This article examines the broad array of adult literacy program alternatives currently available. These include government-funded adult education programs, such as Adult Basic Education and Even Start, volunteer programs such as Laubach Literacy Action and Literacy Volunteers of America, business and industry sponsored programs, community-based…

This paper reviews literature on the support needed by families of infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). A survey of 94 California NICUs indicated that they generally provide comprehensive services to families while infants are in the hospital, less service during the transition home, and very little support and follow-up after the…

This article describes how a disability culture perspective has informed research and early intervention serving parents with physical disabilities and their infants and an approach to research, resource development, and early intervention that has evolved in a community-based organization in response to the unmet needs of parents with…

A smoking prevention program for Hispanic immigrants in Canada was based on participatory community planning, cultural sensitivity, and a comprehensive health philosophy. After 12 educational sessions, participating children aged 8-14 engaged in more community activism and showed decreased intentions to smoke. Parents, children, and staff were…

The Marie-Victorin school board, in cooperation with 11 community organizations in Longueuil, Quebec, launched "De A a Z, On s'aide!," a project designed to encourage an interest in reading and writing in families with children 0-4 years old and break the recurrent cycle of illiteracy that plagues poor neighborhoods. (TD)

Discusses a family-centered assessment and intervention approach that empowers and enables families in the selection and use of assistive technology by young children with disabilities. It considers key characteristics of parent/professional partnerships; child, family, technology, and service-system domains; and the use of culturally sensitive…

A mother of a son with Down syndrome discusses how her family and child care providers work with him in natural environments to support his learning in daily activities. She urges other parents to keep trying until they find the right match that works for their family. (CR)

This article discusses ways service providers can enhance their working relationships with families of children with special needs. It offers practical guidelines to service providers when selecting materials they plan to use and share with children and their families, such as curriculum packages, information packets, brochures, CD-ROMS,…

Examines family literacy programs worldwide. Describes how principles of family literacy are reflected in the programs' intergenerational nature and flexibility. Describes strengths of such programs, including the inclusion of all family members, community participation, the accommodation to varying family interests and needs, provision of…

University faculty and community agencies collaborated to design and implement Healthy Weigh/El camino saludable, a family-focused obesity prevention and intervention program in a low-income, urban community at high risk for obesity and related chronic disease. Hispanic and African American families participated in 12 weekly sessions. Offered in…

This article describes standardized instruments designed to measure physical and emotional health outcomes among children for a statewide implementation of community- and school-based family resource centers. It includes descriptive and psychometric information, strengths and weaknesses of two measures of physical well-being, and four measures of…

The purpose of this article is to describe a family-centered collaborative approach for developing and implementing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device training for one family. Family-centered training emphasized collaboration with the primary investigator and focused on needs assessment, the identification of priority…

Utilizing 2000 data on 1,618 counties and seemingly unrelated regression, I assess whether family structure effects on homicide vary across family structure measures and gender. There is evidence of robust, multidimensional family structure effects across constructs reflecting the presence of two-parent families: mother/father absence, shortages…

New research on premature babies shows that even infants born relatively late in gestation and with few complications have a significantly higher incidence of mild developmental delays and learning problems than the general population, difficulties that often remain undiagnosed until school age. The author argues that follow-up for all premature…

The combined and unique contributions of four relational factors to four dimensions of career adaptability were examined for a sample of 322 urban high school students. When all variables were considered simultaneously, canonical analysis revealed that support from family, teachers, and close friends, and peer beliefs about school contributed…