Youth violence is a national public health concern in USA, especially in resource-constrained urban communities. Between 2018 and 2021, the Healthy Communities for Youth (HCFY) program addressed youth violence prevention in select economically marginalized urban communities, with the HCFY program reducing the likelihood of youth-involved violent…

The Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program was evaluated from the standpoint of its impact on three groups: VISTA volunteers, communities served by VISTA sponsors, and sponsoring organizations to which VISTA volunteers are assigned. Survey questionnaires were sent to 1,250 of the 3,400 VISTA volunteers currently in service, 494 current…

This commentary on Erb's (1995) article on institutionalization argues that living in one's home community is better than being forced to leave it to obtain needed services. The commentary also criticizes the assertion that supported living programs funded through Medicaid waiver are not cost-effective compared to traditional institutional or…

Robert Erb responds to commentaries to his paper on institutional placement for individuals with severe disabilities and the costs of community and institutional placements. Risk-and-benefit issues, in addition to cost-and-benefit ones, are addressed. (SW)

A database was assembled from data collected on all people served by the Developmental Disabilities divisions of Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, including state institutions and state-funded programs (n=5,928). Information included provider expenditures associated with each individual, allocations made by individual reimbursement rates,…

The cost effectiveness of early intervention services provided at home versus provision at a program site for small groups of children and families was compared. The children had Down syndrome (n=42), motor impairments (n=64), and other developmental delays (n=51). Service provision, parental stress, and interactions with the child were assessed;…

This book on evaluating social programs is an outcome of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Evaluation Design Project, which produced a set of 10 guides for the evaluation of state and local JTPA programs. This book distills ideas from these guides and applies them to a larger context. Part 1 presents a general approach to program evaluation…

This Indiana study reviewed the program by which students with severe disabilities are placed in alternative/residential services. It examined the types of children served, the services they receive, and the costs of these services. Data were collected from 299 applications for services in residential treatment and local alternative services. Most…

A study examined nontraditional, community-based rural General Educational Development (GED) programming outreach efforts in Pennsylvania. Data for the study were obtained through two computerized bibliographic searches, interviews and phone calls to the GED Testing Division of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and from phone calls to the…

Six reporters in diverse areas looked at how their communities were responding to adult literacy, basic skills, and workplace literacy programs. This guide contains six reports, three in each of its two parts: (1) Reporting on Welfare Reform--Is the Story Literacy or Decent Jobs? and (2) Reporting on Literacy Programs--Is There a…