Presents some findings from a 3-year study of a voluntary organization, Home Start, which offers support to mothers with children under 5 through volunteer home visiting. Discusses the activities of Home-Start in the context of debate over appropriate policy and practice linking family support with health visiting, employment policy, education,…

Summarizes data on the emotional and social development of disturbed children placed for fostering or adoption. Presents some of the characteristics of postplacement support services as well as information on how these services must be improved to facilitate successful child placements. (HTH)

Evaluation of demographic, behavioral, and mental health service utilization data on 662 children in foster care found that 56% had received mental health services. Children who experienced "active" types of maltreatment (such as sexual abuse) were more likely to receive mental health services even when severity of mental health problems…

Discusses strategies to improve access to college and to increase the likelihood of academic success for economically disadvantaged and under-served student populations. Considers the use of technology and distance learning programs but stresses the need for integrated support services and college programming anchored in community-based social…

This article identifies the potential affect of alcohol and other drug abuse (AODA) on people who are blind or visually impaired, the barriers to providing effective AODA services for those people, and strategies for improving services for people with coexisting blindness or visual impairments and AODA. (Contains references.) (CR)

Examines the discourse of the social services intake interview, which is part of the process of obtaining financial benefits in the United States. The genre of the interview is described with particular focus on the performance of two native speakers and one nonnative speaker of English. Argues that instruction in how to participate in this genre…

Maintains that reform in children's services is linked to changes in conceptions of the nature of childhood and children's needs. Highlights demonstration project of "wraparound" services for early adolescents to suggest that these emerging programs may embed notions of children as complex systems, ideas that differ significantly from accounts of…

A survey of 18 families in New South Wales (Australia) examined rural parent perceptions concerning early childhood services. Cost, inflexibility, lack of specific services, and distance were considered problems in service provision. Parent recommendations included flexible use of facilities, outreach services, local development of services, and…

Comments on an article by Dunst and Bruder. Twenty years ago, amendments to the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 99-457, 1986) included language that required each state early intervention system to ensure that families had access to a case manager. The article by the authors and the study conducted as part of the Research and…

Reply by the current author to the comments made by R. A. McWilliam, R. N. Roberts and Andy Gomm on the original article. All three commentaries are addressing a common theme that service coordination is not receiving the attention it deserves by state and local early intervention systems and programs. The responses contain a number of key points…

This ethnographic study obtains first-hand information on spousal abuse from Ethiopian immigrants in Israel. Data include 23 interviews with male and female immigrants of various ages and 10 professionals who worked with this community as well as observations and documents. The findings, verified by participants, show that during cultural…

BSW and MSW students randomly completed one of two vignettes that were identical with the exception of the age of the vignette's subject. Following the vignette, respondents responded to 16 bio-psycho-social assessment and intervention items relating to health, illness, aging, and death. The multivariate analysis of variance was significant…

A literature review was carried out to establish what evidence exists about disabled children's participation in decision-making, both regarding their own lives and about the shape of service delivery. There is evidence that disabled children hold and can express views, given the right environment. However, participation of disabled children needs…

This study investigated age preferences for 11 different service providers and the age at which workers in these occupational roles were considered to be "too old" by three age groups: young (18-24), middle-aged (35-55), and older adults (65+). Results indicate that in comparison to middle-aged and older adults, young adults continue to have…

This article explores how recent federal legislation has increased the extent to which US children's citizenship is dependent upon their parents' citizenship, by contrasting children who are adopted internationally by US citizens and second-generation US children. Two interconnected phenomena are examined: (1) the broader material and theoretical…