This report describes a model designed to provide family-centered, community-based coordinated services for families and their children with chronic health care needs. The model, which was implemented to serve 208 children over a 5-year period, is based on three key concepts: families should have the choice to receive services in their homes and…

This paper profiles nine model programs for supporting families who care for a child with a severe illness or one or more disabilities and discusses current trends as they emerged from interviews with key persons in the field. Core components examined include self-help, advocacy, parent education, respite care, family-centered case management, and…

This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of Partners Plus: Families and Caregivers in Partnerships, a model demonstration project designed to expand respite care options for families of children (birth to 8 years old) with disabilities. The program uses a natural and family-centered model that involves families in the design,…

This collection of articles and bibliographies provides a comprehensive guide to autism. Section 1 presents general information on autism such as characteristics, myths and facts about autism, factors associated with autism, and diagnostic criteria for autism and Asperger's disorder. Section 2, on the family, addresses such aspects as the…

Testimony was heard concerning unmet needs for child care and current child care policy. Appearing before the Committee were California government officials, agency administrators and directors, school district officials, psychologists, anthropologists, and other researcher/practitioners, doctors, lawyers, parents, and children. Testimony covered…

This longitudinal study inventoried the types of services accessed by a sample of Alberta families of children with or at-risk for disabilities. We explored the role of severity of disability, parental stress, and family income on services accessed. With few exceptions, services were accessed more frequently as the children's lives progressed but…

This annotated bibliography presents a selective overview of materials on the topic of children with special health needs. Materials are divided into the following topics: (1) early identification and intervention (21 resources); (2) family-centered, community-based, culturally competent care (23 resources); (3) financing services (10 resources);…

This curriculum guide is designed to help teachers to provide advanced-level training for care providers who want to work with individuals who are chronically or terminally ill and require specialized care. The curriculum contains seven units. Each of the instructional units includes some or all of these basic components: performance objectives,…

This collection of papers presented at a 1996 conference on children's mental health focuses on models to improve service delivery. Papers have the following titles and authors: (1) "Empirical Evaluation of an Alternative to Hospitalization for Youth Presenting Psychiatric Emergencies" (Scott W. Henggeler); (2) "An Experimental Study of the…

This volume consists of a background discussion, coordinator's manual, and training manual dealing with developing programs for the in-home respite care (IHRC) of the developmentally disabled. Addressed in the background information unit are the nature of developmental disabilities; program variables, planning, and funding; and practical…