The concept and implementation of direction services, a one step center offering assistance to parents of handicapped children, are traced. Three basic functions of the federally funded direction service centers are noted: to help locate and provide access to the most appropriate resources for handicapped children and youth; to collect and…

Summer job programs for youth, including Federal programs and private-public partnerships, have come, over the years, to emphasize either short-term or long-term goals. Short-term goals include providing summer activity to the largest possible number of teens, providing income to economically disadvantaged youth, and providing structured work…

Discusses the need for guidance and information services to help adults make educational and career choices, from an organizational and administrative perspective. Major innovations are needed in educational delivery systems for the adult public. Federal legislation can help. (JAC)

Recommendations of the President's Committee on Mental Retardation to encourage collaboration among government, voluntary, individual, community, and private sector efforts are reported in this publication which presents a historical review of the Committee from 1966 through 1986. The background and establishment of the Committee are discussed in…

Reviews methodological weaknesses of studies that evaluate alternative settings and programs for long-term care of the elderly. Argues that research should provide better information and present options to clients, service providers, and policymakers, rather than studying whether one alternative is more effective than another. (Author/MJL)

This technical report examines the literature on substance abuse prevention programs among American Indian and Alaska Native populations, particularly high-risk youth, and reports on aspects of demonstration projects. The literature was reviewed for specific mention of attempted intervention activities focusing on alcohol and drug abuse prevention…

This paper describes state, institutional, and other community-based programs deemed exemplary (on the basis of design imperatives) for successful interventions to promote meaningful access of minority group youth to postsecondary education. The imperatives include early intervention, comprehensive and integrated intervention, intervention…

This book discusses issues involved in the current debate over the nature and effectiveness of anti-poverty programs, and examines the high economic and social costs of, and the risk factors involved in, cyclical poverty. The book offers suggestions to help solve the problems of cyclical poverty and chronic disadvantage by highlighting effective…

While the federal government has always been a junior partner to state and local agencies in financing and operating public schools, the impact of federal policies on schools continues to be a topic of debate by researchers, policymakers, and the public. This paper reviews the rapidly expanding but dispersed literature on federal involvement in…

Twenty years after the War on Poverty was launched, dependency on public support remains widespread. Part 1 of this report summarizes current research concerning the following issues affecting welfare programs: (1) evaluating the economic effects of welfare; (2) dynamics of dependency; (3) welfare and work; (4) welfare and family structure; (5)…

This paper brings together information on the conditions and needs of children who have been exposed to drugs, federal programs that affect the well-being of these children, and policy questions that need resolution. Discussion concerns: (1) characteristics of infants who have been exposed to drugs and their families, including prevalence and…

Meeting highlights and a background briefing report are provided from a policy seminar, one in a series of monthly staff seminars titled "Family Centered Social Policy: The Emerging Agenda." The highlights summarize remarks by three panelists. Alan Hershey describes the Teenage Parent Demonstration in New Jersey and Illinois and…