This paper contains preliminary findings from a 1989 survey of over 400 rural health programs serving chronically ill, handicapped, or high-risk children. Respondents identified major problems affecting service delivery. Follow-up research is continuing, but present data indicate that transportation problems, for both clients and staff, will…

This paper draws on the experience of various states in its discussion of questions, issues, and decisions that policymakers face as they plan their states' family support initiatives. The discussion is organized into three parts that correspond roughly with the stages of policy formation, program development, and program implementation and…

This report was written in an effort to establish a new strategy for reducing the odds of failure for thousands of Arizona's vulnerable children and their families. It echoes the sentiments of a growing number of policymakers, concerned citizens, and parents who hold that the cost of child and family problems is so dramatic, and the amount of…

Fundamental changes in the family unit have led to ineffective and inadequate parenting, and to increasing isolation among families, placing family members at risk for such social problems as child abuse/neglect and school failure. To prevent and treat these problems, parents need knowledge of child development and tools for responding…

This guide has been developed to help educators and parents, particularly those in rural areas, locate information for better understanding the potential effects of divorce on children. The guide includes materials that consider different developmental stages of children and different stages of the divorce process. It offers materials that can be…

This document presents one module in a set of training resources for trainers to use with parents and/or professionals serving children with disabilities; focus is on training for professionals working with families. The modules stress content and activities that build skills and offer resources to promote parent-professional collaboration. Each…

This study assessed Alcoholics Anonymous (Al-Anon) participation as a factor in stress of wives of alcoholics. Additional data focused on attitude and behavior variables. Two groups of 20 subjects each were enlisted from Al-Anon, personal contacts, treatment centers, and referrals in three urban areas in the southeastern United States. Group A…

Research findings indicate that the Yale Child Study Center School Development Program (SDP) has led to consistent progress in academic achievement and school attendance from 1969 to 1984 in the New Haven (Connecticut) schools in which it has been used. This report evaluates SDP, which attempts to strengthen student academic and social skills in…

This document presents a practicum designed to address the problems encountered when a child in nondirective play therapy becomes able to express emotions and parents, unable to accept their child's new expressions of anger, withdraw the child from therapy at a time when he or she is most vulnerable. The development and implementation of a program…

This policy brief examines the problems of parents who raise young children while working. Discussion contrasts family support systems in the United States with those of other western, industrialized nations, and indicates reasons for the intensification of U.S. family support problems over the last decade. Concluding discussion analyzes present…

This newsletter theme issue addresses adoption and the young child's life. Contributors suggest ways in which practitioners in many professions and settings can better understand and support adoptive families. The first article, "Adoption, 1990" by Barbara F. Nordhaus and Albert J. Solnit, reviews the history of adoption and notes obstacles to…

A study was conducted to achieve two objectives: (1) identify priority problems/concerns of Florida families as perceived by home economics supervisors and teachers; and (2) determine prevention and intervention strategies viewed as successful in addressing the identified social/family concerns. Thirty-two problems/concerns were identified and…

The children who have generally been termed "at-risk" are usually poor and often from other cultural backgrounds. Schools need to find ways to reach and involve at-risk families with their children's education. Steps include collaboration with other community agencies, helping parents identify what they are capable of doing, and…

This paper presents the evaluation of the Family Stress Program, which was designed to deliver human services and save valuable police time through intervention in police calls involving individuals and families in crisis. A brief description of the program's structure, purpose, and development, and a listing of program goals (preventing the…

Preventive educational programs are potentially useful in reducing the effects of divorce on children and families. Parenting After Divorce is an ongoing study designed to evaluate preventive programs. Divorcing families with children aged 7-12 are identified from court records and contacted to participate. Families are randomly assigned to one of…