Identifies the major themes that have emerged in this special issue on child welfare in Canada, and presents a critique of the policies and practices now dominating the Canadian child welfare enterprise. Outlines the changes required to move child welfare from its residual stance into an enterprise that develops a capacity for innovative practice.…

In Orange County, California, 76 migrant preschool children and 45 parents participated in a 7-week pilot program concerned with preventing dental disease by encouraging good dental habits and healthy food choices. Parent questionnaires revealed that the most remarkable program-related change was a decrease in consumption of sugary foods for over…

Discusses the home-based option for delivering services to Head Start families. Suggests that the key to successful programs is group socialization, providing social settings outside the home for parents to expand parenting skills. Suggests ways of involving parents in socialization activities, extending learning from home to group setting,…

Presents the results of a survey of Minnesota families on the waiting list for child care assistance--families eligible for assistance for whom no funds are available. Suggests that this waiting has a devastating economic and emotional impact on those families. Proposes the child care sliding fee program as a possible solution to these problems.…

A pilot system of individualized and rurally compatible community-based alternatives to residential and institutional treatment settings for seriously emotionally disturbed children was evaluated. The results indicate that this intensive, community-based, service-delivery system appears to improve children's behavioral and emotional functioning,…

Reviews research on black adolescent male development within schools and classrooms and on black, teenage fathers, followed by a discussion of the issues discovered from this research. The article summarizes these issues and provides conclusions for expanding the discourses on black fathers and family support. (GR)

Provides an overview of the articles presented in this special issue on matters affecting family preservation services, related policies, and evaluation. Discusses concerns related to the preservation approach and child protection, suggesting that although it is an improvement on the previous protection approaches, it is fraught with difficulties…

Provides a brief overview and analysis of the legislation of Family Preservation and Support Services. Suggests that the legislation provides the states with the necessary funding to conduct needs assessments and prepare thorough plans to address the problems facing families. Notes that the legislation involves some risks due to lack of strong…

Examines the promotion of the Homebuilders type of family preservation services. Suggests that successful marketing and dissemination of a single program design, in this policy environment, may displace other, equally effective programs and models. Notes that such success in marketing may also have adverse effects on research, education, continued…

Evaluation of the impact on several self-perception, behavioral, and family functioning variables of an Outward Bound school program with a family training component for adolescent status offenders indicated that treatment group subjects had significantly higher scores on all variables compared to controls at four weeks, though many differences…

Examines family policy from an international vantage point outside the particular context of United States family policy and reveals how women involved in parenting and a career, and their children, fare in the international economic arena. The pros and cons of the state serving as a support system are illustrated. (GR)

Presents a summary of the findings and recommendations outlined in the report of the National School Readiness Task Force. Discusses implications for advocates working to implement supportive policies for children and families in communities across the United States. (BB)

This study investigated viewpoints of 290 parents and 267 professionals concerning early intervention services for infants and young children with disabilities in the light of requirements of Public Law 99-457. Major concerns of both groups related to accessing services, developing Individualized Family Service Plans, and coordinating services.…

This article describes requirements for developing Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP) under Part H of the Education of the Handicapped Act. Components of the IFSP document are reviewed and process considerations are discussed. State-level and local-level strategies for implementing family-centered IFSP processes are highlighted. (Author/PB)

Examines policy issues related to the concept of the school as a family support system. Considers (1) prevailing images of family resourcefulness; (2) implications for home-school boundaries of an expanded school role; (3) technical expertise of schools; (4) provision of programs to all families or targeted families; and (5) programs as peripheral…