The Family Support Project in Lansing, Michigan, provides a variety of family support services to help maintain severely mentally and severely multiply impaired children in their own communities, and whenever possible, in their own homes. Services offered include case management, family therapy, respite services, special needs purchases,…

In a program developed at Merrywood School (Bellevue, Washington), four key components were identified as critical to successfully placing disabled children in foster care: identification and recruitment of stable, motivated, and qualified foster parents; preparation of foster parents; support for foster parents' needs; and development of creative…

This paper reports on several projects conducted in Georgia over the past 2 years that move the development of respite care services toward the goal of becoming a "cooperative, collaborative, and coordinated" effort. An overview of respite care in Georgia is provided as well as a summary of strategies used to provide such care. Emerging…

The "support not supplant" theory of family support services is explained, and results of a national study of trends in family support are analyzed. Current efforts, state legislation, funding levels, respite services, financial assistance, and emerging issues are discussed. A directory of state family support programs is appended. (PB)

Respite care provides relief or backup emergency care for families of individuals who are developmentally disabled. In sparsely populated rural areas, center-based urban models for service delivery and provider recruitment and training may be inappropriate. Las Cumbres Learning Services has developed a model for provision of respite care services…

The paper describes the residential services provided by Washington County (Vermont) to people with developmental disabilities, especially "professional foster homes" and supervised apartments. The professional foster homes serve 40 clients with severe disabilities who live with families in the community. There are three support staff;…

This paper proposes an expansion of respite care for families of handicapped children to include early intervention services and informal social supports. The experiences of the Delaware FIRST Program are described, focusing on using family day care as a respite service, training for family intervention, and emphasizing family-oriented resources.…

This article examines the issue of separation and its impact on military families, including on infants and toddlers. Deployments and unaccompanied tours of duty (temporary assignments and 12-24 month assignments, both without family members, respectively) take military personnel away from their loved ones for extended periods of time. …

This collection of papers presented at a 1996 conference on children's mental health research focuses on studies of family participation. Individual papers have the following titles and authors: (1) "Measuring Satisfaction with Community-Based Services for Children with Severe Emotional Disturbances: A Comparison of Questionnaires for Children and…

The purpose of the Children's Project in Oregon was to provide services to five children (ages 5 to 12) with developmental disabilities whose families were experiencing stress. Each of the children had at least three disabilities and was placed outside the family home in a foster care home for various reasons. The project staff included each…

Describes the founding, organization, and support services of the Oregon Family Support Network. Using volunteers, the network provides support and information to families whose children are severely emotionally or behaviorally disturbed. Services include emotional support, technical assistance, networking, information, community forums, parent…

The case study describes a family residential service for three people with profound and multiple disabilities in Burlington, Vermont. The disabled individuals live with a couple and their two children who are also provided support services in the form of weekend relief and helpers for the late afternoon and evening period. The house is owned by a…

This bulletin reflects the commitment of Syracuse University's Center on Human Policy to the idea that children belong with families. The bulletin contains a policy statement which recommends; that all children, regardless of disability, belong with families and need enduring relationships with adults; that families with severely disabled children…

The Delaware FIRST Program is designed to meet the needs of handicapped infants and toddlers through trained family day care providers. The program is based on a developmental family systems approach. It strives to provide families with ongoing support by offering mainstreamed family day care or respite care, by developing and/or facilitating an…

The report describes the program philosophy and accomplishments over the past decade of the Infant and Early Childhood Intervention Program (IECIP) of the Kansas University Affiliated Program (KUAP) at Parsons, Kansas, which has focused solely on delivering information and training to parents of developmentally delayed children. Topics discussed…