The burden of childhood visual impairment and disparities in access to pediatric vision care remain pressing issues in the United States. School-based vision programs (SBVPs) serve as one approach to advancing health equity. Operating at the intersection of schools and healthcare, SBVPs can increase access to pediatric vision services, improve…

Communities in Schools is one of the nation's oldest and largest providers of integrated student supports, also known as "wraparound services." Started in New York City in the 1970s, the agency now works with more than 2,300 schools in 25 states and the District of Columbia. The model is straightforward: Communities in Schools recruits,…

This article evaluates an assertive outreach team which aimed to help support people with a learning disability who displayed challenging behaviour in their own environment. The service was evaluated using Maxwell's Multi-dimensional Quality Evaluation Model (Maxwell 1984), which recognises that different stakeholders in a service are likely to…

Scholars, practice professionals, and policymakers should welcome the new era of evidence-based programming and policies, but these constituencies need to be realistic about the complexities, uncertainties, and limitations that lie beneath what could easily become a simplistic process. This paper discusses some of the requirements for the…

The mission of Minding Our Business (MOB), a service-learning course started in 1997 to meet community needs, is to advance the personal and vocational development of urban youth through entrepreneurship education and mentoring. This paper evaluates the long-term impact of MOB on the personal and vocational development of the alumni mentors…

The Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ) is a non-profit organization that funds and operates a neighborhood-based system of education and social services for the children of low-income families in a 100 block area in Harlem, New York. The HCZ has received remarkable media attention, including a best-selling book and a "60 Minutes" feature, and…

With the support of the Noyce Foundation, National 4-H Council has contracted with Policy Studies Associates (PSA) to evaluate the implementation of the 4-H Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) Initiative. The goals of this initiative are to increase the number and quality of science, engineering, and technology programs that 4-H offers…

This study aimed to examine the implementation, adequacy, and outcomes of discharge planning. The authors carried out a prospective study of 1,426 adult patients discharged from 11 acute care hospitals in Israel. Social workers provided detailed discharge plans on each patient. Telephone interviews were conducted two weeks post-discharge. Findings…

The Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project is the first major opportunity to use a behavioral economics lens to look at programs that serve poor and vulnerable people in the United States. Sponsored by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the U.S.…

A therapeutic technique for dealing with a chronic caller to a suicide prevention center was tested. The two objectives to such a technique were to reduce the frequency of calls made by chronic callers to the suicide prevention service, and to persuade callers to be more specific when discussing their problem. To accomplish these objectives, a…

Refugee students, although frequently subsumed under the "immigrant" heading, often suffer from effects of significant trauma that can make them more vulnerable than children of voluntary immigrant families. This study evaluated a program created specifically for refugee youth at-risk for academic failure and "social death." The program goals…

Many children, including those with asthma, remain exposed to secondhand smoke. This manuscript evaluates the process of implementing a secondhand smoke reduction counseling intervention using motivational interviewing (MI) for caregivers of urban children with asthma, including reach, dose delivered, dose received and fidelity. Challenges,…

Findings from an analysis of the characteristics and services of community rehabilitation providers (CRPs) in the early years of the 21st century are presented. Services provided by CRPs can be categorized along two dimensions: purpose (work, nonwork) and setting (facility-based, community). The number of individuals with disabilities present…

Purpose: To quantify the monetary value of medications provided to rural Alabamians through provision of pharmaceutical manufacturer-sponsored prescription assistance programs (PAPs) provided by a clinical pharmacist in a private Black Belt family medicine clinic during 2007 and 2008. Methods: Patients struggling to afford prescription medications…

In 2000, the California State Legislature passed the Schiff-Cardenas Crime Prevention Act, which authorized funding for county juvenile justice programs and designated the Corrections Standards Authority (CSA), formerly named the Board of Corrections, the administrator of funding. California counties receiving state funds for Juvenile Justice…