This report from the Center for the Study of Social Policy reviews State policies that support families, children and low-wage workers while also contributing to states’ economic stability.

This research brief, from the Harvard Family Research Project, provides a program evaluation of family-strengthening intervention programs that offer support to parents and help change family behaviors to encourage healthy child development. Authors highlight best practices surrounding this intervention program model to inform educators, service providers, and local evaluators in schools, intermediary and community-based organizations, and social service agencies.

This report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation reports on the discussions and lessons learned about social networks gathered from visits with families. Authors discuss the importance of the link between strong, positive social networks and achieving successful outcomes for families, as well as provide examples on how a social networks approach can support families.

This study, from the Urban Institute, proves a description of how families connect to services through alternative response systems in Oklahoma and Kentucky. Through a variety of data collection methods, authors identified factors that affect how families connect to services, which include service network infrastructure, provider relationships with each other, and availability of services.

As place is an important factor for positive family outcomes, this Urban Institute article reviews types of neighborhoods and how surroundings can play a role in the well-being of families and children. By research a variety of indicators, it concludes that families residing in urban and rural areas face increased hardship than families residing in suburban areas.

Authored by Deborah A. Orth and Malcolm L. Goggin. This research was conducted by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government and is supported by a grant from the Administration for Children and Families.

This report examines the diversity of children's living situation in American households. The statistics in this report are based on national estimates of children and their living situations from June to September 2001. In 2001, 72.5 children under 18 lived in households. 51.1 million lived with two parents.

This resource, through the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, outlines key steps to preventing teen pregnancy. Specifically, the paper reviews strategies to teach teens about healthy relationships-- a "success sequence" that will best promote the achievement of their future goals for family and work and practical skills to help teens successfully navigate the transition into adulthood, and engage parents as first teachers.

Child abuse and domestic violence often co-occur in families, and such data has led child welfare programs to re-evaluate service delivery protocols for families. This article reviews Family to Family Grantee experiences and offers guidance on how to better serve families in the child welfare system facing domestic violence issues as well.

This report from the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) outlines best practices in policy regarding children's mental health and offers views on the status of family and youth support and advocacy systems. Authors conclude by highlighting selected innovative interventions.