The experience of Project STAR, an early intervention program for children with acquired immune deficiency syndrome and their families in Boston, Massachusetts, has revealed that successful direct service programs must be family centered and community based, must provide a comprehensive range of services, and must coordinate those services across…

Describes a three-month study of a family reunification program for abused and neglected children that explored the process and outcomes of service delivery. The coding scheme measured both the time used in and purposes of activities of the service workers. Discusses the implications of this method for practice, planning, and research. (TM)

Describes one community-based program designed to support and strengthen families with an identified problem of substance abuse. Discusses parents' progress in addressing their problems, reduction of risk in Project families, children's placement experience, and client satisfaction. Concludes with implications for practice with substance…

A Tucson, Arizona elementary school is one of 45 development sites for the Toyota Families in Schools Program, which brings in parents to learn alongside their children and in their own classrooms for 4 hours daily. Parents also receive vocational instruction aligned with local job opportunities. (MLH)

Provides impressionistic reflection of how human service agencies in San Jose, California have helped refugee families from war-torn Cambodia and Bosnia. Summarizes some of the lessons learned from working with refugee families. Notes that the experiences have influenced the capacity- building, empowering, and mentoring aspects of a new…

A study involving 313 parents participating in 13 Even Start family literacy programs found parents gained self-confidence in their ability to learn, engaged in more literacy activities as they progressed, began to visit their children's teachers regularly, and had high expectations of their children succeeding in school. (Contains references.)…

A survey of 318 fathers participating in early childhood education programs found fathers of children with and without disabilities preferred activities in which all family members could participate. Strategies for facilitating father participation included providing activities of interest to both parents and providing information to help children…

A study involving 17 Canadian parents evaluated "Together for Kids," a program that focuses on preventing child abuse and neglect through family support. Clients found the informal support received from team members the most beneficial aspect of the project. Other benefits included the availability of support during stressful times.…

Considers the emergence of family-centered child care as a program model. Presents an historical overview of the family as a child-care component of quality and past efforts in parent education and parent involvement. Outlines a conceptual framework for family-centered child care, and discusses implications for public policy. (Author/KB)

SafePort is a residential substance abuse treatment program within public housing to provide drug treatment to parenting women in Key West, Florida. All family members--women, children, and significant others--receive comprehensive assessments to determine appropriate therapeutic interventions. Preliminary evaluation findings suggest that women…

Examined the effectiveness of a family-centered residential treatment model, Reasonable Efforts to Permanency through Adoption and Reunification Endeavors (REPARE), for achieving permanency outcomes for children. Found that the REPARE program achieved greater postdischarge stability for participants than the agency's standard residential treatment…

This study investigated perceived levels of stress among military families who have a young child with a disability. Findings clearly show family stress increasing due to the combined demands of military life and caring for a disabled child, as well as other perceived stressors. Findings underscore the need for and benefits of a family service…

Describes the growth of Early Head Start (EHS) programs, focusing on one EHS partnership with child care providers in Delaware to serve infants, toddlers, and their families. Includes discussion of partnership strategies that promote quality programming, ways the early care and education coordinator supports child development, strategies for…

A rationale for and components of a development systems model are presented to guide early intervention programs. Core principles emphasizing a developmental framework, integration, and inclusion are expressed in the context of a multicomponent interactive system. The model's focus on maximizing family patterns of interaction by addressing…

Continuous quality improvement efforts are vital to high-quality early intervention services. This article describes an ongoing quality improvement project within an infant mental health-based Early Head Start program. Both strategies and challenges in implementing issues and lessons learned in the initial 2-year phase of the quality improvement…