To create and maintain a high-quality home visiting program, administrators need to consider a range of issues including the skills and qualities of home visitors; the preservice and inservice training needs of home visitors; the supervision and support that home visitors need; and the implications of stressful working conditions for home…

Home visiting programs must be sensitive and responsive to the cultural ecology of their participants. Staff of home visiting programs need to assess the cultural context of the program, establish a dialog with the client population regarding program goals, attend to the culture of the program staff, and consider alternative program formulas. (MDM)

Discusses how home visiting, as a process, can be used to improve the health and development of young children, outlining a conceptual framework to evaluate home visiting programs. Argues that successful programs must be comprehensive in their approach to addressing children's and families' needs in multiple health and development domains. (MDM)

Argues that although home visiting programs themselves have mixed results in addressing family health and welfare needs, such programs, as part of a comprehensive, family-focused health and social services system, can have an important impact on the health and welfare of children. (MDM)

Examines the relationship between social factors and low birth weight and the ways in which disparities in socioeconomic status have been addressed over time, and assesses the effectiveness of efforts to reduce low birth weight occurrences. The authors discuss the steps required to reduce persistent disparities in low birth weight. (GR)

Discusses the problem of drug-exposed infants from the perspective of a county attorney's office, focusing on a new Minnesota law that responds to the problem through early identification and provision of services. The approach calls for mandated reporting by medical providers and includes the possibility of civil commitment. (SLD)

Reviews common financing strategies for school-linked services, and suggests that the fiscal strategy for building integrated school-linked services involves supplementing new core program funding with redirected existing sources and increasing use of Medicaid funds. There is no single approach to financing these services. (SLD)