This executive summary presents the broadest look yet at a growing trend in America's cities: the emergence of city-led efforts to build comprehensive afterschool and out-of-school time (OST) systems that meet the needs of children and youth in their communities. Mayors and other municipal officials who have demonstrated leadership in this area…

A great deal of attention recently has focused on evidence-based programs--interventions that have been found through rigorous evaluation to have positive effects or impacts on targeted outcomes. Public and private funders want to fund evidence-based programs and are requiring evidence of outcomes. Meanwhile, program providers want to be highly…

Pastoral care is the term used in education in the United Kingdom to describe the structures, practices and approaches to support the welfare, well-being and development of children and young people. This article takes a historical perspective and charts the shifts in priorities that pastoral care practice has taken over the past 50 years. The…

This literature review was commissioned by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to draw together current and recent studies of integrated working, in order to build an overview of the theories and models of such working. The review is important for current work on evaluating the early impact of integrated children's services and…

There is currently movement internationally towards the integration of services for young children and their families, incorporating childcare, education, health and family support. Shifting service provision towards partnership between services, and between these services and families, has been the subject of policy formation at various levels.…

This annual performance report describes the activities and progress of the Colorado Part C early childhood special education program from July 1, 1997, through September 30, 1998. It includes information on: (1) the interagency agreements for providing services; (2) agencies involved in the provision of services and other supports in early…

Describes programs designed to help foster children by expediting and advocating for appropriate school placement, academic tutoring, counseling, coordination of services, and guidance toward independent living. These programs have been found effective in prompt placement, facilitation of academic progress, and successful completion of high…

This paper provides a review of public policies affecting the quality of early childhood services for low-income families, focusing on the federally funded Head Start program, federally supported child care, and preschools operated with state education dollars. The characteristics of high quality programs are defined as including: basic health and…

Describes how integrating services in an Even Start program in Gainesville, Florida, facilitated family literacy. Highlights specific examples from the experience that changed parents' lives. Participants gradually developed political awareness via improved self-esteem, self-confidence, assertiveness, involvement, and self-governance (in a…

This article describes the Interagency Planning and Support Project, which aimed to improve coordination among agencies serving young children with disabilities and their families by integrating disparate service documents and planning processes. Analysis of Collaborative Support Plan data on 34 families shows the approach was successful in…

Twenty-eight local interagency coordinating council (LICC) coordinators were surveyed on their perceptions of the implementation of early intervention legislation. Participants reported positive local impact in the areas of family-centered services and service coordination, improved childfind, funding, networking, and developmental outcomes.…

A longitudinal assessment of interagency cooperation was conducted as part of a research project designed to monitor the implementation and development of the Smart Start collaboration process. Telephone interviews were conducted with key informants from organizations providing services to children, and the resulting qualitative, quantitative, and…

This conference paper discusses the results of a study on the effectiveness of Florida's multidisciplinary Family Service Planning Teams (FSPT). The FSPTs were developed to create holistic service plans to enable children with emotional disabilities to live in the community and be successful in school. The FSPTs have become the focus of service…

A 42-item structured observation instrument was devised to rate the family friendliness of the Family Assessment and Planning Team (FAPT) meetings in Virginia for children with emotional and behavioral disorders. Seventy-nine case presentations at 31 FAPT meetings were observed and overall rating of family friendliness was good (63%). (Author/CR)

Interviews were conducted with 60 human-services-agency staff of the Child and Adolescent Service System Program in California and 67 parents of children with serious emotional disturbance regarding changes over the previous four years in their local children's service systems. Results indicate increased interagency collaboration and family…