Juvenile Justice in California: Facts & IssuesHEALTHY START (California) is funded by the State, through competitive grants to individual schools. The competing schools are judged by the need of the community they serve and their ability to implement their proposed service delivery plan. The purpose is to meet the needs of the school community, including education and including health, both medical and psychological, and social/emotional issues with the school at the center providing connections and referrals.
HEALTHY START (Hawaii) is state wide and state funded. Mothers are screened when they
enter the hospital to give birth. The test uses 15 indicators
for determining at risk status. Those deemed to be at risk are
offered comprehensive services; approximately 95% agree to participate.
The program offers comprehensive home visits by trained para-professionals
and continues until the child is five years old. Beginning with
weekly visits the level of continuing services is based on need
and risk.
PARENTS AS TEACHERS, in Missouri, is state wide and state funded through the Department
of Education. In other states similar programs use other funding.
Certificated parent educators visit families at home in third
trimester of pregnancy and teach parents to be their child's "first
teacher". Children are monitored for developmental delays
and parents are put in touch with resources. Participants are
not screened according to risk or finance status. Parents as Teachers
started in 1981 with four pilot programs in Missouri; now there
are over 1,233 programs in 42 states, and the District of Columbia,
and in four foreign countries.
PERRY PRESCHOOL students robably the most studied group of children in history. The
project began in 1962 when a classroom of three and four year
old children in Ypsilanti, Michigan were taught using the High/Scope
Cognitively Oriented curriculum. This program targeted children
with below average IQ's from low income AfricanAmerican
families in a poor neighborhood. The teacher met once a week
with parent and child and encouraged the mother to do activities
at home consistent with the curriculum. Participants at age 19
had higher school achievement, less violent and/or criminal behavior,
better employment and less likelihood of using public assistance
than the control group.
SAPID: School Age Parenting and Infant Development is a California
state funded through the Department of Education. The program
provides child care, parenting education and connection to resources
for pregnant and parenting high school students. Fathers, if
students, are encouraged to join parenting classes. Most districts
have a waiting list.
STARStraight Talk About Risk Curriculum prepared by
Hand Gun Control and available in Spanish and English. (more to
come).
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY FAMILY DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH PROJECT was not
an ongoing project but one done for research and evaluation with
participants tracked for 15 years. The program provided home visits,
parenting education, child cognitive development activities along
with center-based child care and a book and toy library. Only
6% had juvenile records by age 15, compared to 22% of control
group.
TEENS ON TARGET is a community and school-based youth advocacy program operated by nonforprofit "Youth Alive". Currently operating in Oakland and Los Angeles. The goals are to train urban youth, at-risk of violent injuries or dropping out of school to become advocates for violence prevention. The high school participants give presentations to students in high, middle and elementary schools, and act as advoctes for the prevention of gun violence.
Juvenile Justice in California: Facts & Issues TOC