Described is the Comprehensive Emergency Services (CES) program, a system of coordinated services designed to meet emergency needs of neglected, dependent, and abused children and their families. In an introductory section, the program's development, objectives, and system attributes are covered. Explained in section II are the following…

Current social changes reinforce the need for trained marriage and family counselors. After a brief examination of these changes, the authors suggested paraprofessional training as one alternative for providing needed marriage and family counseling services. Already established paraprofessional programs, advantages, disadvantages, and the…

Interviewed 53 parents of center-city families in focus groups to obtain information about encouraging participation of difficult-to-reach families in intervention to prevent marital problems and alcohol and substance abuse in children. Mothers and fathers expressed widely different beliefs, indicating that interventions might target mothers and…

Research into the decisionmaking process of families faced with investigating alternatives to institutionalizing frail aged members could yield valuable information for service planners and providers. To analyze the extent to which its original service plan remained responsive to the changing needs of the frail elderly service population,…

A half-time Student Assistance Program (SAP) was designed and implemented for two semesters in an urban high school in New Jersey. Findings indicated that proportion of students who used SAP increased with time, male participants outnumbered females, and alcohol and drug issues were most frequently cited as presenting problems for both males and…

Presents results of research to identify and examine community-based, family violence intervention programs in the United States which provide alternatives to incarceration of assaulters. Describes different approaches used by programs and aspects of program development such as staffing, funding, community support, and program evaluation. (MJL)

A comprehensive picture of existing services to families under stress can be useful for immediate and long-range planning. In order to determine the range of services to families under stress, including those identified as involved in child abuse and neglect, the Council for Child Protection and Family Support, Missoula, Montana, surveyed, through…

This report summarizes the findings and recommendations from the Children's Policy Project, which examined the child welfare system in Illinois. The report: (1) outlines the project's findings about the difficulties faced by existing child welfare services; (2) proposes ways to improve existing arrangements; (3) examines the fundamental problems…

By winter 1987, up to three million men, women, and children will be homeless; the number of homeless persons will continue to increase at a rate of 25 percent. This report surveys the changes in the homeless population in the following 23 cities over the past year: Albuquerque (New Mexico), Atlanta (Georgia), Boston (Massachusetts), Chicago…

This policy brief reports on a study of how families and agencies cope with growing waiting periods for community services for adults who have mental retardation or developmental disabilities (MR/DD). Preliminary information looks at reasons for long waits, characteristics of families waiting for services, and impact of adult members with MR/DD on…

The South Academic Leadership Student Association (SALSA) has involved 20 at-risk students, mostly Hispanic American, from South Division High School in Milwaukee (Wisconsin). Tutoring for and by students, enrichment, and support activities such as counseling are components of the project, which attempts to bring resources into the school setting.…

A study was conducted to explore whether the methods employed by the Cooperative Extension Service in its dissemination of practical skills and knowledge are of help to today's families. In order to examine these factors, two leadership programs for women sponsored by the Cooperative Extension Service in Alaska were studied. One group, the…