Outlines issues involved in evaluating community services and lists questions to be considered: Why evaluate? What are the benefits and costs? and What is being evaluated? Describes methods: surveys, case studies, performance indicators, action research, and holistic evaluation. (SK)

If the proposition is accepted that service agencies occupy unique environments, then single organism research designs (such as ABAB) and multiple baseline designs may provide more valuable information than currently accepted research methodologies. (Author/MH)

Interviews with 74 rural community professionals assessed family preservation services available during a 2-year pilot project in 3 rural areas of Kansas and compared family preservation services to traditional child welfare services. Respondents viewed family preservation projects as highly valued services, focusing on the projects' informality,…

An evaluation was conducted of community support services in Minnesota that provide treatment options to individuals with developmental disabilities who display behaviors that put them at risk of losing their current community placement and being placed in a large state facility. Evaluation results and the outreach service model are considered.…

This report reviews the origins of the Human Corps concept, discusses the Human Corps activities of the University of California and the California State University over the past year (1991), and offers two recommendations concerning future reporting requirements related to this program. The recommendations are: (1) the University of California…

As part of a five-year plan for vocational education, the California State Department of Education and the Chancellor's Office of Community Colleges contracted for a study to be done to obtain information on programs and services that are being provided to displaced homemakers. Through a series of mailed questionnaires, first to self-identified…

The New York University-Reading Consortium proposed to evaluate the use of interactive cable television for the delivery of public services to the the elderly residents of Reading, Pennsylvania. The project represented the collaborative efforts of New York University, the City of reading, the Berks TV Cable Company, the Berks County Senior…

The Youth and Community Services Program was designed for the education of human services professionals and paraprofessionals. Two parallel programs were implemented in 1973--a two-year program at Staten Island Community College and a four-year program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. At Staten Island, the curriculum involved…

The process called deinstitutionalization, whether of the elderly or mentally disabled, involves complex issues, not the least of which are economic, physical, social, and psychological costs; any attempt to further this process perforce needs a comprehensive, specific plan suited to community needs and to those who are to be served. A workable…

The study, conducted in Dayton, Detroit, El Paso, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., investigated efforts to create municipal career employment and training opportunities for those who cannot meet traditional entrance requirements. It also examined the impact of programs on municipal services, and ways in which such programs can…

The first section of this issue of the Bulletin has to do with public service employment, a poorly understood social policy which must be defined before it can be evaluated as an anti-poverty strategy. The term public service employment (PSE) refers to the policy of using government funds to create jobs which serve a dual purpose: that of (1)…

Smart Start is North Carolina's partnership between state government and local leaders, service providers, and families to better serve children under 6 years and their families. This study examined characteristics of families participating in Smart Start, their child care arrangements and family activities, and their need for and use of community…

This index, containing 450 abstracts on human services, is published quarterly to make available a broad range of documents to those responsible for the planning, management, and delivery of human services. The entries are arranged alphabetically by title and indexed by subject matter. Each entry includes the title, order number, source, price,…

Case studies of local development projects in Scotland, Norway, Australia, and the United States (Minnesota) indicate that federal education programs of a "generative" nature (those linking educational improvement to other improvement efforts, emphasizing process, and stimulating grass-roots participation) are most likely to promote…

This book presents strategies for building strong partnerships between service providers and the families of individuals with disabilities. Papers have the following titles and authors: "Contributing to Resilience in Families: An Overview" (George H. S. Singer and Laurie E. Powers); "Parent to Parent Programs: A Unique Form of…