This report presents the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the National Commission on Children. The report is prefaced by a statement by the commission chairman, Senator John D. Rockefeller, and an executive summary. The first part of the report discusses issues relating to the development of a national policy on children and families.…

This report examines the availability of health care, child care, and youth programs for Asian Americans in New York City. The Asian American community currently makes up 10 percent of the city population. Asian New Yorkers represent diverse cultures and languages but share certain underlying values and challenges. One commonality is their…

Since 1995, UNESCO and the Averroes Foundation have collaborated to develop early childhood education programs. This report describes Averroes intervention programs currently used in the Netherlands with young at-risk children. Following a Foreword which describes various UNESCO early childhood activities, the report is divided into six parts.…

Family preservation programs have long been used to prevent foster placement of children by providing services to the entire family. This manual presents the model for the Boys Town Family Preservation Program and discusses the foundations of in-home treatment, including cultural and family differences, community resources and networking, family…

Explores the unique values and characteristics of rural communities and farm families, particularly individual, family, and community factors that may protect children from potentially negative developmental effects of chronic stress or adversity. Considers community strengths in supporting children's healthy development. Identifies implications…

Proposes to discover what "at risk" students and their teacher could do to bring meaning and life to a basic-track English curriculum. Relates findings that support the view that it is the quality of students' literary experiences, not their tracking placement, that influences the efficacy of these experiences. (DSK)

This cognitive-behavioral middle school prevention program includes both parent- and teen-based curricula focusing on precursors to problem behavior such as communication, limit setting, problem solving, goal setting, and dealing with negative peer influences. Results from 158 participating families found the program effective in engaging both…

A practicum program was developed and implemented to increase parental involvement, teach parents how to help their children, reverse parents' and students' negative attitudes toward mathematics, and enhance mathematics performance of at-risk seventh-grade students. The objectives of the program were to increase parental involvement by 40 percent,…

Conceived as a state-supported community-sponsored program for families, strengthened by business and service organization support, and designed to work with local educational, child care, and social service agencies, Washington State's Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP, pronounced e-cap) provides a "whole child"…

This article offers the opinion that school mental health services should be built around the question: "What useful roles can schools play as part of a concerted social effort targeted to the enhancement of children's wellness?" The article suggests that there are many important roles: practical, repair-oriented roles, and new roles…

Although the disappointing results of earlier ex-offender programs convinced many that "nothing works so let's just keep prisoners incarcerated longer," research in the 1980s and 1990s has shown that intensive pre-release employment training and post-release employment programs and support can cut the rate of recidivism. Current initiatives…

This document presents an outline of a number of social, economic, and demographic trends that influence the effectiveness of instruction and the social development of youth across the country. It contains numbers and statistics, recommendations, and implications, along with 30 references. The document covers trends in the following areas: (1)…

This Kids Count report examines national and statewide trends in the well-being of the nation's children. The statistical portrait is based on 10 indicators of well-being: (1) low birthweight infants; (2) infant mortality; (3) child death; (4) teen deaths by accident, homicide, and suicide; (5) teen birth rate; (6) number of teens who are high…

Discusses differentiation in terms of the instructional program, school organization, staff development, and extensions beyond the classroom. Suggests learning activities with differing levels of cognitive challenge as vehicles for differentiated classrooms. Focuses curriculum on global citizenship and themes of identity, connections,…

New Mexico ranks high in youth violence, substance abuse, poverty, teen pregnancies, and school dropout rates. In response, Western New Mexico University developed a special master's program in bilingual special education, attended primarily by minority-group school personnel, and implemented a program to address the cycle of poverty by training…