Schools and the families they serve are sometimes perceived as deficient and in need of fixing. One response has been the implementation of evidence-based family intervention programmes, which may be highly regulated and prescriptive as a condition of their (often philanthropic) funding. This article seeks to explore and bring to the foreground…

This paper presents a review of the family services that were offered by a sample of 121 English Sure Start Children's Centres in 2011 and 2012. Children's Centres are community based facilities that aim to improve outcomes for at-risk families and children through the delivery of a range of services largely aimed at families with young children.…

Research was conducted to explore the level of evidence of impact collected through program evaluation (outcome studies) by Extension as published in "JOE." Articles reviewed were those listed under the headings of "Feature Articles" and "Research in Brief" in 5-year increments (1965-69, 1975-79, 1985-89, 1995-99, and…

A comprehensive review of structured family support programs in children's mental health was conducted in collaboration with leadership from key national family organizations. The goals were to identify typologies of family support services for which evaluation data existed and identify research gaps. Over 200 programs were examined; 50 met…

The upcoming Congressional reauthorization of the Early Head Start program provides an opportunity to focus on what can be done to achieve even greater impacts for infants, toddlers, and families in Early Head Start. In this policy brief, the Zero to Three Policy Center presents its recommendations for Congressional action and discusses scientific…

The aim of the federally funded National Demonstration Program in Child Abuse and Neglect was to develop and test alternative treatment strategies. This article reports on an evaluation of treatment services in the 11 projects in the program. Implications are presented. (Author)

This paper reviews evaluations of family-centered intervention programs conducted in neonatal intensive care units. Of 10 studies identified, 3 focused on intervention to benefit the family system; 6 involved parents, but the primary focus was the infant; and 1 study combined the 2 approaches. All the studies had substantial limitations.…

Critical to the success of initiatives to reform and restructure educational and community services to improve the lives of children is the way in which they are financed. This report explores the movement toward privatization through contracting in managing, financing, and delivering child and family social services and provides a conceptual…

"Data Trends" reports present summaries of research on mental health services for children and adolescents and their families. The article summarized in this "Data Trends" examines research on the "contribution of informal support linkages in the achievement of treatment outcomes" in three models of family-based practice: Intensive Family…

This research review examines what is known about the effectiveness of parenting support, and assesses the international evaluation evidence focusing on primary and secondary prevention programmes. It outlines several factors affecting the success of parenting support interventions in terms of service implementation and delivery, as well as…

This literature review is intended for use by organizations and agencies who are working to develop coordinated and integrated services for children and families in their communities. The information is organized in a framework that reflects primary areas of importance in evaluating implementation and effects of collaboration. The reviewed…

This bibliography is intended to be a survey of interagency collaborative literature, with a focus on programs for children (especially children with emotional disabilities) and their families. The bibliography is divided into chapters covering the following areas: (1) writings describing actual collaborative efforts by agencies, on both the local…

This article describes three potential levels of accountability for providing certain types of support for families in early intervention and preschool programs for children with disabilities: providing the legally required services for families, providing services that are considered recommended, and achieving certain outcomes as a result of…

The Child and Family Neighborhood Program, located in a suburb of Detroit, is an early childhood intervention project aimed at strengthening informal and formal family suoport systems and increasing parents' knowledge of child development. The program works with clusters of 10 parents and their young children (0-3 years) twice weekly in a…

Examined the effectiveness of the Wisconsin Learnfare experiment that requires teens to attend school regularly as a condition of receiving family financial aid. Findings from state social services data reveal that, despite a $1.5 million "savings" attributed to the program between September 1988 and December 1989, tremendous family…