Family resource programs seek to foster the development of emotionally stable children and parents. Two underlying assumptions of family resource programs are that programs should focus on family strengths, not weaknesses; and that programs should empower families, not create dependence on professionals. Education of the public about the need and…

This publication includes abstracts of 45 articles published in recent years on the effects of maternal and paternal alcohol and other drug use on the fetus; prevention and intervention programs; and teaching strategies to be used with prenatally drug-exposed children. While not an exhaustive list of available research on these topics, this review…

Much effort has been expended in developing intervention programs to help improve the early literacy and school readiness skills of young children. This article presents the results of a needs assessment project aimed at identifying priorities for community intervention programs aimed at ensuring that young children enter school ready to learn. A…

This study was conducted to measure the progress that states have made with regard to the 14 components in Part H of Public Law 99-457, after about 1 year of funding. Forty-seven State Part H Coordinators completed and returned the State Progress Scale between January and April of 1989. For each of the 14 components, progress was assessed in three…

The context and preliminary results of an ongoing research project involving parents in the University of Sheffield's (English) Early Literacy Development Project are described. The project developed programs involving at-home work with parents and in-school work for families with preschool children. Initial discussion identified four lines of…

This newsletter theme issue focuses on the training of practitioners to work with infants, toddlers, and their families with emphasis on the activities of the TASK (Training Approaches for Skills and Knowledge) Project of the National Center for Clinical Infant Programs. The TASK project addresses the concerns of four "stakeholder" groups:…

In this policy brief, an introductory review of early childhood education from a national perspective is followed by brief sketches of the north-central region's action and agendas. The states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin are covered. Concluding commentary identifies three program areas that should be better…

New programs taking a comprehensive approach to disadvantaged young men in urban areas have met with some success. This paper attempts to define the issues that will influence the development of comprehensive programs and examines the qualities that have made them a promising alternative for the future. Issues that shape the lives of youth include…

This report explains why reading story books to young children (an activity assumed to help in the acquisition of literacy, although there is no unambiguous evidence in support of this assumption) is likely to be important and reviews the evidence about the role it might play in literacy development. The first section of the report examines…

The current study examined instructors' discrete-trial teaching responses after a performance-based training procedure in which instructors were required to demonstrate criterion-level performance on written and oral quizzes and on performance demonstrations. Twelve discrete-trial teaching responses were labeled and operationally defined.…

This annual report focuses on three goals. First, the report is congruent with the "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB). This means that the annual report focuses on results and accountability throughout the text. The second goal is to make the report more useful to Congress, parents, each state, and other stakeholders. This report…

The purpose of this tool kit is to provide guidance, tools, and resources that will assist communities in building culturally and linguistically competent services, supports, programs, and practices related to young children, their families. By offering services in culturally and linguistically meaningful ways, communities can engage all families…

A growing body of research shows that having an involved father enhances a child's well-being. This four-page issue brief, based on Mathematica's evaluation of the Early Head Start Fatherhood Demonstration, delineates lessons for policymakers and practitioners who are embarking on new efforts to increase fathers' involvement in Head Start and…

This workshop was adapted from Enhanced Learning. The Center for Innovation in Special Education, out of Missouri, designed this curriculum to enhance pre-service and inservice training related to early intervention and early care and education by helping to ensure that students and trainees better understand the perspectives of families who have…

For young children with and without disabilities, positive outcomes depend on smooth, effective transitions between and within early intervention programs, preschool programs, and public school programs. Now there is a how-to guide that helps professionals across programs work together to make these transitions happen. Coauthored by top expert…