A study involving 64 Australian parents of children with mental retardation (ages 4-31) found no significant differences between mothers and fathers in terms of their general positivity-negativity, but that fathers were less represented by overall responses than mothers. Significant differences were also found between subgroups of mothers.…

Presents information to facilitate ideal family involvement in early intervention. Strategies for conducting family assessments while building collaborative partnerships with families are presented. Characteristics which produce effective collaborative partnerships are reviewed, and the reality of working with families is presented through two…

Major components of the social support and social systems approach to early intervention are reviewed, reflections are presented, and the future use of the model are discussed. The paper concludes with an overview of a "third generation" model integrating new evidence for studying and practicing family systems intervention. (Contains extensive…

Explores a socially resilient system of care and two key elements of the wraparound process: cultural competence and discovering family strengths, preferences, voice, and choice. Demonstrates the basic elements of an organized, resilient system of care and community strengths and includes exercises in social resilience, cultural competence, and…

Reviews recent studies of family preservation and related family-strengthening programs. Estimates the effect sizes of outcomes in studies with control or comparison conditions. Also identifies a set of core services that characterize innovative family preservation programs in child welfare, multisystemic family treatment in juvenile justice, and…

Outlines a conceptual model of parental involvement in family support programs, anchored in ecological and family systems frameworks. Proposes that parental decisions to enroll and remain in support programs are shaped by a variety of factors at different levels of influence, including individual characteristics of the parent and family, provider…

Evaluates an attempt to establish a support group for parents and relatives whose children were in the care of one health board, based on a qualitative study supplemented by individual interviews. Shows that this support group was successful. Suggests ways in which the therapeutic potential of such groups could be enhanced and more parents…

Reviews literature on how exemplary child care services in Europe, the United States, and selected Canadian provinces have been planned, organized, and coordinated with other child and family support services, and with education, recreation, and public health services. (JPB)

Describes a formal approach for abuse clarification to be used with families in which maltreatment has occurred. Components include clarification of the abusive behaviors, offender assumption of responsibility, offender expression of awareness of the impact of the abuse, and initiation of a plan to ensure future safety. (Author/CR)

This editorial comments on a study that found that parents of infants prenatally exposed to illegal drugs did not subsequently have more child abuse allegations than a comparison sample. The need for adult and child welfare professionals to work together in serving infants and their parents is stressed. (Contains 1 reference.) (CR)

Explored use of respite care by 60 families to help prevent family breakdown. Found that after nine months, parents were more in control of their lives and had reduced family problems. Ninety-two percent of families remained intact. Social workers were more satisfied with the intervention in less-complex than in more-complex cases. Children…

A 3-year study evaluated a program to prevent unnecessary out-of-home placement of children. The program combines family preservation and family support services into a comprehensive yet individualized response to families. Findings indicate that four program elements correspond with those identified as characterizing family preservation programs,…

This article describes the efforts and special initiatives of New York City's Administration for Children's Services to improve services to immigrant and English language learner populations. Children's Services convened an immigration issues advisory subcommittee, created special tools for child welfare staff, collaborated with legal agencies to…

This study evaluates the effects of the Coping Power Program with at-risk preadolescent boys at the time of transition from elementary school to middle school. Aggressive boys were randomly assigned to receive only the Coping Power child component, the full Coping Power Program with parent and child components, or a control condition. Results…

Although the economic and social conditions of families have changed considerably, the framework of U.S. social policy with regard to families has not changed. Under the framework, policymakers assume that the poverty of families or individuals is largely their own fault. This long-standing belief has impeded the expansion of public spending on…