Participation in early childhood development and education services is an important contributor to how well children develop throughout their early years and their success later in life. This article reports on research which examined how multicultural groups identify and use their community connections to share information and inform…

One of the key services community colleges provide is community education, meaning those programs and activities that are often offered for leisure or self-improvement and not for credit. Programs of this nature are increasingly challenged to be self-financing, whether through user fees or externally funded grants. The current study explored 75…

Each night, around 20,000 people--both adults and children--make the streets of Dhaka (the capital city of Bangladesh) their home. Living amongst the noise, rubbish, and traffic, thousands of families walk down the streets of Dhaka, looking for a safe place to rest for just a few hours each night. Trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, the…

The backlog in terms of readiness for formal learning structures of children in low-income countries necessitates intervention programmes to alleviate the disadvantage. In these low-income countries, it is unlikely that the state will provide facilities or programmes for preschool children, as resources are just not available. Therefore, as an…

A growing body of evidence has highlighted an association between a lack of access to nutritious, affordable food (e.g., through full-service grocery stores [FSGs]), poor diet, and increased risk for obesity. In response, there has been growing interest among policy makers in encouraging the siting of supermarkets in "food deserts," that…

Background: Parenting programs have been shown to work when delivered to motivated ethnic majority parents in demonstration projects, but comparatively little is known about their impact when delivered to high-risk, multi-ethnic populations by routine local services. Methods: The Primary Age Learning Skills (PALS) trial was a randomized controlled…

This study examines the location of British health visiting in contemporary policy discourses concerned with public health and safeguarding children. It argues that professional identity and orientation can be understood through health visiting's long history of public health work with children and families, which has included an engagement with…

Background: Community health efforts often include outreach activities designed to increase awareness and ensure uptake of services or programs. Yet, few comprehensive outreach evaluations exist, particularly those designed to improve access to and use of mental health services. Purpose: This article summarizes the use of two established…

Health education for socially marginalized populations challenges the efficacy of existing strategies and methods, and the pertinence of the educational and philosophical principles that underpin them. The Brazilian Community Health Agents Initiative (CHAI) hires residents of deprived marginalized communities to undertake health promotion and…

Describes the implementation of a collaborative discharge planning program for a chronic psychiatric population. Emphasizes the importance of good communication between patient and professionals. Presents a case example. Findings suggest more substantial involvement of patients in after-care programs is needed. (Author/JAC)

Background: This paper discusses the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention's effort to develop a web-based service called Project CREATE that responds to a need for targeted health promotion materials expressed by directors of HIV/STD prevention services in predominately rural states. Purpose: Project CREATE allows users to select customized…

This report summarizes information on community service activities in each of Eugene, Oregon's neighborhoods (as defined by school attendance zones) that currently supports a community school program or has experienced interest in starting a community school program. A variety of descriptive information is presented for each community school…

Purpose: Prostate and colorectal cancer (CRC) rates are disproportionately high among African-American men. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of an intervention in which barbers were trained to educate clients about early detection for prostate and CRC. Design/methodology/approach: Working with an advisory panel of local…

Presented is an evaluation of a program serving 373 disadvantaged mentally retarded children in New York City to provide services in the areas of health, physical and emotional, education, social and recreational needs. Reported are findings indicating that 94% of the Ss had 60% of or more of their unmet needs satisfied and that 65% of the Ss had…

Describes the Family Prevention Services projects operating in the largest service areas in Utah, which maintains (85 percent of) the most difficult-to-serve children and adolescents from troubled families in their homes, thus preventing out-of-home placements. A case study is presented. (Author/BB)