This article discusses the challenges faced when a popular model program, the Strengthening Families Program, which in the past has been implemented on a smaller scale in single organizations, moves to a larger, multiorganization endeavor. On the basis of 42 interviews conducted with program staff, the results highlight two main themes that…

In this article, the authors evaluate family-based counseling interventions from the perspective of the Principles of Empirically Supported Interventions (PESI). At the broadest level of evidence, both the qualitative and meta-analytic reviews provide substantial support for the general efficacy of family-based interventions. At more specific…

This article provides a brief overview of CASAWORKS for Families (CWF), an innovative intervention designed to help substance-abusing parenting women on welfare. CWF was developed in response to the passage of welfare reform legislation in 1996. Factors that provided a background and context for the development of CWF are considered. The…

Those identified with high quality child care, early education, and family support (ECE) are experiencing new trends that are interacting with old problems. This article summarizes the old problems and new trends faced by ECE. The author wants to define their role in the emerging system and influence policies that will affect it. This article also…

The "Colorado Children's Budget" presents and analyzes investments and spending trends during the past five state fiscal years on services that benefit children. The "Children's Budget" focuses mainly on state investment and spending, with some analysis of federal investments and spending to provide broader context of state…

Published annually since 1997, Newark Kids Count tracks key trends in child health and well-being in New Jersey's largest city with the latest statistics available. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: population and demographics, family economic security, affordable housing,…

This research brief summarizes the latest evidence base on effective involvement for elementary school children--that is, the studies that link family involvement in elementary schools to children's academic achievement and social development. It synthesizes the outcome-based empirical research published between 1999 and 2006 that were cataloged…

There is increasing recognition of the need for evaluations that identify program processes or mediators and assess degree of program implementation rather than focusing solely on outcome evaluation. This paper describes the application of complementary qualitative and quantitative evaluation procedures to assess the degree of implementation of…

Family and consumer sciences programs in higher education operate in a dynamic environment of self-evaluation. One common component of the process is the evaluation of teaching effectiveness. This study reviewed some of the critical perspectives on student surveys of teaching effectiveness and then tested a portion of that dialogue by…

This study examined how parents influence sex differences in young children's physical risk taking behaviors. Eighty three- and four-year old, mostly middle class and Caucasian children climbed across a five-foot high catwalk and walked across a three-foot high beam under their mother or father's supervision. Based on average preschooler gross…

Urban schools today face numerous challenges. Urban poverty; high mobility in and out of neighborhoods; schools with inadequate funding to cover the educational, social, and health needs of urban children and their families; and high teacher turnover are just a few of the vital issues that call for partnerships with communities, service agencies,…

This report describes the extent to which maltreated children have developmental problems or are subject to factors associated with poor developmental outcomes, what services these children might be eligible to receive, what factors influence service receipt, and what solutions have been devised to address barriers to service provision. This final…

Community schools are organized around two common goals: helping students learn and succeed and strengthening families and communities. Full-service community schools extend these guiding principles. They are centers of their communities, providing high-quality after-school opportunities, comprehensive early childhood education, real-world…

Background: This paper is the result of our interest in preventing adaptation problems (delinquency, academic failure and absenteeism at school, drug use, etc.) in young children and adolescents at risk, as well as the need to develop effective programmes adapted to the population in the Balearic Islands (Spain). Purpose: The objective of this…

The World Health Organization (WHO) Atlas-ID project was designed to collect, compile, and disseminate information on intellectual disabilities (ID) services and resources from across the world. This paper aims at selecting findings in the Atlas-ID that can be used as a tool for advocacy, human rights awareness, development planning, and…