More than half of poor African American infants are born into "fragile families" and nearly half grow up in single-mother families with little or no father involvement. However, most prenatal interventions fail to help unmarried mothers talk and plan together with their baby's father, especially when fathers are nonresidential. This…

A Pinellas County (Florida) program serves women who are single, separated, divorced, or widowed and in need of training in vocational as well as basic skills. In addition to training and financial assistance, the program offers a variety of support services such as job placement, child care funding, and transportation support. (JOW)

A program was developed to provide single parents who were without marketable skills with the training or retraining necessary to secure and keep a job in the health care field. During the course of the project, 31 trainees between the ages of 21 and 60 who were living below the poverty level were recruited into the program. They received…

Social disorganization is the primary theory by which criminologists account for crime rates. Current versions of social disorganization theory assume that strong networks of social relationship prevent crime and delinquency. A community's capacity to develop and maintain strong systems of social relationship is influenced by residential…

The Volusia County (Florida) Single Parents Program was developed to identify single parents who are potential dropouts because of a lack of financial support for day care and to provide them with approved day care services. The program also features (1) cooperation between teachers and school guidance counselors to identify and counsel pregnant…

For many decades communities have been troubled by the criminal activities of youth gangs. This report looks at almost 30 years of information collected on gang problems in nearly 4,000 communities. The number of localities reporting gang problems increased between the 1970s and the 1990s, representing a tenfold increase in the number of cities…

An evaluation addressed whether Project Independence, Florida's Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Program, had reduced welfare costs and increased the employment, earnings, and income of welfare recipients. It examined the experiences of more than 18,000 Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) applicants and recipients from 9 randomly…

In 1987, Florida anticipated the federal Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Program with Project Independence, a statewide welfare-to-work program. It was structured to increase employment among Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients as quickly as possible, primarily through job search activities. An evaluation was begun in 9…

Presents an analysis, using data from the Children of Immigrants Survey, of the manner in which extended family arrangements, especially the presence of grandparents, is related to national origin, cultural assimilation, and socioeconomic variables. Analysis uncovers the need to treat the presence of grandparents as an independent variable,…

A statewide needs assessment in vocational education focused on the needs of displaced homemakers and other special groups in Florida. Specifically, the survey provided (1) a demographic profile of adults in Florida, particularly those described as displaced homemakers, single heads of households, part-time workers, and people desiring work in…

Lake City Community College in Lake City, Florida, offers an array of services for single parents and displaced homemakers residing in a five-county rural area. The project emphasizes rural upward mobility through a team effort by staff of Florida's departments of continuing education and vocational training. The project staff includes four…

This Kids Count report investigates statewide trends in the well-being of Florida's children. The statistical report is based on 19 indicators of child well being: (1) low birth weight infants; (2) infant mortality rate; (3) child death rate; (4) births to single teens; (5) juvenile violent crime arrest rate; (6) percent graduating from high…

During 1992-93, 170,146 secondary and 140,681 postsecondary students were enrolled in secondary-level vocational training (VT) programs throughout Florida. A total of 12,545 single parents, displaced homemakers, and single pregnant women received VT-related services. Nontraditional vocational training programs served 2,995 females and 476 males.…

This Kids Count report investigates county and statewide trends in the well-being of Florida's children. The statistical report is based on indicators of well-being in six areas: (1) child poverty; (2) births, including prenatal care access, infant mortality, low birth weight, and percent of births to unwed mothers; (3) teen parenthood; (4) child…

During Fiscal Year 1991, Florida's Division of Vocational, Adult, and Community Education (DVACE) provided programs, services, and activities funded under Titles II-A, II-B, IIIA, and IIIB of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act. DVACE expended funds for development of vocational education opportunities to meet needs of special…