Making Connections was the Annie E. Casey Foundation's signature place-based, community-change initiative of the 2000s. It sought to build on previous work and launch an effort focused firmly on the framework of family strengthening. The Foundation started Making Connections in 22 places, focusing eventually on first 10, then seven sites. It…

This paper discusses the five components of preschool program planning. The first component involves reviewing information about child development, developmental characteristics of young children, and the specific needs of children and families enrolled in the program. The second component involves formulating goals that reflect the philosophy of…

This paper describes procedures used to stratify and refine an original sample of 951 families with preschool children living in the Appalachia area, for a study to provide information on the target audience for Appalachia Educational Laboratory's Home-Oriented Preschool Education Program (HOPE). The procedure was to force-match the sample…

This document contains the plans for conducting the field studies of Appalachian parents of young children which are part of the Appalachia Educational Laboratory's Home-Oriented Preschool Education Program (HOPE). HOPE is an integrated approach to education for preschool and kindergarten children being developed by AEL's Marketable Preschool…

This report outlines the national and state environmental context for the SECCS Initiative in supporting MCH strategic planning in early childhood systems building. This strategic context has implications for roles, relationships, and activities within a planning process and ultimately an implementation process. It summarizes the opportunities and…