Family engagement is essential to high quality services for all children in early childhood care and education. From the beginning of life, families nurture their children and the capacities they will need to be ready for school. The Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework for Early Childhood Systems is a guide to understanding…

This package was developed through the outreach activities of Project STEPS (Sequenced Transition to Education in the Public Schools), which developed an early childhood transition model to facilitate the development of state and community-wide systems for transition. The package covers four major component areas of transition: interagency…

This guide presents a process for school-to-community transition planning for students with disabilities, based on individual need. In order for the school to support transition planning, it must put in place a school-based transition system, with the following essential components: local education agency administrative and program…

This manual aims to help communities develop a plan to improve services to children from birth to 3 years of age who are chronically ill or disabled, and their families. Section I provides background information needed to begin a Community Approach to an Integrated Service System (CAISS) committee in a community. It addresses the issue that…

Two newsletters center on making the transition from school to work for students with disabilities. In the first newsletter, a personal reflection on transition by a man with cerebral palsy is followed by a review of services offered by colleges with support programs for learning disabled students. Guidelines are given to help parents prepare…

This guidebook outlines a process for producing a parent educational conference designed to increase parental involvement in children's education. It is based on the experiences of the planners of the Parents as Partners for Excellence in Education conferences that have been conducted by the Orange County, California, Human Relations Commission. A…

This manual, designed for individuals, agencies, and organizations interested in preventing and intervening in youth violence, is a guide to guides, a map of resources on prevention and intervention. Development of the manual was guided by a number of prevention principles, chiefly, the belief that collaboration is essential for effective youth…

This guide offers suggestions for cooperation between the school or child care center and the home, and provides guidance to parents for their participation in centers and schools. It describes the necessary steps in planning for varied parent involvement and includes examples of parent involvement activities. Topics addressed in planning the…

This paper provides a brief review of the issues regarding families in early intervention programs for handicapped children and proposes the assessment of family needs as a first step in designing family-focused interventions. While traditional approaches to early intervention tend to be exclusively child-focused, professionals are encouraged to…

A program that brings educators and Hispanic parents of deaf children into a cooperative relationship and enables families to meet and help each other is described. Suggestions on program planning, enlisting administrative and parental support, making regional connections, presenting workshops, and overcoming language and cultural barriers are…

These three videotape recordings focus on provision of inclusive, family-centered programs for children with disabilities, birth through age 8. The first video is 14 minutes long and is titled "ICC Parents Share Their Stories." In it, four parents who serve on state interagency coordinating councils (ICCs) for early intervention share…

With much to offer rural girls as well as much to learn from them, Girl Scouting is trying to reach more girls and adults in rural areas. The challenges include economic setbacks for farming, unemployment, isolated populations, and changing rural culture. Along with the challenges are the many resources of rural areas and the congruence between…

This guide provides information to help parents of special needs children in New York become active partners in the planning and implementation of special education programs. The first part of the guide provides in-depth information related to the special education process in New York State public schools. A historical view of children's rights to…

This guide provides information to help parents of special needs children in New York become active partners in the planning and implementation of special education programs for their child. Part 1 of the guide provides in-depth information related to the special education process in New York public schools. A historical view of children's rights…

Written in French, this guide provides information to help parents of special needs children in New York become active partners in the planning and implementation of special education programs for their child. Part 1 of the guide provides in-depth information related to the special education process in New York public schools. A historical view of…