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…

An attempt was made to determine predictors of service need, use, and outcome among chronically impaired adults and aged who were living in the community and using the home-based, long term care services of the Chronic Illness Center (CIC) of the Cuyahoga County Hospitals (Ohio). Randomly selected consumer service records (N=200) were coded for…

There are many theoretical commonalities between social learning theory, especially concerning the locus of control construct, and the cognitive-behavioral underpinnings of Rational-Emotive Therapy. One's perceived ability to influence the outcomes of life events as well as the impact of perceptions and interpretations of reality in shaping the…

Program evaluation methodology as an investigatory strategy has been developed to generate information as to the capabilities of human service programs to produce maximal desired effects in client populations with minimal resource use. Experience with the procedures, however, has disclosed multiple difficulties attendant upon their use, doubt as…

Wife abuse is a social problem that confronts all sectors of the human services network. It is not known what life factors influence an abused wife's initial choice to leave home and seek help in a shelter agency or to stay home and seek help in a non-shelter agency. This study was conducted to examine the relative importance of various factors…

The Lekotek, a toylending library program for mentally retarded children which started in Sweden, has expanded to serve families with disabled children in Evanston, Illinois. The Lekotek procedure involves a parental interview to determine the child's needs and family visits in which a Lekotek leader has a one-hour session with the child and then…

The adult educator in the non-degree management studies of a university is frequently approached by business managers whose expectations include the obtaining of educational solutions to their career problems. This places a demand not only on the educational expertise of adult educators but also on their educational counselling skills, as compared…

For people-helping professionals, the concept of burnout describes the physical and emotional exhaustion they feel on the job. A cognitive-behavioral model defines burnout as a state in which individuals expect few rewards and considerable punishment from work, due to lack of valued reinforcement, controllable outcomes, or personal competence.…

Government documents, brochures and annual reports of private agencies, and a taped narrative were reviewed to examine the educational and training needs of handicapped children and adults in India. The investigation centered around five questions: Who are the handicapped and how are they defined? What methods are used to identify them and assess…

Psychological burnout has a detrimental impact on workers in the human service field, and variables contributing to the burnout process need to be explored. In order to examine the relationships between burnout and four commitment dimensions (commitment to a theory, to agency philosophy, to a particular job, and to client service), 47…

The North Carolina State Legislature made outpatient commitment (OPC) criteria less restrictive than involuntary hospitalization criteria, provided an enforcement mechanism, gave facilities and staff immunity from liability, and allocated funds for OPC patients. Data collected in a state-wide study of civil commitment respondents in North Carolina…

The author speaks of concerns facing those in allied health occupations: the new United States Department of Health and Human Services, focus on helping disabled people of all ages, segregation of handicapped children, and human service delivery mechanisms. (CT)

The author recounts how certain things have remained constant even though his work focus had changed from a concentration on human services and substance abuse to evaluating the impact of computer networks. Balancing the requirements of good methodology with the needs of decision makers remains central. (SLD)

Professionals who work with developmentally disabled Hispanic clients must enhance their own ability to work with ethnic minorities and become thoroughly familiar with the culture of the people they serve. To encourage disabled Hispanic individuals to apply for services, agencies can employ strategies such as bilingual capability, use of…

This document begins by dispelling several misperceptions about American Indians that are especially pernicious to older American Indians living in cities, and then goes on to discuss what is known about urban American Indian elders and the implications for planning and service delivery for Area Agencies on Aging and contractor agencies. It notes…