Sharon Lynn Kagan – författare

In this book a blue-ribbon group of practitioners, researchers, and policymakers provide an overview of the numerous programs that have emerged in the past decade in response to the changing needs of families. Addressing the historical and social context of current family support efforts, the range and variety of the programs, available research, and the challenges of funding, staffing, and managing them, it chronicles past problems and accomplishments and offers specific recommendations for the future. "A timely and important book."—T. Berry Brazelton, M.D. "This remarkable volume surveys a multitude of services available to support the increasingly beleaguered family; the focus is on local services, in the context of organizations and outside them. the book's emphasis on available services makes it a key resource for health professionals, but its aim is broader-to foster advocacy of change in organizational and governmental policies."—Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic

As the state of America's children and families continues to degenerate, the human services system struggles to render the support it was designed to provide. Despite such efforts, American families have difficulty accessing services; they are forced to navigate an incomprehensible system where quantity is often deemed insufficient and quality is compromised. Simultaneously, expenditures on human services have soared to record levels, further spurring both concerns and efforts to reform and better integrate a sadly dysfunctional system. In the first comprehensive synthesis of the history, theory, and practice of service integration, Sharon Lynn Kagan, with Peter R. Neville, explores why past efforts to reform the human service system have had only isolated triumphs and marginal impact in improving the quality of life for children and families. Tracing the history of human services in America from the colonial period to the present, the author analyzes the underlying assumptions, barriers, and strategies that have characterized the service integration movement. Drawing on history, empirical research, and intellectual theory, as well as on the personal experiences of practitioners and leaders, the author extracts principles and insights that offer new directions for future social service reform.Published in cooperation with the National Center for Service Integration

Children, Families, and Government: Preparing for the Twenty-first Century analyses the relationship between child development research and the design and implementation of social policy concerning children and families. This book is both timely and enduring; perennially important issues like health care, welfare reform, and drug abuse, are addressed in a context that enables the reader to relate current events to the theories and foundations on which policies are based. It highlights state of the art research and reforms to specify policy areas affecting children and families.

Children, Families, and Government: Preparing for the Twenty-first Century analyses the relationship between child development research and the design and implementation of social policy concerning children and families. This book is both timely and enduring; perennially important issues like health care, welfare reform, and drug abuse, are addressed in a context that enables the reader to relate current events to the theories and foundations on which policies are based. It highlights state of the art research and reforms to specify policy areas affecting children and families.

In this seminal volume, leading authorities strategise about how to create early childhood systems that transcend politics and economics to serve the needs of all young children. The authors offer different interpretations of the nature of early childhood systems, discuss the elements necessary to support their development, and examine how effectiveness can be assessed. With a combination of cutting-edge scholarship and practical examples of systems-building efforts taking place in the field, this book provides the foundation educators and policymakers need to take important steps toward developing more conceptually integrated approaches to early childhood care, education, and comprehensive services.

Responding to the increased national concern for early childhood education, this book examines what states are currently doing, what has proven effective, and what the existing body of knowledge offers educators, policymakers and others seeking successful approaches to governance. Featuring chapters by prominent, thoughtful scholars and practitioners, this is the first volume to specifically focus on early childhood governance. This seminal contribution is designed to be immediately germane to the burgeoning field of early childhood education. Readers will find the latest thinking, most recent experiences, and an honest review of the governance issues facing the field today and into the future—all in one resource.

By systematically examining six diverse countries, The Early Advantage 1 sheds light on new and exciting approaches to early childhood education and care. Brimming with fresh insights, the text provides concrete examples of successfully implemented strategies and methods that warrant attention from other countries wishing to improve their early childhood services.

Learn how exemplary countries are advancing the development of their youngest citizens. Drawing on a groundbreaking study, The Early Advantage 2 extracts the essential elements from six high-performing systems to determine what must be considered when creating and implementing programs and policies for young children and their families.

Research into early childhood transitions has become a field in its own right. It is increasingly understood that a positive start in any new setting can influence the child’s engagement, sense of belonging, well-being, progression in learning, and agency, and may be dependent on the insight of educators and families, and yet there is no research methodology or research methods book dedicated to this growing field of study. Including 27 chapters written by researchers from the UK, New Zealand, the USA, Sweden, Iceland, Australia and Canada this handbook presents an overview of the field exploring its current debates, reflects on its history, and offers suggestions for the future of the field. This book is an essential reference point for anyone studying or undertaking research into transitions in early childhood.

Research into early childhood transitions has become a field in its own right. It is increasingly understood that a positive start in any new setting can influence the child''s engagement, sense of belonging, well-being, progression in learning, and agency, and may be dependent on the insight of educators and families, and yet there is no research methodology or research methods book dedicated to this growing field of study. Including 27 chapters written by researchers from the UK, New Zealand, the USA, Sweden, Iceland, Australia and Canada this handbook presents an overview of the field exploring its current debates, reflects on its history, and offers suggestions for the future of the field. This book is an essential reference point for anyone studying or undertaking research into transitions in early childhood.