The myths and misconceptions surrounding the topic of sexuality and people with developmental disabilities were examined to better understand the detrimental effects they were having on the sexual health of individuals with developmental disabilities. Persons with developmental disabilities are often infantilised and viewed as asexual. This…

In this article, the author discusses the social issues that concern the young adolescents in Russia and their early onset to sexual activity. The early onset of sexual activity among adolescents in Russia is taking place under conditions that are quite specific. These conditions include: a low level of contraceptive awareness, a very small number…

For more than a decade, Florida's Palm Beach County has been building an infrastructure of prevention and early intervention services to promote and support the healthy development and school readiness of children from birth to age 8. The county began this effort with a set of programs focused on serving families in four targeted geographic areas…

"KidsCount in Colorado!" is an annual publication of the Colorado Children's Campaign, which provides the best available state- and county-level data to measure and track the education, health and general well-being of the state's children. KidsCount in Colorado! informs policy debates and community discussions, serving as a valuable…

As Congress prepares to make important decisions about the future of Head Start, Program Information Report (PIR) data provide important contextual information about Early Head Start programs and the children and families they serve. In 2004, Early Head Start served a diverse group of infants, toddlers, and pregnant women, most of whom were from…

School psychologists are increasingly being confronted with a wide spectrum of psychological, psychosocial, familial, and home-school issues impacting child development. With one in six children raised in alcoholic families, with divorce impacting approximately 60% of families, and with such issues as teenage pregnancy, parental neglect, as well…

Rates of serious crime in the United States dropped greatly throughout the 1990s for virtually all offenses. John Donohue and Steven Levitt have argued that this reduction relates strongly to the 1973 "Roe v. Wade" decision that legalized the abortion of unwanted pregnancies. If such pregnancies result in children with higher lifetime risks of…

In 1993 The Annie E. Casey Foundation made a substantial commitment to the goal of reducing adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease by investing in the design and development of the Plain Talk initiative. Plain Talk attempts to organize and mobilize community residents to change the attitudes and practices of adults, teenagers, and…

The Yakima First Steps Mobilization Project for Pregnant Substance Abusers, known as First Steps PLUS, is a demonstration project. The project seeks to improve the health outcomes of pregnant substance abusing women and their infants by enhancing existing perinatal services provided through Washington's First Steps Maternity Care Program and by…

Babygram Hospital Outreach, under the administration of the Program for Pregnant and Parenting Services and in conjunction with the Health and Hospital Corporation, is a program to assist pregnant and parenting teens to return to an educational setting. With funding from the Federal School Dropout Demonstration Assistance program, Babygram began…

A "Parenting Girls Project" was operated within the Teenage Parent Program in the Owensboro City School System, Kentucky. Objectives involved continuation and expansion strategies: raising student assessment scores in parenting attitudes on the Performance and Attitudinal Scale (PAS), increasing student assessment scores in career…

Statistics show that the improvement in the U.S. infant mortality rate began slowing down in 1981 and completely ended in 1985; this has been reflected in a significant increase in the percentage of infants born prematurely and with low birth weight. Increased attention is being given to the effects of maternal behavior during pregnancy, and…

Although the incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) has been called an "epidemic" on some American Indian reservations, solutions for Native American women with alcohol and drug dependency problems have largely been ignored by the federal government. FAS prevention policy, originating around 1979, has been driven by the simplistic…

This literature review defines Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) and considers their causes, diagnoses, prevalence, and educational ramifications. Effects of alcohol during each of the trimesters of pregnancy are summarized. Specific diagnostic characteristics of FAS are listed: (1) growth deficiency, (2) a…

This proceedings document contains papers addressing trends, determinants, and interventions in preventing low birthweight. Papers have the following titles and authors: "Trends in Rates of Low Birthweight in the United States" (Mary McCormick); "Evolution of the Preterm Birth Rate in France" (Gerard Breart); "The Etiology…