According to data collected in 2003 by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), just over 96,000 youth were incarcerated in juvenile correctional facilities throughout the United States (not including those being held in detention). An additional 10,000 youth were in state prisons or adult jails during the same time,…

This paper is a description and an evaluation of the Families First program in Sydney, Australia. The Families First program was set up to provide innovative family-centered early intervention services to families with young children with disabilities from birth to school age living within the South-Western Metropolitan Health Region. The program…

This final report describes, Project Trans/Team, a 3-year infant inservice training project designed to provide training and technical assistance to programs that serve children from birth to 3 years of age who have disabilities, are developmentally delayed, or are at risk. The project provided training to 20 programs and 282 professionals in six…

Marin City Families First (MCFF) is an intervention program providing intensive home-based support and services to at-risk families, through family advocates, to help them stabilize their lives and increase their ability to provide safe, healthy environments for their children. Comprised of case studies of three MCFF families and their family…

This document systematically studies the status of Native education in the United States and makes recommendations for improving the quality of education for American Indian and Alaska Native students. Based on extensive testimony by citizens and educators, school site visits, and commissioned papers by experts, the Indian Nations At Risk Task…

This paper discusses how states and jurisdictions define "developmental delay" and "at risk" in their definition of eligibility for services to infants and toddlers under Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It reviews the procedures and criteria used to determine developmental delay and outlines the…

Developed through extensive consultation with girls, teachers, parents, interest groups, and individuals, the detailed advice for the Australian educational system represents a key developmental phase in the national policy setting process that commenced in 1986 to improve educational outcomes for girls. A review of the national policy precedes…

As a result of federal law Public Law 99-457, Illinois has the opportunity to provide early intervention for at-risk children up to 3 years of age. These children have developmental delays, such as cerebral palsy, or are cocaine or alcohol babies. The legislative history and current status of Public Law 99-457 as it relates to the planning of…

This paper reviews the literature on mastery learning theory and reports its successful application since 1987 with mainstreamed special education students at one elementary school in Missouri. The methodology, originally developed by Benjamin Bloom, involves formative evaluation after initial instruction followed by either corrective activities…

This report describes a service model developed for the Division of Children and Family Services in Wenatchee, Washington that attempts to address the needs of families impacted by substance abuse. The service area is rural and has an overwhelming drug problem. Caseload trends provide evidence for a large number of drug-related referrals and an…

This document comprises the second volume of a two-volume resource guide to help states and localities take advantage of new Federal initiatives to increase services to youth under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). This volume comprises the discussion papers that formed the basis for the options summarized in the first volume. The papers…

This report, required by the Oregon legislature, describes the state's Head Start prekindergarten program and the program's achievements during the 2001-2003 period. The report delineates the federal and state funding for the program during this period, and the number of programs, classrooms, and children served, noting that 61 percent of all…

In fall 1990 the U.S. Department of Education initiated a 5-year longitudinal study of the outcomes of local prevention-education programs funded under the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986 (DFSCA). This report presents findings of a study that examined prevention services and activities funded under the Governors' DFSCA program. Of…

This Kids Count report of the Action Alliance for Virginia's Children and Youth reviews the role of schools, bullying, media, family violence, gangs, and substance use in the violence experienced by children and young people in Virginia and the United States. The report finds that increasing numbers of young people experience violent images and…

This document continues a series of statistical reports from the National Center for Children in Poverty about young child poverty in the United States. The highlights of this update include the current profile of extremely poor, poor, and near poor population of young children; an examination of the changing association between higher education…