This conference paper discusses the results of a study that investigated the characteristics and needs of mothers participating in Hawaii's Healthy Start Program (HSP). The HSP is a screening and outreach program with two components: (1) the early identification component, which consists of community-based screening to identify newborns at…

This paper discusses the results of a study that investigated the effectiveness of a demonstration program designed to provide in-home intervention with parents and children in families with substance abuse issues. The goals of the program were to prevent further child abuse or neglect, prevent family breakdown and child placement, and facilitate…

This study examined the special education needs of school-aged children living in emergency homeless family shelters in Los Angeles (California). Specifically, the study: (1) identified the proportion of sheltered homeless children with a probable behavior problem, learning disability, or mental retardation; (2) examined the level of unmet need…

This study followed up a large national sample (N=4,161) of Head Start children in an attempt to identify children who are at risk for emotional or behavioral disorders and eligible for special education and to determine to what extent these children are actually identified in the natural progression of special education referral. Children were…

A review of statistics on the health status of young children in poverty and the conditions in which they live illustrates that the potential of a large portion of the next generation is being wasted. Some policies and programs are presented as incremental steps to protect poor children's health. (SLD)

The relationships between education and nutrition are addressed, with emphasis on the following: (1) research needed to help at-risk children; (2) policy recommendations to address the needs of at-risk children; and (3) innovative programs that address children's needs. Findings of a seminar on comprehensive social services for disadvantaged youth…

Social and economic problems facing U.S. children are reviewed, including poverty, hunger and homelessness, gaps in health and mental health services, infant mortality/morbidity, child abuse, drug use, and violence depicted in the mass media. Risk-taking behaviors that are children's responses and suggestions to remedy these problems are…

Coordinated social services may be one of the most promising aspects of the current era of systemic educational reform. However, moving from a policy that calls for coordinated service integration into the actual practice of providing services requires the resolution of a host of complex, interacting issues. This paper provides an overview of what…

This paper outlines a primary prevention program begun in the spring of 1993 through the efforts of School Social Workers of the Albuquerque Public Schools Special Education Department, that serves at-risk Hispanic special education elementary school students and their families. It is a collaborative project that recruits Hispanic students from a…

During the 1990s, school-based and community-based collaboration efforts to improve the quality of the overall human services delivery system for at-risk children, youth, and their families has grown substantially. The greater responsibilities of psychologists in formulating, implementing, and evaluating school-linked and school-based…

Biased social information processing has been solidly linked to aggressive behavior in children. Additionally, attributional tendencies, the tendency to overattribute deliberately hostile intentions to others, have been shown to distinguish aggressive and nonaggressive male youth. In order to reduce aggressive males' tendency to attribute hostile…

The National Goals 2000 emphasizes the importance of public school children's socio-emotional and physical health. Twenty percent of America's public school children suffer significant mental health problems. The longer schools wait to intervene with children at risk, the more expensive and less successful the schools' efforts will be. Aggressive…

No ceremony or rite exists to usher the African American male youth into proper manhood. Such ceremonies, referred to as rites of passage, mark commonly agreed-upon standards, activities, tasks, and trials that each youth must master to achieve the community-sanctioned title "man." The clear articulation and subsequent implementation of…

This report describes an ongoing longitudinal study in Kauai (Hawaii) begun in 1955, which is following the course of all births to adulthood and assessing the long-term consequences of perinatal complications and adverse child-rearing conditions. Specifically reported is a subset of data on 22 children (diagnosed as having learning disabilities…

It is imperative that effective preparation and training strategies for future early childhood personnel, teachers, social workers, and health practitioners be established so that low-income, high-risk, multiproblem families can be adequately served. Effective programs and services for such families are family-centered, neighborhood-based,…