Reviews programs and services available to the elderly, including descriptions of their organizational and agency sponsorship and arguments used to justify or refute their usefulness. Suggests that the discipline of social gerontology can play an important applied role in assessing the needs of and suggesting appropriate services for the elderly.…

Unless more resources are devoted to the development of social programs, summative evaluation will increasingly become a waste of time. Formative evaluation and tactical research will become more important to the extent that they actively assist in creation of social programs, increasing challenges to the integrity and validity of their work. (SLD)

After approximately 20 years of developing collaborative delivery systems for children with disabilities, educational researchers have developed an extensive knowledge base. In an effort to identify potential strategies for developing and institutionalizing school-linked coordinated service delivery systems for at-risk youth, this paper examines…

Addressed to advocates and decision makers, this agenda identifies state services in Michigan that will be most vital to the state's children and families in fiscal year 1991. Initial contents provide general policy recommendations of the Michigan Coalition for Children and Families. Policy recommendations for the programs of the departments of…

Due to a shift in clientele from Whites to Blacks, many voluntary child welfare agencies have begun to alter agency structure, orientation, and practices. Community outreach, board roles, and staff roles are discussed. (Author/DB)

The article suggests that computer expert systems that do not require exotic languages and machines will soon be applied in human services to help decision making in the areas of eligibility determination, casework quality control, written service plans for clients or students, job placement, service acquisition, and policy interpretation.…

What advocates have done in support of the policies fostered under Title I through its 30-year history must be reconsidered in order to influence policymakers. As advocates, educators must collaborate with their partners in the health and social service communities in pursuit of coherence and congruence of programs. (SLD)

This paper presents a model for rural social service outreach programs, based upon the following: (1) an explanation of various resource systems and how they are related to outreach services; (2) current economic and social conditions of rural areas; (3) rural client systems; (4) the relationship of the agricultural extension model to rural…

This plan was to establish goals and objectives for the development of a comprehensive service delivery system for Texans with developmental disabilities. Section 1 outlines: the mission and functions of the Council; the definition, incidence, and impact of developmental disability; the Developmental Disabilities Basic State Grant Program; and…

Traces the history of self-help in the African American community, with emphasis on services and programs for children. Claims that the traditions of self-help are very much alive in the African American community, and are manifest in a range of activities. Illustrates contemporary models of self-help from the example of one adoption agency. (MOK)

Intergenerational programs and policy approaches are needed for the following reasons: (1) the interdependence of generations; (2) the aging of the population; (3) the imperative of community participation and service; (4) changes in family structure and caregiving; and (5) stereotypes of intergenerational conflict and competition.…

Highlights a failure on the part of social services to respond to the current needs of the child welfare system. Strongly advocates a commitment to concurrent planning, defined here as the process of working toward family reunification while at the same time establishing an alternative plan, usually in the form of permanency with a relative or…

This paper examines the role that public policy and practice play in supporting the efforts of natural, adoptive, and foster families who have children and youth with disabilities in keeping their families intact. Obstacles and barriers to implementing the philosophy of permanence planning, especially for children and youth with disabilities, are…

This essay discusses methodological and ethical problems in the implementation and evaluation of home-based intervention programs for young children and their families. Part I notes the difficulties in (1) selecting an appropriate research design to evaluate a program (e.g., preventing sample bias), (2) specifying precisely the intervention method…

The use of crisis nursery care as a viable alternative for the consumer experiencing chronic and ongoing family crises calls for consideration of various programmatic and staffing issues. Combinations of family problems, including homelessness, substance abuse, incarceration, family violence, and chronic illness of a family member, may precipitate…