Approximately 662,000 children spend some time in foster care each year. Most enter care because they have experienced neglect or abuse by their parents. Between 35% and 60% of children entering foster care have at least one chronic or acute physical health condition that needs treatment. As many as one-half to three-fourths show behavioural or social competency problems that may warrant mental health services and substance abuse counselling. As many as 24,000 (about 6%) receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or other Social Security benefits. Some research suggests that a greater number of children in foster care might be eligible for SSI benefits if this assistance was sought. This book examines the health care needs and social security benefit issues facing children in the foster care system with a focus on medicaid benefits; private health insurance reforms; and possible legislative changes.

An engaging classroom playscript. Nat is a young actor performing as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream. As the rehearsals intensify, Nat's health begins to fail and the cast is horrified to hear that he has been rushed to hospital with bubonic plague. New, innovative activities specifically tailored to support the KS3 Framework for Teaching English and help students to fulfil the Framework objectives. Activities include work on Speaking and Listening, close text analysis, and the structure of playscripts, and act as a springboard for personal writing.

"Normal" is the hilarious story of four country girls, each armed with a newly acquired college diploma and $100, who take on Atlanta, Georgia. Each of them wants to change the world in her own way, but they have to make a living, too.

The events in "Normal" take place in the early 1970's. It was a time of unrest, of change, and of poisonous behavior. It was a time of flower children, drugs, protests, and sit ins - almost too much for these "raised-right" girls.

"Normal" is a story of a killing, a ghost, missing identity, stretching a dollar, a cheating husband who gets a taste of his own medicine, a fainting goat, a psychotic dog, an escaped criminal, and a disagreeable child who kicks Donnie Earl one time too many.

The Normal girls rescue Glory when she runs away to San Francisco to become a hippie, and Sadie finds out that a blow-up bra has just a few drawbacks. And Normal is the story of a bitter-sweet love affair. It is also the story of dysfunctional characters who try to pass themselves off as being "normal."

How big was your hair in 1960? Did you have a ducktail? Or was it a beehive? "The Original Big Hair Girls" is a delightfully funny story of three green, country girls who go off to college and find they have a lot to learn. Sadie Songbird and her pals want you to follow their adventures-some zany, always amusing-as they join forces with Alice Ivy and George, whom you met in Stella Cooper Mitchell's "Walking Ivy's Path," to conquer high school and college. Along the way you'll meet some of the most colorful characters you ever imagined, from Pea Ridge, Tennessee, Nashville to Detroit and New York City, while you relive with them the days of a more innocent time-the days of the Original Big Hair Girls. They get themselves into all kinds of trouble. They are involved with a pretty boy, a thief, and a weirdo. Their adventures include witnessing an attempted murder, being mistaken for criminals, being robbed in New York City, and kidnapping Aunt Fern from a nursing home. They found that things are often not what they seem. If you sometimes feel out of place, this is a must read book for you.

A laugh out loud story about a lovable, dysfunctional family, a fallen preacher, a wife abuser, and how two unfortunate looking children handle situations. "Walking Ivy's Path" is a humorous story about a chubby red-haired girl and a lankly fuzzy-haired boy growing up in the 1950's and 60's in rural Tennessee. Ivy's Mama moves George Washington Tucker in with them and Ivy makes it her life's mission to 'straighten him out." As Ivy and George grow up, they experience relatives who are 'outside the norm," while suffering the growing pains of adolescence. If you have ever felt picked on, not cute enough, not rich enough and you want to get even, you should read this book.