First five years are identified as a critical period of child growth in scientific literature. In 1998, California voters passed Proposition 10 that appropriated a 50 cent per pack tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products to support early childhood development. As a result, Kern County Children and Families Commission administered over $10…

Practitioners, school leaders, and policymakers serving the needs of youth and their families in New Mexico gathered in Albuquerque in June 2009 for four Roundtable discussions on sustaining integrated health, extended learning, and other social services in middle schools across the state that are a part of the Elev8 New Mexico initiative. Elev8…

In the current Overseas Contingency Operation (OCO), families and communities have been impacted by multiple deployments. This is particularly challenging for families that are geographically isolated from military installations and resources typically available near these facilities. Operation Military Kids (OMK) is a national partnership…

Designed to celebrate family/interprofessional collaborative partnerships, this publication describes high-quality examples of how families and professionals at the family, community, state, and national levels have worked together to create programs and practices that are family-friendly and responsive to what families have said they want and…

In 1993, the Connecticut State Department of Education received federal support for the activities of nine existing Family Resource Centers (FRC) and for funding new FRCs. The FRCs were based on the premise that many childhood and adolescent problems can be prevented by strengthening effective family management practices and establishing a…

Reviews recent studies of family preservation and related family-strengthening programs. Estimates the effect sizes of outcomes in studies with control or comparison conditions. Also identifies a set of core services that characterize innovative family preservation programs in child welfare, multisystemic family treatment in juvenile justice, and…

Parent Services Project (PSP), the first comprehensive program of resources and mental health activities for parents offered at child care centers in the San Francisco Bay Area (California), has expanded to centers in six states, serving over 19,000 families. This report describes the program's history, aims, and achievements, along with specific…

Background: To explore whether social or emotional outcomes for high-risk early adolescent youth that attended an established preventive intervention called the Chicago Child-Parent Center Preschool Program (CPC) are moderated by individual, family and program variations. Purpose: Two questions are addressed: (1) Do the effects of CPC preschool…

This article describes how in Alameda County, California, the Children's Hospital Oakland (CHAO) Neonatal Follow-up Program and the County Public Health Department have collaboratively addressed gaps in services for premature infants and their families through the Special Start initiative. Mental health specialists, health specialists, and…

This project came about after discussions with the general manager of the Wellington Region Free Kindergarten Association and Jeanette Clarkin-Phillips (University of Waikato) about setting up a research partnership to support the teachers at Taitoko Kindergarten in Levin. The teachers were establishing an integrated community centre (the whanau…

Describes a collaborative program undertaken by a Massachusetts district to enhance preschool students' learning readiness when entering kindergarten. The program consisted of three elements: networking local and area programs and services; improving the quality of programs and services; and increasing access to family services. (11 references)…

CoZi, an acronym combining the names of child psychiatrist James Comer and developmental child psychologist Edward Zigler, is a reform initiative to ensure children's success through various systems working together: the family, the school, child care, and the health system. Integrating services fundamentally changes the school's mission and the…

As early childhood programs face the challenges of becoming more comprehensive, better coordinated with other service providers in the community, and better attuned to the importance of consistency of care between home and child care, the demand to integrate early childhood education and child care with family support is growing. This report…

As part of a UNESCO-sponsored series of studies examining how integrated and coordinated early childhood policies are implemented, this case study focuses on Senegal's integrated early childhood policy. The case study examines the context for policy development and analyzes the structure and resources of the Ministry for the Family and Early…

Based on the evidence that early intervention and support can reduce family breakdown, strengthen children's school readiness, and benefit society in the long term, the Sure Start program in England is designed to offer support enabling parents to strengthen their relationship with their children and to access more fully local community services.…