To assist states in easing the burden of Medicaid application procedures and verification requirements for families, the Southern Institute on Children and Families conducted a regional meeting to discuss child health coverage verification issues in September, 1998. Participating in the dialogue were Medicaid and state child health insurance…

The Families Matter series of papers from the Harvard Family Research Project advances the concept of family-centered child care, advocating an approach to early childhood education that addresses the development of the child and family together. Grounded in family support principles, which build on family strengths and work from a community's…

The goal of England's PEERS Early Education Partnership (PEEP) is to support early communication and literacy skills and to support parents as their children's first educators through both home- and group-based programs. The program is offered to children under 5 and their families in a disadvantaged area of Oxford, England. This report describes…

The Even Start Family Literacy Program is a national program that addresses the literacy and educational needs of adults in eligible families, teaches effective parenting skills, and addresses the preschool readiness needs of young children in the family. The Monongalia County (West Virginia) Even Start Program was unusual in that it took place in…

This final report describes accomplishments and activities of a four-year federally funded project to provide technical assistance to Colorado children and youth with deafblindness. Accomplishments are detailed for each of the following six project goals: (1) identification of children with deafblindness; (2) development and maintenance of…

The Healthy Steps for Young Children program is a national initiative developed by pediatricians from Boston University in collaboration with professionals from the Commonwealth Fund. This program for families with young children (birth to 3 years of age) provides developmentally--oriented services within pediatric primary care through addition of…

The conservation of childhood and youth is a problem that is occupying the attention of educators, publicists, and welfare workers in this and other countries. Conservation of child life is not separable from the problem of conservation of womanhood. During the past two years, greater service was demanded from the women throughout the country.…

Over the past 30 years, welfare and other public policies for families living in poverty have developed a primary objective of increasing parents' self-sufficiency by requiring and supporting employment, culminating in the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). This legislation gave states considerable…

Emphasizes the need for radical improvement in agencies' response to domestic violence, based on a general raising of sensitivity and awareness at both worker and agency level. Suggests an emphasis on safety planning with women's services as well as child care and child protection agencies, and the promotion of positive and healing work with…

Highlights a failure on the part of social services to respond to the current needs of the child welfare system. Strongly advocates a commitment to concurrent planning, defined here as the process of working toward family reunification while at the same time establishing an alternative plan, usually in the form of permanency with a relative or…

Describes the Community College of Aurora's (Colorado) Community Involvement Program, a three-part effort to bridge the gap between workforce training and citizenship. Reviews program components, including a family center providing social services, a workforce development center providing workforce training, and citizenship and leadership training…

This special issue pulls together several strands of research about home-school relationships' influences on school effectiveness. The first article presents a comprehensive model linking various research and policy initiatives with the effective schools framework. The remaining articles discuss family influence on schools through choice and…

This keynote address at the 1995 International Division for Early Childhood Conference on Children with Special Needs focuses on the need for early childhood education and society in general to: embrace principles of diversity, put into practice what has been learned from research, foster family-focused programs, encourage inclusiveness in…

Discusses current welfare reform focus on state-level funding for child care, offering implications for early childhood professionals. Notes that with temporary assistance, low-income mothers must move into the work force, resulting in increased reliance on center-based child care. Urges professionals to work with local and state policymakers to…

Describes a private, early (birth to four) therapeutic intervention center in Italy that provides short-term intensive treatment to children with severe visual impairments and possible additional disabilities. The residential program emphasizes maximum use of residual vision, vision stimulation and training, psychological counseling for parents,…