Toronto's highly successful, school-based parenting centers provide poor parents, many of them recent immigrants, with parenting support and education; access to community resource information; information on how to support their young children's learning; and classes in literacy, numeracy, and English as a second language, as needed. (SV)

Assessed effects of Head Start and Head Start plus Family Empowerment Transitioning Programming for family risk and child developmental outcomes. Analyzed change in parent-centered, child-centered, and family economic risk and progress in personal-social, adaptive, motor, communication, and cognitive skills. Found that, overall, both programming…

This article reports on data collected as part of a four-phase study initiated to strengthen practice in the field of smoking cessation during pregnancy. It focuses on the perceived support pregnant smokers would receive for quitting smoking and how this support could be effectively used by incorporating the education of partners/family in smoking…

Professionals representing 14 community-based organizations were trained at three different sites serving urban and rural families to implement an empirically supported parenting program for families of young children with challenging behaviors. Of the 44 practitioners trained, 23 successfully completed the program, which involved passing a…

Using a weighted database of approximately 3,000 students, this study involves the tracing of the postsecondary history of 2,516 students who identified as Native Hawaiian, graduated from high school between 1993 and 1995, and attended college. Virtually none of the students are 100% Hawaiian. Due to a long history of intermarriage, the Hawaiian…

Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) teams are by definition comprised of professionals from a variety of disciplines who are trained to determine recommendations for the services they deliver. Research indicates that when more people are on the IFSP team, families may feel less supported, and diminished child outcomes can result. However,…

This study investigated the characteristics of 106 children primarily referred for externalizing behavior problems and their families, and assessed the prediction of treatment outcome following a standardized short-term, cognitive behavioral group program. "Exploring Together" comprised a children's group (anger management, problem-solving and…

We present a discussion of the literature addressing retention of ethnic minority samples in longitudinal studies. In addition, we describe the retention procedures implemented in the Parents Matter! Program (PMP), a community-based sexual risk reduction intervention for African American families. Finally, the results of PMP's retention strategies…

Parental support has been an increasingly essential part of New Zealand early childhood (EC) education services over the last 20 years. This support has taken many shapes and forms over this time period, and has depended on the differing philosophies of the EC education services. What this support "looks like" and how it is delivered is…

This paper presents the results of two qualitative studies, conducted independently in two Early Head Start programs, exploring the reasons given by mothers and home visitors for family success or lack of success in achieving program goals and for engagement in the mother-home visitor relationship. Several patterns pertaining to family issues and…

In April 2002, the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health was created by executive order to study the mental health care delivery system in our nation and to make recommendations for improvements so that individuals with serious mental disorders can live, work, learn, and fully participate in their homes and communities. In its…

The authors, directors of the Chicago-based Pritzker Early Childhood Foundation, advocate "replication," the adaptation of a successful model program or practice to new locations or to new populations. Studies have shown that successful replications of early childhood programs that help at-risk children and their families can have long-term,…

The results of a qualitative study funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation indicate that a promising path to improving the lives of disadvantaged families is through more holistic, comprehensive approaches to family support. These approaches combine traditional family support activities with the development of human and economic capital. The…

We explored the relationship between school-age children's emotional and behavioral symptoms and workforce participation of their family caregivers using structural equation modeling. Secondary analysis of data from the national evaluation of the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program was performed…

This 3-year qualitative study investigated the diagnostic process and the experiences of professionals and families associated with 5 Alaskan students with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The data revealed (a) an increase in public awareness, but limited provision of services for children with FASD and their families; (b) the use of…