As part of the federal Preschool Development Grant Program in late 2014, the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) was awarded a Preschool Expansion Grant (referred to as the Massachusetts PEG program) to expand high-quality early childhood education to four-year-old children from low-income families. The Massachusetts PEG…

The paper examines the Work Health Organization's (WHO) community based rehabilitation (CBR) scheme currently being field tested in a number of countries and examines also the usefulness of the WHO/CBR manual "Training Disabled People in the Community." The development of alternative CBR schemes in Asia, Africa, and Latin America since…

The article describes the principles that guide program development, the use of therapeutic and educational activities, and the components of transitional program models for disabled individuals re-entering the community following discharge from rehabilitation facilities. The role of the occupatonal therapist in successful reintegration is…

The paper is a product of the 3-year project, "Functional Mainstreaming for Success," designed to develop a model for instructional mainstreaming of handicapped children (3-6 years old) in community settings. The paper reviews the literature defining "mainstreaming," notes that mainstreaming is not the wholesale return of exceptional students from…

This article identifies factors that gave rise to current educational models to prepare rehabilitation practitioners for work in community-based services in Alberta, Canada; examines recent changes in resources available and services to be delivered; and offers examples of personnel preparation models being organized for the future. (JDD)

This paper presents a disability prevention framework for community-based rehabilitation services, by conceptualizing early intervention in terms of primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of prevention. The framework views prevention as the effort to reduce a disability's expression, duration, or extended impact. (Author/JDD)

This article defines managed care from the perspective of each stakeholder and describes how managed care is affecting community services and outpatient care for individuals with disabilities. Various types of managed care models are discussed and trends in the application of managed care to individuals with disabilities are also presented.…

This fact sheet focuses on principles and practices of collaboration, especially between community crisis nursery and respite care services for families of children with special needs. First, the paper distinguishes among various ways to share resources, including networking, coordination, cooperation, and then collaboration, which is seen as…

The newsletter offers perspectives on the provision of family support services for families with disabled members. An introductory article by Madeleine Will, Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, stresses the impressive coping skills exhibited by many such families and their relationship to service professionals.…

This paper reports on a qualitative and quantitative study in which the service learning projects of college students in special education teacher training were analyzed using elements of quality service learning as criteria. The study used the "portraiture" method of analysis, which attempts to combine empirical and aesthetic description and…

A study investigated effects of training related to using the Sequenced Transition to Education in the Public Schools model (STEPS) on the development of community-wide transition systems. Seven teams composed of public schools, Head Start, and early intervention representatives were trained. Change occurred as a result of the training. (Author/CR)

Rather than viewing an early intervention team in isolation, a systems perspective considers the interrelationships and interdependence of the various elements comprising service delivery for children with disabilities. This article proposes a model, a multilayered framework, that takes into account the larger system of community and organization…

The institution-based model for providing services to individuals with disabilities has limitations in both developing and developed countries. The community-based rehabilitation model was positively evaluated by the World Health Organization as an alternative approach, but the evaluation is questioned on methodological and philosophical grounds.…

The study examines the status of behavioral management services for disabled persons in Alberta, Canada, and offers recommendations regarding alternative service delivery models for the Northwest Region of Alberta. Existing systems are addressed in terms of centralized service models, outreach service models, and combined residential and outreach…

This booklet is intended as an introductory guide to community-based rehabilitation (CBR) services in developing nations. The first section examines the magnitude of the problem; the failure of existing services to meet this challenge; and the need for a model appropriate to developing countries. The second section briefly describes the CBR…