The Wheeling Housing Authority in Wheeling, West Virginia, conducted two residential programs to help women living in public housing develop economic self-sufficiency. The Learning Independence from Employment (LIFE) program was an intensive 3-week program designed to accomplish the following objectives: improve participants' communication skills…

The purpose of the SPARK Outreach Project was to address the needs of an increasingly culturally diverse population by providing a model for teachers of young children with disabilities with (1) a story-based creative arts curriculum derived from a variety of cultural and ethnic traditions; (2) a developmentally and individually appropriate…

PACT: Helping Children with Special Needs, an affiliate of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, operates a therapeutic nursery that serves families who have at least one child from birth to 3 years of age, and who are living in a Baltimore City homeless shelter. In partnership with the Martin Luther King Early Head Start Program…

In recent years the problem of sexually abusive youth has been increasingly recognized as a significant issue in our community. This paper provides a brief overview of the literature that shows sexually abusive youth to be a heterogeneous population. We argue for the development of typologies of adolescent sexual offenders to assist in the guiding…

The "new federalism" paradigm offers an explanation why the federal government has devolved much of its administration of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, formerly AFDC) and Medicaid (through managed care) programs. A review of child and family outcomes data resulting from these devolutionary changes in TANF and…

Proceedings are presented of a conference which addressed services to infants and young children with developmental delays and their families in rural areas. Contents include: results of a survey of 42 respondents regarding rural service delivery; excerpts from Magnolia Circle Outreach Project newsletters; views on problems identified by rural…

Political changes underway at both the federal and state levels will dramatically affect public policies for children and their families in the years ahead. Drawing from over 550 budget line items in 10 state departments from 1990 to 1995, this report looks at spending on Illinois' children and families by program areas, with some specific…

Even Start is a family-centered national literacy program whose goal is to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by expanding the educational opportunities available to low-income families with limited educational experiences. To reach this goal, all Even Start projects provide services in each of three core areas: adult education, parenting…

This biennial directory of educational services for the disabled and their families lists 1,052 programs, services, and directories designed primarily or exclusively for persons with disabilities and members of their families, sources of state benefits, and other financial aid directories. An introductory section explains the purpose of the…

This pilot study, involving a mother and her 3-year-old child with developmental delays, developed, implemented, and evaluated a model of early intervention that incorporates family-centered assessment and intervention practices. The CARE (Caregiver Assistance, Resources, and Education) project model was both school-based and home-based. The…

The report describes and assesses an adult literacy program for Hmong immigrant adults in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The overall approach was to assist students in developing a new communication system using principles of intercultural communication and community networking. The instructional model had four components: native language literacy…

Intended to highlight the importance of including families and members of the broader community in children's learning, this report discusses the role of businesses and employers in helping partners and family members be more involved in children's learning. The introduction, "Making Family Involvement in Learning a Goal" notes the three…

This report profiles state efforts to develop comprehensive programs and policies for young children and families, presents indicators of child and family well-being, and describes state investments in young children and families. Chapter 1, "Overview of Findings and Implications," identifies the research questions, describes data collection…

Hearings on family-friendly workplaces for fathers were held in an effort to help create a corporate culture that allows fathers to take advantage of and support different workplace policies. Fathers' impact on children's development, and the reasons why it is important for fathers to be part of the parenting process, are examined. Representative…

This report outlines what is known about the requirements for optimal development during the first 3 years of life, considers the ways in which society might reverse the trends toward risk for families and children, and describes the necessary conditions for families to function well in the interests of their young children. Part 1 describes "the…