This paper questions the appropriateness of characterizing infants/young children who are handicapped or developmentally delayed as a group in jeopardy for abuse/neglect. It proposes the adoption of a family-focused view, which considers child, family, and environmental variables to determine risk and provide services to abusive and neglectful…

Describes the Bancroft Early Intervention/Parent Project of Spokane County, Washington. This project was designed to help refugee parents of children enrolled in Head Start learn English, adapt to U.S. culture, and become self-sufficient. (RJC)

Describes a process and instrument developed by the Children's Bureau of Los Angeles to evaluate its in-home family support program. The agency has combined case assessment, reporting and recording, evaluation structure, and research data collection in one instrument and one case-long process. (RJC)

Gives an overview of recent changes in legislation and social policy with respect to child welfare in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Discusses the effect of the Children Act 1989 on children's services in England and contrasts England's services with the organization of child welfare services in Scotland and Northern Ireland.…

Describes and assesses the impact of the 1989 Children Act on the family support aspects of statutory child-care social work. Outlines ideological challenges to family support work and traces the main themes in relevant professional and research literature. Presents the family support clauses of the act and an account of the dominant concerns that…

This article looks into the reasons behind Kenya's rapidly declining fertility rates over the last decade. Examines such factors as economic conditions, Westernization, contraceptive use, and formal education programs. (LZ)

Reports on the results of a study undertaken in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts in 1992 of the use of contracting arrangements in children's services. Highlights the positive and negative aspects of contracting for both contractors and providers, and discusses the impact of this approach for the traditional differentiation between nongovernmental…

Interview with Nancy Landon Kassebaum, third-term Senator from Kansas. Discusses the Head Start program, particularly funding and how it fits into welfare reform. Shares some of her home state's efforts with regard to the national education goals; family issues such as job training, literacy, safe child care, and preventive health care; and…

At an urban, predominantly African American middle school, the authors addressed parents' concerns (adolescent development, self-esteem, family communication, behavior management, peer pressure, sexuality, and substance abuse) through a series of six Saturday workshops. Parents were randomly assigned to one of three models: directive,…

A program for legally mandated training of foster and adoptive parents in rural Oregon is described. The development of this program and its funding sources can serve as an example for other rural areas. (BC)

Lists candidates for National Head Start Association (NHSA) elected positions and announces four new awards sponsored by the NHSA. Recognizes the Missouri State Highway Patrol for its work with Head Start children. Presents a draft report on the NHSA Quality Initiative, a system designed to promote quality in Head Start and to provide challenges…

This article presents a framework for providing services to infants with disabilities and their families, by conceptualizing early intervention in terms of levels of prevention. Primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of prevention are proposed to prevent the manifestation, severity, or extended impact of developmental delays; and implications for…

It is suggested that those championing the growing national family literacy movement in the United States miss the point that society itself, not the families, constructs the conditions of poverty. Implications for meaningful change are discussed. (Contains 13 references.) (LB)

Argues that home visiting and related services have been shaped and constrained by the tendency to use services as a substitute for adequate income and economic opportunity, by ambivalent attitudes toward poor people, and by a preoccupation with the effects of poverty on child rearing. Proposes basic principles of practice that should guide early…

Two approaches for early intervention with Head Start children are described: a child-centered intradynamic approach using one-to-one play therapy, and a family-centered ecological system which works with the family unit and other support agencies. Criteria are discussed for determining the applicability of either modality in individual cases.…