Describes an intervention program for pregnant teenagers and teen mothers. Topics include program development and implementation, staffing, and content. Also discussed are adjustments that a mother must make in order to break the chain of poverty and welfare. (RJC)

Reviews four recent studies which found that general knowledge and acceptance of the formal service system were better predictors of service use by community-based elderly than were demographic and functional capacity variables usually studied. Suggests new research approaches to understanding why many older persons are reluctant to use existing…

Summarizes national trends in independent-living services for foster adolescents. Discusses a philosophical framework for independent-living services which is based on a four-phase continuum: informal learning, formal learning, supervised practice living, and self-sufficiency. (RJC)

Reports on a national state-of-the-art analysis of the use of volunteers as resources in preparing foster youths to become self-supporting. Emphasizes major trends, seven volunteer roles, five program profiles, and the coordination and development of a volunteer program. (RJC)

Suggests ways in which states that are administering a Title IV-E independent-living program may generate program and evaluation data to meet requirements of a federal program report. Presents two examples of current evaluations of independent-living programs. (RJC)

This review of child homicide research identifies three methodological issues: (1) the classification of child deaths as homicides is unreliable; (2) child homicides may not represent the endpoint of a continuum of violence from inadequate parenting to death; and (3) child homicides are not frequent enough to measure the impact of child welfare…

Gives an overview of recent changes in legislation and social policy with respect to child welfare in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Discusses the effect of the Children Act 1989 on children's services in England and contrasts England's services with the organization of child welfare services in Scotland and Northern Ireland.…

Describes and assesses the impact of the 1989 Children Act on the family support aspects of statutory child-care social work. Outlines ideological challenges to family support work and traces the main themes in relevant professional and research literature. Presents the family support clauses of the act and an account of the dominant concerns that…

Offers an overview of the development of risk assessment and its purpose and goals, a summary of research on risk assessment to date, and suggestions regarding future research. Notes the research on risk assessment confirms the lack of conceptual clarity and the difficulty of incorporating it into the child protective services system. (TJQ)

Agencies that served as field placements for the Simmons College School of Social Work (n=101) responded to questionnaires asking about the effects of major funding cuts on their agencies and their training of social work interns. Although more than half reported supervisory cutbacks and increased dependence on less experienced staff, the agencies…

Reports on the results of a study undertaken in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts in 1992 of the use of contracting arrangements in children's services. Highlights the positive and negative aspects of contracting for both contractors and providers, and discusses the impact of this approach for the traditional differentiation between nongovernmental…

Examined the intercountry adoption experiences of 100 French and 100 English families, comparing policy in each country. Found a lack of effective and sensitive management of the introductory meetings between prospective parents and adoptive children, and of adequate birth records information. (HTH)

Meeting the challenge of providing supported living for people with developmental disabilities calls for new relationships among people receiving support, those providing support, and families. The focus should be on assisting people with developmental disabilities to establish a sense of place, security of place, and effective personalized…

An exploratory study of 192 homeless shelters in 29 cities used structural equation analysis to analyze characteristics of organizational and service delivery systems. The resulting model showed that services offered by the shelters are best understood as being influenced by organizational structure mediated through the organization's relationship…

Comments on the dilemma of defining the early care and education profession when its knowledge base is needed to determine both the tone and substance of the national social policy agenda. Suggests considering early care and education as part of the broader field of people known as developmentalists and, in this role, ensuring that children's…