Since their appearance in the early 1970s, family support programs have represented a new way of working with families, based on the partnership they establish with families, their acceptance in the community as an asset and resource for all families, and the trusting relationship they build with families who participate in these programs. This…

This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of Partners Plus: Families and Caregivers in Partnerships, a model demonstration project designed to expand respite care options for families of children (birth to 8 years old) with disabilities. The program uses a natural and family-centered model that involves families in the design,…

This manual is designed to assist facilitators working with members of a school community in forming or strengthening partnerships that will promote greater success for their youth. Participants can identify characteristics that are most important for youth to be successful in their community, consider ways to determine that students are…

These instructional materials are designed to provide personnel developers and trainers with resources that can be used to improve the performance of paraeducators working in center-based and home visitor programs for young children with disabilities from birth to age 5. The modules cover: (1) strengthening the instructional team, the roles of…

This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of a 4-year federally funded project designed to provide effective practices in the delivery of educational services to Pennsylvania children and youth with deafblindness from birth through 21 years of age and to their families and service providers. Outcomes of the project included: (1)…

This paper reflects on lessons learned from the implementation of KAN Focus, a demonstration project to develop a system of care for children with severe emotional disturbance in rural southeast Kansas. It notes trends toward providing more and younger children with community-based support services which provide family centered services,…

This updated guide helps families navigate the maze of adult services and supports for individuals with developmental disabilities. It responds to families' need for a centralized source of information that describes adult services and how to access them. Content includes an overview of the service system and information on legal and financial…

Suggests involving parents more fully in their child's reading, by sending books from school to be shared at home. Describes a program that groups several books by theme or author in a backpack, along with a book for parents, a response notebook, and inventory card. Suggests funding sources and management concerns for such a program, and includes…

Ten factors are discussed for promoting the success of students who are deaf: family involvement; self-determination; extracurricular activities; friendships and social skills; self-advocacy skills; collaboration and communication with general education teachers; pre-teaching and post-teaching materials in general education classrooms;…

This article uses the issue of custody relinquishment to illustrate ways in which research can be used in the policy change process. In the case studies profiled, research was most effective when combined with family stories. The stories gave the problem life and the research helped find families with stories. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Describes four activities for grade levels K-3, 4-5, and 6-8 and for the family that explore statistical concepts using a manipulative familiar to students-SKITTLES candies. Concepts explored include frequency graphs, data collection and analysis, probability, measures of central tendency, averaging, and correlation coefficients. Includes…

Discusses the use of games to learn mathematics both in the classroom and at home. Games promote nonroutine learning, cooperative learning, problem solving, communication, and reasoning. Included are store-bought games, games made specifically for educational purposes, and multicultural games. A table lists many common games and their uses. (JAF)

Evaluation results for 1993-94 are presented for a Louisiana program to increase family participation in educational services for children with deaf-blindness and to coordinate services with federal initiatives. The program involves student identification, family training, infant and toddler direct services, technical assistance, transition…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the 3-year federally supported Minnesota Deaf-Blind Technical Assistance Project. The project provided training and technical assistance, information sharing, and support services to families of children with deaf-blindness. Activities and accomplishments included: collaboration with…

This book explores issues related to the links between families and schools and how they affect children's educational achievement, and is organized as follows: Part 1, titled "Families and Schools: How Can They Work Together To Promote Children's School Success?" contains the following chapters: chapter 1, "Family Involvement in…