The community, state mental hospitals, and a community mental health center work together to provide an environment conducive to the continued well being of chronic mental patients in an area of West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The authors describe a program that involves day care centers and the patients' everyday living. (Author)

Presents the Pennsylvania State Coalition for Adult Literacy as a model for understanding state and local literacy coalitions. Cites elements of success in coalition building: trust, a sense of mission, strong leadership, and clear identification of the target populations of each member agency. (SK)

Like all politics, adult and continuing education is local. Future directions for the field and its national associations should benefit local programs and the adult learners they serve. This column explores features of collaboration that could strengthen educational opportunities for economically disadvantaged adults. The foregoing ideas about…

Suggestions for involving the National League of Nursing in community planning for health care are proposed. (AG)

Research foundations and problems for counseling in the community are discussed. Research implications are outlined around Sarason's three challenges to community health; (1) extending therapeutic outreach, (2) studying those situations, settings, or forces in the community that set the stage for problems; and (3) efforts toward prevention.…

A comprehensive needs assessment is the critical first step a coalition or organization must take in order to develop an effective and successful underage drinking prevention effort. This guide details the elements of a needs assessment. Beginning with data, the booklet walks the reader through the process organizations must follow to obtain all…

Underage drinking prevention has two goals: prevent harm to the individual drinker and prevent harm to society. Modern prevention programs should be measured not by their intentions, but by their consequences: reducing the number of criminal events, reducing the amount of harm to individuals, and reducing the harm to society. This guide discusses…

A review of adult/community education in the context of neighborhood renewal initiatives in Britain suggests that there may be a mismatch between a job skills or capacity building agenda defined by external agencies and local needs and interests. These potential areas of difference raise policy and practice issues for adult and community…

Outlines a community action process that American Indian communities could use to develop their own drug and alcohol abuse prevention programs. Describes a community prevention system framework developed by the Office of Substance Abuse Prevention. Compares the community empowerment system with the agency-directed service delivery model. (SV)

In Danville, Kentucky, the community cooperated in converting a neglected stream into a walking trail and park network, resulting in increased community pride, environmental awareness, community revitalization, and public-private cooperation. The local middle school regularly tests the water, and the local college's annual clean-up party earned an…

For almost 20 years, from 1917 to the 1930s, the traveling Chautauqua circuits and festivals brought education, inspiration, and entertainment to remote and not-so-remote communities. Now in the 1980s, emphasis is once more being placed on the value of local community life, on self-reliance and mutual help with respect to the social, cultural, and…

Seven colleges are finding innovative ways of attracting people to the campus and bringing the campus to the people. (Ed.)

Asserts income inequality will grow as government spending cutbacks lead to funding cuts for social benefits and services. Notes the shift from federal to local administration of social welfare services suggests greater resource allocation power for local communities. Draws on the literature of multicultural community practice to focus on…

Research shows a clear link between drug and alcohol use and crime and violence. This report describes progress made in 1993 as a result of New York State's anti-drug abuse agenda and priorities for 1994. Efforts exist in three complementary areas: prevention (preventing people from being involved in substance abuse); treatment (treating those who…