Many young children in immigrant families do not have good access to health and education services. To the extent that their life prospects are compromised as a result, these children--and the entire society--suffer. This article discusses the needs of children from birth to age eight, with a particular focus on the education needs of young…

Due to a lack of initial orientation training for school-age child care staff, the childcare program for 6- to 18-year-olds, located at an Air Force installation, was not fully acquainting new employees with the developmental needs of school-age children. Because of a lack of financial resources to conduct extensive training, high turnover of…

Noting that academic failure begins early and that the focus of school reform should be at the elementary level, this book describes the Basic School, an idea based on best practice in elementary education. A Basic School pushes school reform back to the first years of formal education; gives priority to language and suggests a coherent core of…

Model-eliciting activities (MEA), specially designed client-drive, open-ended problems, have been implemented in a first-year engineering course and in secondary schools. The educational goals and settings are different, but the design of an MEA enables it to be versatile. This paper will introduce the reader to the principles that guide MEA…

The term "doing hair" is utterly familiar. However, while the term can refer to simple acts of combing, brushing, washing, and styling hair, in the culture of adolescent African-American girls, doing hair is a social practice that represents power, creativity, and sometimes popularity. This article describes a three-month afterschool…

The Beacons Initiative aimed to transform eight public schools (five middle schools and three high schools) into youth and family centers in low-income neighborhoods in San Francisco, California. Using a coalition of local partners and funding from public agencies and foundations, the centers served 7,500 youth and adults between July 1, 1999, and…

This report examines effects of the Self-Sufficiency Project (SSP) for three age groups of children (younger cohort aged 3-5, middle cohort aged 6-11, and older cohort aged 12-18) at the 36-month interview. A companion report on effects of the SSP on adults is available separately. Chapter 1 describes the SSP incentive, project design, and SSP…

High rates of immigration, especially from Latin America, have created a large population of immigrant youth, many of whom are having difficulty in American schools. The central goals of our project were to assist in empowering students to find academic success and to foster a more bicultural identity. According to three perspectives (youth,…

The Guam Education Policy Board initially adopted the Guam Public School System District Action Plan in May 2003. The DAP established the direction and details for improving academic performance in reading, math, and language arts by using the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act as a framework. The adopted DAP was also used as a basis for…

Local governments are on the front line of responsibility for the welfare of children and families. Increased city efforts and collaboration on behalf of children and families were found by this survey of 780 cities conducted by the National League of Cities (NLC) during 1995. The survey found that nearly two out of three cities are involved in…

School and district administrators, as well as policymakers, are increasingly recognizing that early education and intervention services for young children have a direct and positive impact on later school performance and quality of life. But which programs and services should be operated and funded? To answer that question, this book highlights…

Recognizing the importance of and need for high quality after-school care for 5- to 14-year-olds, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration commissioned a set of 9 School Age Care Technical Assistance Papers discussing the steps in designing high quality programs. This two-videotape set, based on those papers, provides guidance to…

During a typical week, as many as 14 million children and youth across the United States lack adult supervision during non-school hours. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the lack of structured and supervised afterschool programs in American communities contributes to a higher incidence of drug and alcohol use and delinquent…

In January through April 2007, the Children's Trust sponsored a population-based survey of parents of children ages birth through 17 in Miami-Dade County to provide a baseline of data on child health and well-being, and to discern unmet needs for services in the Trust's primary impact areas and strategic investments. The survey was conducted by…

How do some families successfully negotiate the linguistic, cultural, and psychological challenges of immigration, while others struggle to acculturate? This volume explores the complexities of immigrant family life in North America and analyzes the individual and contextual factors that influence health and well-being. Synthesizing cutting-edge…