In this article we describe how an advance care planning (ACP) program was developed, implemented, and evaluated. Our aim was to improve ACP in palliative care for people with intellectual disability (ID). The program was based on 10 competencies needed for ACP and was developed in a co-design process with people with ID, relatives, and…

This paper develops an empirical methodology for the construction of a synthetic multi-dimensional cross-country comparison of the performance of governments around the world in improving the livelihood of their younger population. The devised "Youth Welfare Index" is based on the nonparametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology and…

School psychologists who promote and monitor healthy classroom environments are acting in accordance with calls for school-based prevention and universal intervention services intended to improve the mental health of all students. This article proposes a best practice model for school-wide evaluation of teacher support, as well as the student…

This report is the result of a year-long effort by the National Council on Disability (NCD) to identify valid federal data and to describe the status of the U.S. population of Americans with disabilities. During the past 30 years, advocates, policymakers, and a variety of public and private organizations have undertaken significant efforts to…

Sets forth a vision for evaluation in the future that is disciplined in the sense of being planned, systematic, and funded in ways that adhere to professional standards, principles, and codes, resulting in the improvement of services, products, performances, and quality of life. In the ideal future, disciplined evaluation will become a pervasive…

There has been a policy shift away from hospital to community in the services of all those with psychiatric disorders, including those with intellectual disability (ID), in the last 50 years. This has been accompanied recently by the growth of assertive outreach services, but these have not been evaluated in ID services. In a randomized controlled…

This booklet gathers and discusses best practices for supported employment in rehabilitative facilities. The first chapter reviews the need to identify best practices and examines such issues as jobs, integration, and quality of life. The second chapter describes eight programs chosen as exemplary, providing data on program goals, average wage and…

In 2005, an estimated 48 million children aged 0-18 years--12 percent of all children in sub-Saharan Africa--were orphans, and that number is expected to rise to 53 million by 2010. One quarter of all orphans are orphaned because of AIDS, and about 2.6 million children are currently infected with HIV. Untreated, most children born with HIV will…

This paper describes a Nursing Home Ombudsman Program, developed to provide employment for the "unemployable" older adult, that hired 19 older adults to work 20 hours per week for a year, providng friendly visits to senior residents living in nursing homes and minimum outreach services to community seniors. A two-week, eight-session orientation…

The article introduces a special issue on the national network of University Affiliated Facilities (UAFs) for enhancing the quality of life of developmentally disabled persons. The history, related definitions, and current mission of the UAF network are reviewed, and a comprehensive evaluation system designed for continuous quality assurance is…

An elementary-school self-contained gifted class was compared to a control group on a general test of cognitive ability. Program participants exhibited significantly higher gains than did controls, and at the end of the program, participants also rated the quality of their school life more highly than did controls. (Author/JDD)

Participation, empowerment, and sustainability are basic tenets of community development work of the Inter-American Foundation, but these are difficult to measure. The Grassroots Development Framework breaks these concepts into concrete, measurable components to evaluate sustainability over time and short-term cost/efficiency results of community…

Suggests techniques for camp directors to help older adults enjoy adventure camping. Discusses sociological and psychological changes accompanying aging. Emphasizes outdoor group activities as ways of helping older adults adjust to aging. Offers tips for adventure program development, staff development, and program evaluation. (TES)

This report compares actual performance with the projected levels of performance set out in the National Council on Disability's (NCD's) annual performance plan. The findings of this report show a positive link between the allocated resources and NCD's performance. NCD's assessment review showed that it was successful in meeting its goals and…

The study attempts to redefine the objectives of Asian development in terms of rapid social change and the redistribution of political power to the rural masses via collectivism. Part I, "The Perspective", describes the largely "anti" rural development experiences of four Asian countries (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, China) in…