Young children's exposure to early math concepts is important in their development, in their confidence in math skills, and in their ability to use math later in life. In 2013, the Heising-Simons Foundation embarked on an innovative path to support children's early math development. The Foundation invited several family engagement providers to…

The use of theory-driven models to develop and evaluate family-based intervention programs has a long history in psychology. Some of the first evidence-based parenting programs to address child problem behavior, developed in the 1970s, were grounded in causal models derived from longitudinal developmental research. The same translational…

Global Family Research Project joined with four other organizations as part of the LEGO Idea Conference to take an in-depth look at letting families guide the creation of programs and services that best meet their needs. This summary of the event session, held in Billund, Denmark, includes international examples of collaborating with families and…

Despite the growing number of evidence-based programs (EBPs) for youth and families, few are well-integrated in service systems or widely adopted by communities. One set of challenges to widespread adoption of EBPs relates to the transfer of programs from research and development to practice settings. This is often because program developers have…

The Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project conducted 15 randomized controlled trials of behavioral interventions across eight states, in the domains of work support, child support, and child care. BIAS used a systematic approach called "behavioral diagnosis and design" to develop the interventions and their…

In humanitarian settings, mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS) are often delivered in group-based formats. Group interventions enable providers to reach more individuals when resources and technical expertise are limited. Group-based programs also foster social support, empathy, and collective problem-solving among the…

Early intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tends to focus on enhancing social-communication skills. We report the acceptability, feasibility and impact on child functioning of a new 8 weeks parent-group intervention to manage restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRB) in young children with ASD aged 3-7 years. Forty-five families took…

Purpose: Most studies of adherence use a single global measure to examine the relation of adherence to outcomes. These studies inform us about effects of overall implementation but not about importance of specific program elements. Previous research on the Strengthening Families Program 10-14 has shown that outcomes were unrelated to global…

We describe a targeted professional development (PD) intervention designed to improve the quality of individualized family service plans (IFSPs) and to support IFSP planning, development, and decision making. The theoretical and empirical foundations for the PD intervention and its key components are reviewed. Building on an established online…

The majority of men and women prison inmates are parents. Many lived with children prior to incarceration, and most have at least some contact with their children and families while serving their sentences. Because prison populations have increased in the United States, there has been a renewed interest in finding ways not only to reduce…

Making Connections was the Annie E. Casey Foundation's signature place-based, community-change initiative of the 2000s. It sought to build on previous work and launch an effort focused firmly on the framework of family strengthening. The Foundation started Making Connections in 22 places, focusing eventually on first 10, then seven sites. It…

This paper explores the following questions related to family literacy programs: How is family literacy linked with family literacy programs? What are the theoretical frameworks supporting the various models educators and researchers are using in their pedagogical approaches to family literacy programs? As these questions are explored several…

The article describes a functional model for assessing family needs, specifying family goals, implementing family services, and evaluating effectiveness. The model draws on the "goodness-of-fit" concept to individualize family services to optimize the "fit" between family, child, and services provided. (Author/CL)

Family-Centered Intensive Case Management, a New York State-sponsored research demonstration project, empowers and supports families of children with serious emotional disturbance, by providing respite care, flexible funding, parent support groups, and behavior management skills training. The project found that, given intensive and individualized…

Family support programs are examined from a preventive perspective which is designed to help families before they are in crisis. Family resource programs are discussed in terms of their history, principles, distinguishing characteristics, relevance for families with children who have special needs, and implications for practitioners. (Author/JDD)