To improve the quality and stability of couple and father-child relationships in fragile families, researchers are beginning to consider how to tailor existing couple-relationship and father-involvement interventions, which are now targeted on married couples, to the specific needs of unwed couples in fragile families. The goal, explain Philip…

Examines the current understanding of the most promising and effective means of serving families. It highlights the family-centered service approach, explaining family support services and family preservation services. Evaluations of the two types of family-centered services are reviewed, and issues related to planning and service delivery are…

The history of child protection in the United States is marked by an unresolved tension between rescuing young children from abusive homes and strengthening the care their families can provide. The structure of the typical child protective effort is described against this backdrop. Deciding when intervention is necessary and mobilizing community…

Examines public attitudes toward children, poverty, and government. Concludes that the American public tends toward an integrative perspective that values individual initiative even as it supports opportunities for all Americans. Government programs that fit the practical needs of everyday life are favored. Such programs should support personal…

Focuses on recent studies that explore the relationships between poverty and child outcomes in depth. Overall, this research supports the conclusion that family income has selective, but sometimes quite substantial, effects on child and adolescent well-being. Implications for interventions during childhood are discussed. (SLD)

Using specific examples, describes key features of current comprehensive community initiatives to improve the lives of children and considers the limitations of efforts to evaluate them and factors contributing to their success or failure. Comprehensive community initiatives use multifaceted approaches to strengthen communities and improve the…

Reviews proposals to reform the system by which public agencies receive and respond to reports of abuse and neglect, highlighting and describing one reform approach. The community-based partnership for child protection emphasizes targeting interventions by child protective services toward high-risk families while building collaborative community…

Discusses the effects of poverty on children and current public policy toward child poverty, including areas of unmet need and recommendations for policies to meet the needs of poor children. The overall focus is on the potential to develop effective policies for children in poverty. (SLD)

Two financing plans are proposed to address needs for an allowance for poor households to fund child-care: financing from redirected existing funds; and a program of voluntary parental leave to ensure the adequacy of infant care, financed through a payroll tax increase. These proposals would help parents balance work and family obligations. (SLD)

Drawing from general experience and specific examples from the New Beginnings program in San Diego (California), outlines roles and responsibilities for school superintendents, board members, principals, and teachers involved in implementing school-linked services. Calls for increased accountability to measure progress toward defined goals. (SLD)

Reviews types of evaluation that may be applied to school-linked services; and discusses the needs for a range of evaluative strategies for program providers, policymakers, and funders. For some programs evaluation will be primarily descriptive, whereas for others a carefully designed outcome evaluation will be possible. (SLD)

Argues against placing the school in a lead position for delivery of services; and supports a community-based model in which diverse service providers, administrators, and institutions work collaboratively in a system of linked services. A community-based system would involve a consortium of existing agencies or a newly created entity. (SLD)