Describes study of administrative data from Northern Ireland on the costs of family and child care services, using small area utilization modeling, to derive a new set of needs indicators that could be used within the family and child care capitation funding formula. Argues that small area utilization modeling produces a fairer and more equitable…

This article profiles the Hope Infant Family Support Program in San Diego, California, and its shift to providing educational services in the natural environment. How the program managed this complex change process is discussed, including the development of a vision statement, incentives, skill development, resource allocation changes, and action…

Qualitative analyses were conducted to examine family factors related to individual differences in the early school success of children born to low-income adolescent mothers from the perspective of paraprofessional family advocates. These families were participants in a 5-year family support program. Achievement test scores and teacher ratings…

Comments from parents such as, "It's nice to work with someone who understands how complicated my life is"; "I know when I make a decision about my child, my home visitor will respect it"; "Now, I feel like I can help my child learn"; and "I enjoy being with my child so much" are great to hear. These types of comments let early interventionists…

A significant challenge in the field of early childhood special education is providing qualified personnel to serve young children with special needs and their families. Though many personnel development programs acknowledge the need for interdisciplinary preparation of diverse students who are culturally competent, faculty and trainees continue…

With the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (P.L. 104-193) of 1996, also known as the Welfare-to-Work Act, Aid to Families with Dependent Children was abolished and replaced with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). A new system of block grants to states for TANF was created, changing the…

The Strong African American Families Program, a universal preventive intervention to deter alcohol use among rural African American adolescents, was evaluated in a cluster-randomized prevention trial. This 7-week family skills training program is based on a contextual model in which intervention effects on youth protective factors lead to changes…

Family homelessness has emerged as a serious global problem (Stronge, 2000). Over the past 25 years in the United States, the makeup of the homeless population has changed significantly. As De Angelis (1994) reports: The landscape of homelessness has changed since the early 1980s, when nearly all homeless people were men. Today,…

This study examined the influence of witnessing violence, peer provocation, family support, and parenting practices (monitoring and discipline) on aggression. Participants were 1,196 ninth graders at nine schools in poor, predominantly agricultural, rural communities who completed measures of these variables. Witnessing violence, peer provocation,…

This article identifies themes of continuity and change related to the well-being and development of infants and toddlers. The author describes several particularly striking changes over the last 25 years of research and practice in early childhood development. (1) The infant-family field has grown in many professions from a marginal area to a…

The impact of a consumer-directed family support program on actual out-of-home placement in one American state was evaluated over an 8-year period. Under this program, individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families control their own resources and design and direct supports through the use of cash allowances or individualized…

The Family Support Center, recognizing the need for single women with children to maintain stability, has developed a program referred to as the Family Support Center Village, which incorporates a service enriched co-housing model. The "Village" will be the catalyst for these mothers' self-sufficiency and will provide opportunities to develop…

Aim: To assess the prevalence and relationship to later employment of potential barriers to work for substance-abusing women on Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) enrolled in a multiservice welfare-to-work program. Design: A field study with repeated measures and intent-to-treat sampling. Intervention: The CASAWORKS for Families (CWF)…

For educators interested in engaging in critical literacy work with families and schools, the efforts can be both exhilarating and exasperating. Reflecting on a two-year family literacy project, we consider the possibilities and pitfalls of the projects' design and implementation. The work described in this article takes a stance that is both…

Rich with clinical insights, this volume reviews the state of the science of identifying and treating autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in very young children. Leading authorities examine critical research issues and present innovative approaches to assessing social, cognitive, adaptive, communication, and sensory-motor impairments in the first two…