The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of postgraduate leadership courses and programs offered by Australian Higher Education Institutions for leaders and potential leaders in the Health & Human Service (H&HS) sector including structure, content, and teaching practices from the perspective of educators. Ten educators from a…

A review of 25 technical assistance models and frameworks was conducted to identify the core elements of technical assistance practices. The focus of analysis was on generally agreed upon technical assistance practices that were considered essential for planning, implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of technical assistance. Results…

Experiential learning is recommended as a way to increase critical thinking and engagement, enhance theory-informed practice, increase preparedness, and improve multicultural understanding for students involved in social work education. The purpose of this study is to validate the Experiential Learning Survey (ELS), which measures students'…

Action research is a method of organizational development and improvement often used in educational settings. This study implemented an action research process in an alternative school that serves students with significant special needs. The action research process was implemented by classroom teams who developed a research question, collected and…

This document is a report to the Maryland State Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities which provides an assessment of the status and problems of older developmentally disabled and retarded citizens of Maryland. The executive summary describes the project background, basic needs identified by the project, developmental disabilities system…

This document discusses the development and implementation of a multiservice center that could offer a variety of human social services in a single location. The paper focuses on seven components of the center's operation: governance, organizational structure, core services, joint funding, joint planning, joint programming, and evaluation. The…

Presents findings from a process evaluation conducted in a prison-based substance abuse program in Kentucky. Discusses key components in the program, including a detailed program description, modifications in planned treatment strategies, program documentation, and perspectives of staff and clients. Findings suggest that prison-based programs have…

Human service educators face increasing pressure to design programs that respond more directly to students' needs. This article reports on service learning as one strategy for more actively engaging students in the learning process and for applying theory to practice. Methods for designing, implementing, and evaluating a service learning…

Mental health professionals and the general public have generally held differing attitudes toward mental illness. As part of a needs assessment survey, 102 persons (20 service providers, 20 referral persons, and 62 potential consumers) were interviewed concerning their views of mental health problems and services. Respondents first listed examples…

This report describes a 4-year project designed to develop a teacher education program at Pennsylvania State University to prepare teachers for human services occupations. In the 1987-88 project year, five initial steps were taken: (1) development of a rationale for the program; (2) a literature review; (3) collection of resource materials; (4)…

Providing comprehensive services for the elderly in local communities presents planners and potential users with a complex set of problems. The development of new or expanded service to the elderly was examined within an ecologically informed resource dependency model to assess the effect on service expansion of organizational maintenance factors…

Evaluation research, if appropriately matched to a human service program's stage of development, can help inform the decision making at each step. The developmental stages of a program, questions to be answered at each stage, and kinds of research activities pertinent to such questions are discussed. (TJH)

Compared Rothman's social research and development (R&D) method with procedure used to develop Suicide Prevention Training Programs in Alberta, Canada. Retrospective review found that Alberta method closely paralleled phases of Rothman's model and that transformation of knowledge about suicide into widely disseminated suicide prevention…

Research into the decisionmaking process of families faced with investigating alternatives to institutionalizing frail aged members could yield valuable information for service planners and providers. To analyze the extent to which its original service plan remained responsive to the changing needs of the frail elderly service population,…

Schools, colleges, and departments of education (SCDE's) can respond to changes in enrollment patterns by reassessing their goals, and by focusing on the needs of educators to function in new and diverse situations. Many SCDE's provide courses or services that are helpful to nonschool educators, who have been described as educational services…