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…

During fall 2007, the NGA Center surveyed states regarding the presence and nature of state early childhood coordinating councils, which may exist as Early Learning Councils, Task Forces, Children's Cabinets, Interagency Coordinating Councils, etc. For brevity, these coordinating entities are referred to below as Early Childhood Advisory Councils…

This monograph describes and analyzes recent efforts to develop measurable units for human services in the social services and mental health services areas. The issues surrounding the "unit of service" are examined along with the problems encountered by the system designer or information user in past projects, and some of today's more…

This report was written in an effort to establish a new strategy for reducing the odds of failure for thousands of Arizona's vulnerable children and their families. It echoes the sentiments of a growing number of policymakers, concerned citizens, and parents who hold that the cost of child and family problems is so dramatic, and the amount of…

This report provides general information and statistics about the State of Iowa's children and current children's programs administered by state agencies. Indicating the need for children's programs, the report lists statistical evidence for child abuse, foster care, deaths of children, disabilities and special education, delinquency, substance…

Family support and education programs are community-based efforts that offer sustained assistance to families at various periods in their development. Support is provided to promote parental competencies and behavior that lead to healthy and positive development of parents and children. These programs take many forms, such as drop-in centers,…

This report on a spring retreat for participants in the New York State Community School Pilot Project emphasizes the need to develop and strengthen collaboration between schools and other organizations and individuals with widely diverse interests. Ninety-seven people attended, including representatives from each of the 14 school districts…

This two-year project demonstrated a model for preventing the removal of children from their homes, with the aim of reducing both the number of children entering foster care and the number of families recycled through the child protective services system. The project was a joint effort by the Texas Department of Human Services (DHS) Region 11…

This booklet is part of a series on state-level family support and education policy published by the Harvard Family Research Project. It is based on a more detailed set of studies collected in "Innovative Models to Guide Family Support and Education Policy in the 1990s." Connecticut's Parent Education Support Centers program offers…

The five states featured in this second edition of "Innovative States" were chosen because they reflect crucial elements in an emerging understanding of state policy making in family support and education. Creative state partnerships involving program development and funding are a key ingredient to successful endeavors. States rely on…

Case studies of the shift of social services from federal to state governments have been conducted in 13 states. The focus of this report is on income support and social services in New York in 1996. Basic income support programs, programs designed to lessen the dependence of families on government-funded income support, and the last-resort safety…

This report contains the results of a 3-year study sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, whose purpose was to assess what has been happening to youth who commit status offenses (truants, runaways, incorrigibles), in the aftermath of the 1974 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. The book reviews and…

The decline in Federal funding for state-provided social services during the 1980s triggered a transformation in the states' roles in family policymaking. This booklet documents four state initiatives designed to bring about systems change: (1) Healthy Start (California); (2) the Governor's Families and Children Initiative (Colorado); (3) the…

Noting that fundamental reform of child support policy that builds on state and local innovations is essential, this report provides recommendations for state policymakers and advocates to address deficiencies in child support enforcement. The recommendations are in the areas of resources, paternity, and outreach. They include: (1) establishing…

This report describes the 1994 activities and recommendations of the committee charged with studying the budget, programs, and policies of North Carolina's 12 Smart Start early childhood education and development demonstration projects. Smart Start is a high quality early childhood education and family services initiative involving public and…