The past decade has seen a steady increase in the problem of unsupervised kids and its associated risks and dangers. The Second Edition of Latchkey Kids, offers a fresh outlook on this predicament and recommends future directions. Thoroughly updated with new research conducted between 1996-1997, the authors put the latchkey phenomenon in perspective and attempt to dispel common misconceptions. They detail a variety of alternative care programs that have been successfully implemented in many communities, including extended-day programs in public schools, neighborhood "block mothers," and after-school hotlines. Furthermore, they provide strategies for businesses, government, schools, and libraries that are indirectly faced with significant caregiving responsibilities. A new chapter focuses on high-risk children who experience self care, such as children with disabilities and children living in urban or impoverished neighborhoods. Additionally, the authors address the difficult issue of teenagers at home without supervision and the special problems that situation poses, including risk-taking with drugs, sex, and other dangerous behavior.

This helpful guide is written for professionals in the fields of counseling, education, family studies, social work, and criminology as well as concerned parents with latchkey kids.

Empowering Family-Teacher Partnerships: Building Connections Within Diverse Communities prepares students to work collaboratively with families and community professionals in support of children's early education and development. Students are invited to develop a personal philosophy of family involvement to guide their work with families and to join a community of learners in relying upon their collective insights and problem-solving skills to address family involvement challenges. The author takes a student-centered approach to delivering substantive information and framing activities, providing: (a) comprehensive coverage of the diversity of family lives represented in classrooms and strategies for working with those families; (b) challenges to family involvement and strategies for addressing them; (c) strategies for communicating effectively with and empowering families, and (d) reflections, activities, tip boxes, and field assignments designed to facilitate students' skills in building positive family-school-community partnerships.

The past decade has seen a steady increase in the problem of unsupervised kids and its associated risks and dangers. The Second Edition of Latchkey Kids, offers a fresh outlook on this predicament and recommends future directions. Thoroughly updated with new research conducted between 1996-1997, the authors put the latchkey phenomenon in perspective and attempt to dispel common misconceptions. They detail a variety of alternative care programs that have been successfully implemented in many communities, including extended-day programs in public schools, neighborhood "block mothers," and after-school hotlines. Furthermore, they provide strategies for businesses, government, schools, and libraries that are indirectly faced with significant caregiving responsibilities. A new chapter focuses on high-risk children who experience self care, such as children with disabilities and children living in urban or impoverished neighborhoods. Additionally, the authors address the difficult issue of teenagers at home without supervision and the special problems that situation poses, including risk-taking with drugs, sex, and other dangerous behavior.

This helpful guide is written for professionals in the fields of counseling, education, family studies, social work, and criminology as well as concerned parents with latchkey kids.