)

Rethinking and expanding the theory of change underlying systems of care are recommended to support development of the knowledge base for understanding what systems of care can be expected to accomplish. Three domains of knowledge are presented as necessary to understanding the relationship between systems-level change and services. (Contains…

Examines the federal, state, and local policies that guide approaches to sex education in the United States today (comprehensive curricula versus abstinence only), examining recent research into community-level experiences and practices as well as emerging evidence about the effectiveness of different types of sex education curricula. (SM)

Covers selected topics related to infants, young children, families: National Children's Bureau's establishment of Under Fives Unit, Caerffili, Wales; policy for young children from National Children's Bureau; descriptions of three papers produced by Barnardo internal research fellows; establishment of new children's epilepsy assessment unit,…

Performed meta-analysis upon eight California school-based risk reduction programs designed to deter fourth through eighth grade students from the use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. Found that information-focused interventions had more impact upon knowledge but less upon attitudes and behavior whereas alternative interventions had less…

Discusses current problems for cooperative extension services, particularly regarding relevance and effectiveness of extension education programs. Suggests extension programs develop research-based knowledge to improve practices and technology for social and economic change. Describes alternative model of services beyond information dissemination.…

Examined effects of an individualized faculty advising program, study-skills training, and a tutorial center on the academic performance and retention of Black freshmen enrolled at a predominantly White university. Data suggest that nonresidency, off-campus employment, and organizational involvement adversely affect academic performance and…

Reports the effectiveness of Thailand's Functional Literacy and Family Life Planning project in the village of Nonglungka, based upon several months of observation by the author. Concludes that, although literacy skills were improved, the participants did not apply this knowledge to their daily lives. Makes suggestions for improvement of the…

Employee assistance programs (EAP) are evaluated in questionnaire responses from 73 of 109 (67 percent) Canadian school boards and 35 (50 percent) of the clients of the EAP in London, Ontario. Explores the nature of current programs and emerging trends in this field. (MLF)

Discusses successes and problems of Head Start. Suggests that Head Start's difficulties relate to its implementation, not its design. Proposes increasing the effectiveness of Head Start through a series of reform strategies that relate to interventions that address the needs of children in child care, preschool children, and school-age children.…

A discussion of the performance indicator system used at the University of Wisconsin to provide feedback to stakeholders and encourage continuous improvement of services includes background on the system's context and development, legislative and governing board involvement, resulting recommendations, and three examples of specific accountability…

Examined the effectiveness of an intervention program to prevent conduct problems among the preschool sons of 104 alcoholic fathers. The 10-month intervention combined parent training and marital counseling and had significant positive effects on the children's negative, prosocial, and affective behavior at program termination. Only the prosocial…