Research Findings: Very little research has examined whether the contributions of Head Start's Family Service Workers (FSWs) and family partnership services influence family and child outcomes. Using data from 215 families in the 2014 Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), this study used structural equation models to examine…

Dementia patients have various caregiving needs, which can be serious sources of stress for their families. The increasing numbers of dementia patients and their families mean that new interventions are required to help families provide these complex caregiving needs. Facilitators of dementia-family support programs struggle to provide various…

The Annie E. Casey Foundation launched Family-Centered Community Change (FCCC) in 2012 to support three local partnerships seeking to help parents and children in high-poverty neighborhoods succeed together. These partnerships, located in Buffalo, New York; Columbus, Ohio; and San Antonio, Texas, are each developing a more integrated set of…

Programs that address the needs of low-income parents and children at the same time may hold promise for reducing the transmission of poverty across generations. Contemporary programs of this type address some key weaknesses that may have limited the effectiveness of earlier such approaches, including too little attention paid to the quality,…

Since 1998, early childhood education and support services were funded by 50-cents-per-pack tobacco tax through Proposition 10 funding in California. In November, 2016, another proposal was endorsed by voters to add $2.00-per-pack tobacco tax for purposes unrelated to early childhood services, yet the decline of cigarette consumption will…

Objectives: This study evaluated the effects of the Adoption Preservation, Assessment, and Linkage (APAL) postpermanency program. Method: A quasi-experimental, posttest-only design was used to estimate the program's effects on youth discharged from foster care to adoption or legal guardianship. A random sample was surveyed (female = 44.7%; African…

Objectives: To examine the components affecting the quality of the implementation and their impact on the outcomes of the "Growing Up Happily in the Family" program targeted at parents with children aged 0-5. Method: At-risk and non-at-risk parents (N = 196) participated in 26 groups in local social services. Adherence, adaptations,…

The provision of parenting support is a key feature of wealthier nations' health and social care services. However, attendance and engagement by the neediest parents remains poor. Barriers experienced by parents include personal life factors (beliefs, lifestyles and limited resources) and programme-specific factors (delivery, content and support…

Proposition 10, also known as the California Children and Families Act of 1998, is the legislation for creating Kern County Children and Families Commission (First 5 Kern). Over the past 15 years, First 5 Kern administered a trust fund from a $.50 per pack tax on cigarettes or equivalent tobacco products to support children ages 0-5 and their…

Although children's contact with involved, committed, nonresidential fathers can improve social, emotional, cognitive, and academic outcomes, fathers have largely been absent from parenting interventions that overlook men's role as a critical parenting partner. This article details research showing that young incarcerated fathers' attitudes…

Despite the claimed success of the 1996 Welfare Reform, little research using multivariate regression has examined changes in multiple public safety-net programs. Thus, we still do not know whether public safety-net programs for the poor have shrunk or increased nationwide, along with the sharp declines in cash assistance. Using state-level data…

Scientific discoveries indicated the importance of brain growth during the first 5 years of child life. To support early childhood development, California voter passed Proposition 10 in 1998 to collect a 50 cent per pack tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products. Kern County Children and Families Commission (First 5 Kern) receives funding from…

The current study examined parents' perspectives of services within a community-based childhood disability program in the process of enhancing the family centeredness of its services. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 39 mothers and 22 fathers approximately 18 months after entering the service delivery system. Parents reported that…

The profound injuries caused by child maltreatment are well documented in the neurological, attachment, cognitive, and developmental literature. In this review paper, we explore the potential of early childhood education (ECE) as a community-based resilience intervention for mitigating the impacts of child abuse and neglect and supporting families…

Head Start is a federal program that has provided comprehensive early childhood development services to low-income children and their families since 1965. The comprehensive nature of the program includes educational, health, nutritional, and social services. These services are intended to prepare children to enter kindergarten and to improve the…