This second report, entitled "The Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Children's Plan", (HCP 213, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215514691) from the Children, Schools and Families Committee examines the creation of the new Department for Children, Schools and Families. The Department has sole responsibility for early years education and the schooling of children between 5 and 13, but in other areas, such as education for 14-19 year olds, it operates jointly with other Government departments, in partcular the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. The Committee welcomes the Departmental focus on children, but expresses some reservations in regard of joint responsibility which it sees as leading to a lack of clarity in regard of responsibility and a dilution in decision making. The Committee believes clarity on which Department has specific responsibility is important, particularly with the introduction of the new Diploma system for 14-19 year olds. Also the Departments' Children's Plan does not at present have a timetable of action or a clear set of priorities and that the Department needs to be explicit on how it intends to drive improvements in services for children and familes. In total the Committee has set out 14 conclusions and recommendations covering: the new Department; the Children's Plan; Public Service Agreements; schools' funding; efficiency and productivity.

The Children's Plan, conceived after consultation with both parents and professionals, sets out the Government's ambitions for improving children and young people's lives over the next decade. The six strategic objectives are to: secure the health and wellbeing of children and young people; safeguard the young and vulnerable; achieve world class standards; close the gap in educational achievement for children from disadvantaged backgrounds; ensuring young people are participating in achieving their potential to 18 and beyond; and keeping children and young people on the path to success. The ambition depends on all children's services working together at the local level and the final chapter looks at the systems which are needed for this to happen

Strengthen programs of family and community engagement to promote equity and increase student success! When schools, families, and communities collaborate and share responsibility for students′ education, more students succeed in school. Based on 30 years of research and fieldwork, the fourth edition of the bestseller School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, presents tools and guidelines to help develop more effective and more equitable programs of family and community engagement. Written by a team of well-known experts, it provides a theory and framework of six types of involvement for action; up-to-date research on school, family, and community collaboration; and new materials for professional development and on-going technical assistance. Readers also will find: Examples of best practices on the six types of involvement from preschools, and elementary, middle, and high schools Checklists, templates, and evaluations to plan goal-linked partnership programs and assess progress CD-ROM with slides and notes for two presentations: A new awareness session to orient colleagues on the major components of a research-based partnership program, and a full One-Day Team Training Workshop to prepare school teams to develop their partnership programs. As a foundational text, this handbook demonstrates a proven approach to implement and sustain inclusive, goal-linked programs of partnership. It shows how a good partnership program is an essential component of good school organization and school improvement for student success. This book will help every district and all schools strengthen and continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.

Comprehensive history of the Children’s Bureau from 1912-2012 in eBook form that shares the legacy of this landmark agency that established the first Federal Government programs, research and social reform initiatives aimed to improve the safety, permanency and well-being of children, youth and families. In addition to bios of agency heads and review of legislation and publications, this important book provides a critical look at the evolution of the Nation and its treatment of children as it covers often inspiring and sometimes heart-wrenching topics such as: child labor; the Orphan Trains, adoption and foster care; infant and maternal mortality and childhood diseases; parenting, infant and child care education; the role of women's clubs and reformers; child welfare standards; Aid to Dependent Children; Depression relief; children of migrants and minorities (African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans), including Indian Boarding Schools and Indian Adoption Program; disabled children care; children in wartime including support of military families and World War II refugee children; Juvenile delinquency; early childhood education Head Start; family planning; child abuse and neglect; natural disaster recovery; and much more. Child welfare and related professionals, legislators, educators, researchers and advocates, university school of social work faculty and staff, libraries, and others interested in social work related to children, youth and families, particularly topics such as preventing child abuse and neglect, foster care, and adoption will be interested in this comprehensive history of the Children's Bureau that has been funded by the U.S. Federal Government since 1912.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families has made progress in improving its financial management, with strong commitment at senior management and board level. The Department's ability to reach a high standard of financial management depends partly on successful working with local authorities, other partner organisations, and the schools themselves. It does, however, face specific challenges, including the need for better strategic management of its large capital programme, and to encourage better financial management in schools. The Department has built up a large capital underspend, which increased from £1.9 billion at 31 March 2008 to around £2.4 billion at the end of March 2009. Its capital expenditure programme will need to be carefully managed given the history of underspending and the challenge of bringing forward £924 million of expenditure from 2010-11 to 2009-10 as part of the Government's fiscal stimulus. At March 2008, schools in England had a net cumulative surplus of £1.9 billion. Only 1 in 5 local authorities reduced their total net school surplus in 2007-08. Local authorities are accountable for school spending and the Department should encourage them to redistribute excessive uncommitted surpluses in line with local needs. The Department was, in 2007, one of three departments which had not implemented in-year accruals accounting systems, which would help to improve the accuracy of financial forecasting and reporting. The planned introduction of a shared services arrangement for finance with procurement and personnel support should also help improve financial management and lead to efficiencies.

This book explores the status and scope of family policies related to households of children with disabilities, providing an in-depth, evidence-based review of legal, programmatic issues. It includes a discussion of the gaps between family needs and contemporary family policies in the United States and European countries, as demonstrated in these households' surveys. In addition, the volume offers a comparative analysis of cash benefits, tax credits and deductions, and in-kind provisions between the United States and select European countries (UK, France, and Sweden). Most importantly, this book identifies and continues the discussion regarding the critical role of family-centered policies, as expressed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), as well as the future of family policy toward families of children with disabilities at a time of economic crisis.