There has been widespread acceptance of the principles of family preservation as congruent with the best interests of children in situations of abuse and neglect. This paper discusses the "best interest" ideas articulated by Joseph Goldstein, Anna Freud, and Albert Solnit in the books "Before the Best Interests of the Child"…

A longitudinal assessment of interagency cooperation was conducted as part of a research project designed to monitor the implementation and development of the Smart Start collaboration process. Telephone interviews were conducted with key informants from organizations providing services to children, and the resulting qualitative, quantitative, and…

A comprehensive program of services for working parents who are employees of a consortium of companies is described and evaluated. With the support of the Prospect Hill Executive Office Park in Waltham, Massachusetts, the Prospect Hill Parents' and Children's Center offers parent support services, such as information and counseling, information…

This newsletter issue contains 10 articles focusing on failture to thrive and the feeding of infants and toddlers with disabilities. Articles have the following titles and authors: "The Feeding Relationship" (Ellyn Satter); "Cultural Dimensions of Feeding Relationships" (Carol Brunson Phillips and Renatta M. Cooper);…

A critical element in South Carolina's Early Childhood Development and Academic Assistance Act is the parenting and family literacy component that targets families of children aged birth to 5 years, with a special emphasis on serving parents and families of children at risk for school failure. This manual offers guidelines for developing parenting…

This annual report describes the programs and staff for 1993 of Grassroots Educare Trust, an organization that helps South African communities provide preschool education and health care. Contents of the report are: (1) a list of the board of trustees; (2) a message from the chairman; (3) the director's report on external efforts and internal…

Family literacy programs have been demonstrated to have significant and widespread benefits for children, parents, families, and society. Documented benefits of family literacy programs to children appear in the following areas: children's achievement in school, school attendance, oral language development, reading comprehension and vocabulary,…

Intended for parents, teachers, school administrators, and parent and community groups, this guide lists resources and services available from 34 National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education member organizations to ensure that parents and schools are involved as equal partners in providing quality education for all children. The guide is…

This report describes the application requirements that state agencies need to follow in order to obtain federal funding for family support and preservation (FSP) programs, as budgeted under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act for fiscal years (FYs) 1994 through 1998. Part I of the report serves as an introduction and provides background…

This newsletter issue focuses on the 10 years of leadership provided by the Family Resource Coalition in the support of families. The centerpiece of this anniversary issue is an interview with Coalition founder and President Bernice Weissbourd, exploring how the original ideas of the family resource movement have been implemented over the past 10…

Family English literacy programs are designed to help limited-English-proficient adults and out-of-school youth achieve competence in the English language. The purpose of the study presented here was to provide a thorough description of the 54 Title VII Family English Literacy (FEL) programs funded from 1985 through 1989, including program…

Institutions have been slow to respond to changes in family life, and service delivery has mostly been limited to responding to crises and to treating problems. Family resource and support programs began emerging in the 1970s to fill parents' expressed need for more support. As part of this trend, the federal Family Preservation and Support…

This newsletter focuses on the theme of early intervention which infants and young children with special needs in nine brief articles: "Early Intervention: A Matter of Context" (Samuel J. Meisels); "Early Intervention Research: Asking and Answering Meaningful Questions" (Jack P. Shonkoff); "From Case Management to Service…

This Task Force report offers recommendations to state legislatures in the following policy areas: early intervention, family support, transition services, community living, supported employment, and funding for persons with developmental disabilities. Stressed is a consumer orientation which focuses on individual and family strengths and needs.…

The purpose of this paper is to indicate how the ambivalent posture of the government toward families has affected federal support of research on the family and studies of the family as educator. After an introductory section providing background information about American public policy, families, and education, the discussion centers on the…