Notes that one of the most critical challenges the child welfare field faces is the need to understand and respond effectively to striking changes in the multicultural nature of American society. Discusses leadership approaches to the delivery of services to a multicultural client population and outlines several guidelines for developing…

Reports results of a Minnesota field-based study indicating that prerelease/transition programming and support must begin upon entry, continue during incarceration, and continue after release. Lists 10 areas of focus for effective programs and includes an annotated bibliography of 12 manuals and resources for transition programs. (JOW)

Evaluated Parents as Teachers (PAT), parent education and support program. Assessed outcomes for parents, and for children at ages one, two, and three years. PAT homes (n=59) were more responsive and stimulating for children, and PAT parents perceived greater support from their communities than did comparison parents, but children's abilities were…

Used both traditional scientific and feminist methodologies to evaluate effectiveness of family life education program designed to help dual-earner couples (n=14 couples) share domestic labor. Both quantitative and qualitative data suggest that program produced small increases in husbands' involvement in both housework and child care and large…

Discusses the implementation and evaluation of a program designed to introduce student portfolios in place of formal assessments at a university preschool. Parents of an experimental group of 20 students who constructed portfolios had a better understanding of the preschool program's cognitive and academic components than parents of a control…

Describes the establishment, promotion, and five-year progress of a postadoption service in Hampshire, England. (SW)

Discusses nine key findings of the "Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers" study conducted in 1993. Also highlights a 1994 Child Care Information Exchange survey in which day care center directors rated various determinants of quality in a day care center on a scale of 1 to 10. Center leadership was rated the most…

The epidemiology of adolescent suicide is summarized with particular emphasis on temporal trends by age and gender. "First-generation" prevention programs are examined, followed by a description of selective, targeted, "second generation" prevention efforts, which are focused toward targets of individual predisposition, the…

Describes the creation of a theater-based program for eighth-grade students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (Georgia) Schools. Chronicles the efforts of playwright Ed Shockley to write a play focusing on teen violence and aimed at eighth-grade students. Concludes that the program and the play succeeded in accomplishing their goals. Relates three…

This study examined intervention programs to increase the social integration of 3 children with deaf-blindness, aged 7 through 10. Although the number of socially integrated activities increased for each child, the children continued to have few consistent friends and acquaintances. The implications of these results for enhancing long-term social…

Strategies for making the best use of time at a conference or other professional development activity include suggestions for thorough pretrip planning, travel, attending sessions, getting the most from exhibits, using the conference situation to make contacts or gather information, keeping track of family and personal concerns, and preparing to…

The first phase of a pilot project to compare morbidity and mortality of children of three groups of mothers (illiterate, literate through formal schooling, literate through Nicaragua's National Literacy Crusade begun in 1980) found that substantial numbers of women became literate as a result of the crusade and have maintained their literacy. (SK)

Despite compelling evidence that qualifications of day care center directors are highly associated with center quality, standards and requirements are at best at a paraprofessional level and are often vague and unevenly enforced. (SK)

Evaluated effects of Mississippi Department of Corrections' Project AWARE Program, nonconfrontational prisoner-run juvenile delinquency deterrence program. Compared offenses and school attendance records of 97 adjudicated juvenile delinquent males who attended program and 79 adjudicated nonparticipants. Program participation did not appear to…

Notes that, despite changed goals of mental health treatment for inmates, some prison treatment programs still evaluate effects in terms of adjustment indicators. Discusses and critiques proposals in Ohio to use adjustment indicators as outcome measures for new treatment program for mentally ill inmates. Discusses proper outcome measures for…