Sparked by high-profile cases involving children who commit violent crimes, public concerns regarding child delinquents have escalated. Compared with juveniles who first become involved in delinquency in their teens, child delinquents (offenders younger than age 13) face a much greater risk of becoming serious, violent, and chronic juvenile…

Since 1986, federal law has mandated that states provide appropriate early intervention for children from birth to age three with disability or developmental delay. Current federal legislation has focused on expanding services into natural environments other than the child's home. Natural environments are settings in which the child would be if he…

This bulletin summarizes the results of a training and technology transfer program focussing on strengthening families for the prevention of delinquency. A national search was conducted for representative family strengthening programs, and through a process that involved national conferences, regional training sessions, and technical assistance,…

Noting that the development of effective intervention programs and instructional strategies for the struggling or underachieving reader continues to be a topic of concern, this Digest first reviews the current status of reading performance, based on the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress. It then reports on the importance of early…

This paper presents a systematic procedure for threat assessment and intervention of school shooters. The model is designed to be used by educators, mental-health professionals, and law-enforcement agencies and is intended to help refine and strengthen the efforts of the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. Its fundamental building…

The Wisconsin Birth to 3 Program is a comprehensive, statewide system of community-based, family-centered services for young children and their families. This annual report of the Governor's Birth to 3 Interagency Coordinating Council details activities of the Wisconsin Birth to 3 Program for the period October 1, 1997 through September 30, 1998…

During this era of increased accountability and enhanced educational expectations for infants, toddlers and students with disabilities, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is using a new compliance and technical assistance model- focused monitoring. Focused monitoring is part of the Continuous Improvement…

This resource sheet is for parents who have recently found out that their child has a hearing loss. The early years are a critical time for learning language. This document discusses the importance of early intervention, which means getting started as early as possible to address the individual needs of a child with disabilities. Early…

Responds to "Autistic Recovery? An Analysis and Critique of the Empirical Evidence on the Early Intervention Project" (Gresham and MacMillan), which criticizes research showing the effectiveness of the UCLA Youth Autism Project program for children with autism. The article's misunderstandings are discussed and the program is explained. (CR)

Responds to "The UCLA Young Autism Project: A Reply to Gresham and MacMillan" (Smith and Lovaas), which criticized a review questioning the effectiveness of an intervention for children with autism. The Smith and Lovass article is described as defensive, factually inaccurate, and as not adequately addressing the question of external validity.…

Describes development of the Early Head Start program for low-income pregnant women and families with children from birth to age 3. Discusses the program's goals and the creation of Early Head Start when Head Start was reauthorized in 1994. Describes the Early Head Start model programs, addressing the confusion about the relationship between Head…

This review of medical concerns in dealing with spina bifida examines neurologic and neurosurgical issues, learning issues, urological dysfunction, orthopedic issues, bowel control, latex allergy, and prenatal diagnosis and prevention. (JDD)

Time-out is an effective child deceleration technique. The Time-Out Grid is a simple heuristic tool illustrating the fundamental feature of an effective time-out intervention and subsequently guides those involved in the problem analysis and program evaluation phases of consultation. Provides specific procedural recommendations for classroom…

FAST Track is a support program for pupils with social and emotional difficulties. This paper reports on a 3-year British study that compared schools using the full FAST-Track program with schools using only the curriculum component. Differences among individual schools were substantially greater than differences between the two groups of schools,…

This article proposes use of birth defects registries in facilitating early intervention. It reports results of a survey to identify state programs that are using, or planning to use, birth defects surveillance systems to identify and refer children and families for services. It provides four case examples and recommended steps to encourage use of…