The principles of family support are clear: building on the strengths, resources, culture, and capacity of families and communities is the best way to provide for the optimal development of children. This program self-assessment book gives family support programs specific, short-term and long-term benchmarks to help them enact the principles of…

This discussion addresses the disease-centered structures of services for disabled children and analyzes orientation toward institutional imperatives rather than toward including concerns of families. Five areas for change are addressed including promotion of independence, recognition of the value of long-term relationships with professionals, and…

Comments on a previous article written by two mothers concerning their experience of intercountry adoption. Advocates that people in helping professions identify areas in which support for adoptive families might be required. (Author/RH)

In the late 1980s, the Denver Art Museum initiated efforts to make the museum a destination for families. From 1997 to 2001, with a generous grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts, these efforts came to fruition. From the moment they walk through the doors, families' needs are anticipated. For example, they can pick up a welcoming brochure, Free…

The theoretical, conceptual, operational, and performance foundations of an integrated framework for practicing early childhood intervention and family support are described. The framework is derived from theory, research, and practice in diverse fields of inquiry that collectively provide an organising scheme for engaging in practice that…

Recent work-family research has proposed that informal means of organizational work-family support (e.g., managerial support) are more useful than formal means of organizational work-family support (e.g., work-family benefit availability) in explaining variance in employee affective, intentional, and behavioral outcomes. However, the relative…

This paper summarizes recent evidence from a series of evaluations of family self-sufficiency programs. These studies show that policies can be successful in achieving both positive economic benefits for parents (such as increased employment) and positive educational effects on their children. It need not be the case that increasing mothers' work…

A family literacy program was examined to document the literacy experiences of 25 fathers and their five-year-old children. Using a case study methodology, this study examined the effects of a literacy intervention program that was designed to assist fathers to promote their children's acquisition of literacy. The results indicated that the…

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an empirically-supported behavioral parent training program designed to be administered in a clinic or laboratory-based setting. Recently, an empirical investigation revealed that in-home PCIT produced comparable results as the PCIT trials conducted in more controlled environments (this issue).…

In the last three decades, several strands of research have produced compelling evidence justifying a focus on the family with a particular emphasis on early years in order to raise literacy standards. Partners in Literacy is an evidence-based model which is built on these key research findings, these are: (1) Families and parents are critical to…

Rates of overweight in youth have reached epidemic proportions and are associated with adverse health outcomes. Family-based programs have been widely used to treat overweight in youth. However, few programs incorporate a theoretical framework for studying a family systems approach in relation to youth health behavior change. Therefore, this…

The Code of Ethics of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children is a public statement of principles and practice guidelines supported by the mission of DEC. The foundation of this Code is based on sound ethical reasoning related to professional practice with young children with disabilities and their families…

While library programming for children is a staple in most public libraries, it is quite rare in the academic setting. In 2006 the education librarian at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire began offering literacy programs in a library that traditionally discouraged children and community members from using its resources. Successful programs…

The present study based on World Health Organization quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) scale to examine quality of life of the caregivers caring for their children/adolescents with intellectual disabilities in Taiwan, and the factors contributing to their quality of life. Structured interviews were conducted with 597 caregivers of children/adolescents…

All OECD governments want to give parents more choice in their work and family decisions. This book looks at the different ways in which governments support families. It seeks to provide answers to questions like: Is spending on family benefits going up, and how does it vary by the age of the child? Has the crisis affected public support for…