Current federal legislation identifies three goals for the child welfare system: safety, permanence, and family and child well-being. Unfortunately, child well-being becomes subordinate to the more easily achievable and measurable goal of permanence--returning children to the biological family, facilitating an adoption, or placing them with…

Provides a personal account of a British tutor's experiences with children at a state-run orphanage in Rumania, focusing on emotional reactions of the tutor and the children. Describes a cooperative project to provide the children with materials for play and learning activities, and discusses changes in orphanage practices after the project. (AC)

Historically, in the field of developmental disabilities, the place of residence determines the level of support provided. This has led to a situation in which the more home-like the residence, the less public financial support it receives. The more disabled an individual is and the more difficulties that individual presents, the further he or she…

Community residences for small groups of people and day activity programs designed to increase functional levels for severely multiply handicapped persons with visual problems, are proposed as the only viable, humane alternative to institutionalization. Sources of funding for these goup home and day activity programs, which cost the same as…