Integrated data systems are often used to inform decision making at the top tiers of local or state government. Policymakers use analyses based on large numbers of integrated data system (IDS) records (from which personal identifying information has been removed) to understand the overlap between cases that receive services from different systems…

This column contains information on how students in graduate library and information science programs participate in a forum to discuss key issues they see in academic library public services, to envision what they feel librarians in public service have to offer to academia, to state their visions for the profession, or to tell of research that is…

In this paper a STEM Education Outreach (STEM-EO) Model for promoting strategic university outreach programming at Penn State University to the benefit of university, school district and community stakeholders is described. The model considers STEM-EO as a complex system involving overarching learning goals addressed within four outreach domains…

This article describes a model developed by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Office of Children and Youth, Bureau of Child Development Programs for the evaluation of its child day care programs. The evaluation effort has two phases. The first phase, the Child Development Program Evaluation (CDPE) was designed to provide a…

This workshop manual focuses on validation procedures designed to foster program improvement rather than compliance monitoring. The manual is in eight chapters. Chapter 1 looks at the elements to be evaluated--organization and management, training, student assessment, design and implementation of classroom interventions, team work, screening a…

This document is one of a series of reports which describe the experiences of six state agencies that are developing systems to affect the development and implementation of policy in the federal/state program for vocational rehabilitation. The state programs are developing model program evaluation/management information support units. This second…

Despite the many criticisms that have been made of vocational education teacher preparation, the field has many strengths that can serve as a base on which to build excellent programs. Six examples of excellence are pointed out: (1) important vocational teacher competencies have been identified and verified; (2) high quality performance-based…