The purpose of this article is to describe an approach that early educators can use to develop meaningful partnerships with families. Specifically, the authors describe their efforts to support teachers in developing home-school connections through a series of Family Projects that strengthened family-child relationships and created opportunities…

"The Family Partnership Process: Engaging and Goal-Setting with Families" explores how strong partnerships can positively influence the goals families set in the Family Partnership Process. This guide recommends "Seven Steps for Setting and Reaching Goals with Families" and will help program staff: (1) learn about families and…

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…

Working with children under five years old and the adults that accompany them is a rapidly growing area within the museum and wider cultural sector, with important emphasis being placed on early learning in both the United Kingdom and United States. For history museums in particular, early learning offers a unique set of questions and challenges,…

Intended for people interested in replicating the ideas contained in this manual in their own communities, the handbook describes the Family Exchange Center (FEC), an approach designed to support families with developmentally disabled children. Services offered include social, recreational, educational, mutual aid, support, and respite activities.…

In December, 1991, a representative from the New York State Technical Assistance Resource Network (STARN) presented information about collaboration in early intervention services to a training session for parents and professionals sponsored by the National Center for Clinical Infant Programs. The presentation was based on STARN's work in serving…

The 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act catapulted a "backwater" state to leadership prominence in structural reform. Grounded on school-readiness and community-involvement precepts, KERA links schools and social service agencies and provides family resource/youth services centers to coordinate social service delivery for preschool…

This study compared two methods for evaluating ecological and developmental factors in Individualized Family Service Plans for families of young children with disabilities. The two methods were (1) goals and objectives written from a curriculum-based assessment, and (2) a computerized list of goals and objectives based on professional judgment.…

This report examines preschools for children with disabilities in Sweden. In Swedish society the roles of the family and the environment are emphasized with the preschool serving as part of a family support system for children with disabilities. The value of a family oriented intervention is stressed. The first section discusses Swedish provision…

Libraries are faced with changing demographics, emerging technologies, and economic shifts. Families once attended library programs as a unit, children began kindergarten at age five, and libraries offered few programs for children under four. Intact and extended families are a thing of the past. Many children today are raised in single parent…

A profile is provided of the 40 Local Interagency Coordinating Councils (LICCs) in Kansas, which work to develop and coordinate services to infants and toddlers with special needs and their families, as established by Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The profile is intended to describe the status of Kansas LICCs, to…

Developed to provide assistance in the building of an effective home-based program for Head Start children and their families, this handbook may serve as a blueprint for parent-focused home visits that assist the child and family to meet their special needs. Chapter one focuses on the home visitation model for providing services to families and…

The SKI-HI program, which provides home-based family support services for infants, toddlers, and preschool children who are deaf or hard of hearing, has been implemented by approximately 250 agencies and annually serves about 4,000 families. Information is provided on the program's rationale, development, family-centered home-based services,…

Discusses the Free to Grow initiative, a five-year program aimed at increasing the capacity of Head Start to help prevent substance abuse. The collaborative program is designed to assist a number of local Head Start programs to develop and implement model substance abuse prevention projects that will strengthen both the families and neighborhoods…

Federal regulations have set forth specific performance standards for the provision of services for children with disabilities in Head Start programs. These regulations provide state and local education agencies and Head Start grantees with unique opportunities to collaborate to provide comprehensive, family-centered, and appropriate services to…