The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is the nation's first federal nutrition education program for low-income populations. Without question, accelerating equity in programming has long been a priority of EFNEP. Historically underserved populations with limited financial resources are often people of color and at increased risk…

San Francisco's Mission Promise Neighborhood (MPN) is a federally-funded Promise Neighborhood initiative that supports community-based organizations, schools, and other public agencies to work in defined neighborhoods and build integrated supports for children and youth from cradle to college and career. Since 2013, the Gardner Center has…

A strong early childhood system that is well funded, fully coordinated, and highly accountable is essential to a state's long-term economic health. Significant research during the past decade has identified short- and long-term benefits to children, families, and communities when young children arrive at school healthy and ready to learn.…

The first 5 years of life are a critical foundation for children's early learning and lifelong development. This eBulletin highlights school readiness, how early experiences matter, the role of preschool in supporting readiness, and state and local efforts to implement recommendations from the National Governors Association (NGA). The following…

The concept and implementation of direction services, a one step center offering assistance to parents of handicapped children, are traced. Three basic functions of the federally funded direction service centers are noted: to help locate and provide access to the most appropriate resources for handicapped children and youth; to collect and…

The Child and Family Resource Program (CFRP) of the Office of Child Development (OCD) is described. CFRP is designed to provide family-oriented, comprehensive services to children from the prenatal period through age 8, according to their individual needs. The program description stresses the use of existing community resources in a linked program…

Goal One of the six national education goals now embodied in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act states that "By the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn." One of the objectives formulated to meet this goal asserts that "Children will receive the nutrition and health care needed to arrive at school…

Institutions have been slow to respond to changes in family life, and service delivery has mostly been limited to responding to crises and to treating problems. Family resource and support programs began emerging in the 1970s to fill parents' expressed need for more support. As part of this trend, the federal Family Preservation and Support…

The Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP), enacted by Congress in 1988, provides intensive, comprehensive, integrated, and continuous support to preschool children from low-income families to enhance their intellectual, social, and physical development. It also provides needed services to parents and household family members to enhance…

Early Head Start is a comprehensive, two-generation federal initiative begun in 1995 aimed at enhancing the development of infants and toddlers while strengthening low-income families. This report contains information from the Survey of Early Head Start Programs. Beyond the need for an updated picture of the Early Head Start program, the Survey of…

This fact sheet describes the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children Program overall and includes descriptions of 22 specific programs. The program was authorized by Congress in 1992 and provides federal funds through demonstration grants to states, communities, and Native American tribes. The program currently administers 22…

Drawing from a broad-based review of relevant research and literature, this report outlines selected national, state, and local policy developments in 1991-92 related to the collaboration among family, school, and community. Specifically, the report examines policies related to interventions for infants and toddlers; family support; coordination…

This report establishes a strategy for Federal action on behalf of the nation's children and their families, and begins by urging that the concepts of the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-523) be enforced and implemented. Section I provides an introduction to and summary of the report. Section II delineates the cost of…

The mission of the Center of Families, Communities, Schools & Children's Learning is to conduct research, evaluation, and policy analyses aimed at increasing knowledge about how families, schools, and communities influence student motivation, learning, and development, as well as how to strengthen the connections between these three major…

This guide is designed to help local elected officials become better intergovernmental advocates for their city's children and families. The book is based on the experiences of selected policy researchers, collected via a questionnaire sent to some 50 local officials. It advocates developing and using intergovernmental collaboration and…