Examines the current understanding of the most promising and effective means of serving families. It highlights the family-centered service approach, explaining family support services and family preservation services. Evaluations of the two types of family-centered services are reviewed, and issues related to planning and service delivery are…

Argues against placing the school in a lead position for delivery of services; and supports a community-based model in which diverse service providers, administrators, and institutions work collaboratively in a system of linked services. A community-based system would involve a consortium of existing agencies or a newly created entity. (SLD)