Download or read book Cities, Counties, Kids, and Families written by Sid Gardner and published by University Press of America. This book was released on 2005 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cities, Counties, Kids, and Families outlines a model for developing strategic policy for responding to children and family issues in local governments. It also discusses fifteen strategic roles that local government can play-most of which do not require direct funding, but depends upon the scarce resource of leadership. The book describes policy and analytical tools used by cities and counties, and makes a case for using these tools more strategically. It calls for strategic policy to respond to the four critical forces affecting children and family policy: families; race and culture; communities and neighborhoods; and regionalism. Finally, the book reviews policy in four critical areas affecting local governments: education and school readiness; substance abuse; youth development; and family support programs. It concludes with predictions of issues that will affect cities and counties in the future.