A quality improvement system (QIS) is an intentional effort to raise the quality of afterschool programming in an ongoing, organized fashion. There are a number of reasons the QIS is gaining popularity. The main reasons community leaders are drawn to improving quality is that they know that 1) higher quality programs will mean better experiences…

With the increase in the number of organizational leadership development programs, there is a pressing need for evaluation to answer important questions, improve practice, and inform decisions. The Handbook is a comprehensive resource filled with examples, tools, and the most innovative models and approaches designed to evaluate leadership…

This "In Brief" edition provides highlights from the "Preventing Drug Use among Children and Adolescents: A Research-Based Guide for Parents, Educators, and Community Leaders, Second Edition." It presents the updated prevention principles, an overview of program planning, and critical first steps for those learning about prevention. Thus, this…

Community collaboration for improving career guidance is an attempt to obtain cooperation from local agencies, organizations, and volunteering individuals to provide assistance to citizens whose career needs are not being addressed. This monograph is designed to motivate and provide initial orientation for community leaders who want to develop…

In 1997, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) published the first edition of "Preventing Drug Use among Children and Adolescents: A Research-Based Guide" to share the latest NIDA-funded prevention research findings with parents, educators, and community leaders. The guide introduced the concept of "research-based prevention" with questions…