Family and community challenges
Journeys Through the Land of Oz: Parents' Top Twenty Strategies for Managing Life Good article on challenges families face.
What Teachers Hate About Parents. A thought-provoking article from Time magazine.
Family-centered practices in schools
he National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education seeks to advocate for the involvement of parents and families in their children's education, and to foster relationships between home, school, and community to enhance the education of all our nation's young people.
The PEAK Parent Center provides resources to equip families of children with disabilities to advocate successfully for their children to help them live rich, active lives as full members of their schools and communities.
National Center for Family and Community Connections. Great site with many useful resources regarding family and community partnerships.
Family-School Partnership Lab. Useful materials from Vanderbilt University.
National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education. Another excellent resource from a good organization.
Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children's Mental Health. Center dedicated to promoting effective community-based, culturally competent, family-centered services for families and their children who are, or may be affected by mental, emotional or behavioral disorders.
Family Support Network. Organization dedicated to strengthening families in order to prevent child abuse and neglect.
Family Support Network International has a broader mission - to contribute toward the creation of a more caring, just and civil society through Community Weaving practices. Community weaving involves connecting families to other families and community resources - a valuable, rich concept.
Families of children with special needs
Our Kids: Devoted to Raising Special Kids with Special Needs The Our-Kids Web site supports the Our-Kids Email list. Our-Kids is a "Family" of parents, caregivers and others who are working with children with physical and/or mental disabilities and delays. Includes links to resources and affiliated web sites.
PEAK Parent Center, Inc. Mission is to ensure that children, youth, and adults with disabilities lead rich, active lives and participate as full members of their schools and communities by providing training, information, and technical assistance, including best practices, to families and the professionals working with them.
Family Village This is a wonderful site that is designed like an actual town -- the library provides information resources, the hospital resources related to health care, and on. The focus is towards families of children with disabilities and special health care needs. However, all will find this site useful.
Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights (PACER) Coalition of 20 disability organiztaions in Minnesota that engages in local, state, regional, and national projects to support parents in affecting policies concerning needs of people with disabilities and their families.
Care.com: Resources for families who have children with special needs. Many useful resources including a Caregivers Guide; Resource Page; Care Options Guide; and Guide for those Seeking Jobs as Caregivers.
Alliance for National Renewal (Unleashing the Power of Communities) - National Civic League A coalition of over 200 national and local organizations dedicated to the principles of community renewal. Find links to programs, partners directory, community building events, ANR information, newsletter and National Civic League website.
Asset-Based Community Development Institute The ABCD Institute spreads its findings on capacity-building community development in two ways: (1) through extensive and substantial interactions with community builders, and (2) by producing practical resources and tools for community builders to identify, nurture, and mobilize neighborhood assets.
Communities in Schools. National network of organizations that work with local schools to link with needed community resources.
Coalition for Community Schools is an alliance of national, state and local organizations in education K-16, youth development, community planning and development, family support, health and human services, government and philanthropy as well as national, state and local community school networks.
Civic Practices Network - CPN A collaborative and nonpartisan project bringing together organizations and perspectives within the new citizenship movement. Discover papers, articles, essays, manuals, etc.
National 4-H Council Links to programs used to teach children things related to community issues such as food and feeding people, safety issues, the environment, and technology. Link specifically related to getting children and youth to volunteer, providing reasons for volunteering and ways to get involved. Other links include the 4-H Mall where 4-H paraphernalia can be ordered, press releases related to 4-H, and links to 4-H history and facts