The effectiveness of the community board in the mental health system specifically and in human service systems generally depends, to a large extent, on how the board's role and scope are defined and how its organizational structure and staffing procedures are developed. The development of community boards should be based upon the premises that (1)…

Methods for encouraging community involvement and training community volunteers for decision making positions in community schools are described. The functions of community schools are to provide a broad diversity of learning opportunities and to involve citizens in assessing community needs, evaluating services, and advocating…

Covering the first 3 years of the Experimental Schools (ES) 6-year program (begun in 1971), this interim report presents: the conceptual design of the ES program; the 10 rural project sites and the 18 comparative school districts; the educational changes proposed by the ES projects; and the comprehensive evaluation design. Data presented on the…

The effectiveness of a leadership development program for rural lay leaders on promoting community improvement in Lawrence County, Alabama was evaluated. The sample consisted of 16 disadvantaged rural lay leaders who participated in the 2-month program and 24-month follow-up activities; 60 disadvantaged rural lay leaders who only participated in…

The contents of this compendium of reports on projects attempting to promote increased citizen participation in urban education are organized in three sections. Section 1, Citizen Participation, includes the following reports: "Ways of Establishing and Funding Community Learning Centers," settings strategically located within the…

This study examines and compares the perceptions of educational professionals and non-professional personnel concerning Parent Advisory Council members' degree of participatory decision making in the administration of Title I programs in New York City. The sample of educational professionals consisted of New York City district superintendents,…

This "In Brief" edition provides highlights from the "Preventing Drug Use among Children and Adolescents: A Research-Based Guide for Parents, Educators, and Community Leaders, Second Edition." It presents the updated prevention principles, an overview of program planning, and critical first steps for those learning about prevention. Thus, this…

Community collaboration for improving career guidance is an attempt to obtain cooperation from local agencies, organizations, and volunteering individuals to provide assistance to citizens whose career needs are not being addressed. This monograph is designed to motivate and provide initial orientation for community leaders who want to develop…

In today's wars, children are on the front lines. This handbook, the result of a meeting of psychologists and humanitarian workers, presents a strategy to meet the needs of children in war and refugee crises that intends to be cost-effective, empowering, and child-focused. The strategy emerged from field work based on the belief that each…

In 1997, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) published the first edition of "Preventing Drug Use among Children and Adolescents: A Research-Based Guide" to share the latest NIDA-funded prevention research findings with parents, educators, and community leaders. The guide introduced the concept of "research-based prevention" with questions…