The purpose of this study was to investigate the lives of eight grandmothers in primary caregiving roles. The grandmothers were African American or multiracial, with one from Belize of African descent, all caring for grandchildren. The findings of eight 1-hour interviews coupled with demographic surveys yielded the following information: The…

Noting that the number of work-related child care centers has nearly doubled in the past 10 years in Canada, this report, in both English and French, details a study examining the current practices pertaining to work-related child care in Canada. The report highlights the best examples in this area and discusses what has been learned from the…

This paper describes the development of a consumer-based program in rural Essex County (New York) for families with children with emotional disorders. Initially, in-depth, in-home interviews were held with 24 families who had children with serious emotional disturbances concerning their service needs and desires. The following needs were expressed…

In 1999 and 2000, immigrants in Los Angeles, California, and New York, New York were aurveyed about their status in the context of welfare reform, examining the living conditions of 3,447 immigrant families roughly 3 years after welfare reform was implemented and several months before the federal government issued guidance about the public charge…

With a unique focus on the effects of poverty on parenting in Britain, this book explores what professionals and policy makers can do to support families living in poverty. The book details findings and conclusions of a large national study of parents living in poverty conducted by the Policy Research Bureau between 1997 and 1999. The study…

Noting that a state's tax policies have direct impact on a family's ability to feed, clothe, house, educate, and care for its children, this report presents an overview of taxes in the state of Pennsylvania. The report is presented in five sections. Section 1 presents the argument that it is necessary to understand the rule driving the revenue…

Describes activities in a university child observation class to sensitize students to diverse parents' needs related to school involvement. Presents feedback regarding parents' needs from: interviews with adoptive parents; interviews with single parents; and interviews with parents regarding parent-teacher conferences. (KDFB)

An assessment of the needs of persons with developmental disabilities and their families was conducted via focus groups of individuals with disabilities, family members, and professionals (n=50). Concerns included preservice staff training, inservice staff training, and program delivery and development. Implications for quality assurance and…

A study was conducted to investigate the views of 40 Australian service providers on the support and service needs of parents with intellectual disabilities and to discover key issues faced by the providers. The special needs of the parents, desirable service characteristics, and constraints on service delivery are identified. (CR)

Informs helping professionals about the unique history and challenges of African families to guide them toward providing ethnically sensitive psychological services to African immigrant families in need. African families undergo great stress when faced with the alienation of being Black and African in a Euro-American culture. (SLD)

Surveyed the boarding needs of junior secondary students in one city as expressed by their guardians. Aims to discover whether the need of these guardians and students are being met. Almost 8% of parents would have liked to send their children to boarding school if places were available. (RJM)

Discusses the following issues pertaining to Mexican child care: history of child care in Mexico; prevalence of child care in the national system; other agencies providing child care and the nature of their services; extent to which working families use child care; circumstances requiring day care; licensing, accreditation, and quality standards;…

Describes benefits of involving Spanish-speaking families in early education and care programs. Identifies barriers to involvement, including communication difficulties, cultural characteristics, family structure, work schedules, and negative school experiences. Offers strategies to foster participation, including parent-teacher conferences,…

A study examined family-centered practice in terms of six early-intervention service providers' philosophies and behaviors. Five underlying components of family-centered services were identified: positiveness, responsiveness, orientation to the whole family, friendliness, and sensitivity. Moreover, these service providers displayed skills both…

Parents of 116 adult children with mental retardation were evaluated for family sense of coherence, social support, family adaptability, family cohesion, and family adaptation. Results indicated that family sense of coherence, social support, and family adaptability (but not family cohesion) made a significant contribution to family adaptation.…