Home based family centered (HBFC) service programs have been developed as alternatives to out-of-home placement. These programs have reported relatively high service success rates at costs signficantly lower than foster home and institutional care while, at the same time, avoiding the social and psychological risks of out-of-home placement.…

This paper describes the Primary Prevention Project (PPP), a demonstration program of the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison, Wisconsin which provides services to multi-problem families with children under 3 years of age in order to prevent abuse and neglect, developmental delay, or future socio-emotional difficulty. The project's…

This pamphlet is designed to help teachers of young children (in preschools, day care centers, or kindergartens) improve their working relationship with parents through productive parent-teacher conferences. Several steps to be taken early in the school year or even before school begins include establishing and maintaining communication,…

Testimony of parents, day care providers, and experts concerning the importance of day care is recorded in this document. The thrust of parents' testimony was that day care is a necessity, not a luxury. Providers' testimony argues that current levels of funding for day care do not allow for the delivery of high quality services. Increased federal…

Historically, family counseling grew from a focus on the individual to an emphasis on the importance of the entire family as the unit of treatment and the structure of the family as the key ingredient in family functioning. Strategic family therapy (SFT) has evolved from these traditional intervention approaches to the use of a brief, directive,…

Second in a two-part report on a 1982 study by the staff of the Education and Work program at Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL), this issue presents the complete findings from case studies of 44 unemployed men and women. In order to determine how unemployment affects people, NWREL's study identified and explored the following four…

These hearings present a performance review of and information about the Federal administration of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, which assists 169 centers for runaways throughout the country. The centers provide emergency shelter and family mediation for many of the youngsters who run away or who are directed to leave home by their parents.…

Seven functional families with handicapped children were studied using a case study approach. Through the qualitative paradigm, the development of successful coping mechanisms was examined. The parents completed an instrument called "CHIP, Coping Health Inventory for Parents," and all family members were interviewed. Subject families were…

On June 9, 1987, a hearing was held for the purpose of receiving testimony about family preservation programs that aim to keep children out of foster care by strengthening troubled families. Testifying were program providers, a juvenile court judge, and families who have benefited from family preservation services. Testimony focused on the…

This report describes Project 12-Ways, an ecobehavioral service and research project which provides residents of 10 rural counties in Illinois with services in the areas of parent training; stress reduction; marital counseling; self-control training, social support, and basic skills for children; activity training, health maintenance, and…

Within the military community there has been a growing concern for diminishing retention of active duty members, which has been directly related to dissatisfaction with military life by spouses and family members. The need for new services and programs attending to family issues was recognized and efforts were begun to develop such services. The…

This volume of selected readings contains a wide range of materials on the subject of child sexual abuse. The eight chapters in Part I, written by the staff of the Child Protection Center, Children's Hospital National Medical Center, Washington, D.C., discuss the etiology and short-term management of child sexual abuse, describe an approach to…

One of the most important (and frequently most difficult) decisions faced by divorcing parents is determining who will have custody of their children. To investigate parental beliefs about the standards used in deciding custody, 12 sets of parents completed a questionnaire and were interviewed. Results showed considerable agreement with the…

Substantial evidence is accumulating which emphasizes the significant role of the family for drug abusing adolescents. To investigate the influence of the family on adolescents (N=17) involved in heavy marihuana use, interviews with family members, case studies of each adolescent, and psychological evaluations were conducted to determine the…

The proceedings of this hearing on the exploitation of children deal with the problems of children and adolescents who run away from home. Family problems and abuse that cause these children to leave home are described by former runaway witnesses. Other testimony is included from several people who work with runaway youths and describe programs to…