This speech outlines the role of the teacher supervisor in public schools. After a review of the negative aspects faced by many student teachers, recommendations are made for a better working and learning relationship between the teacher supervisor and the student teacher. The integrated program at Lenoir Rhyne College includes the following…

This paper reviews family therapy with chronically dysfunctional families including the development of family therapy and current trends which appear to give little guidance toward working with severely dysfunctional families. A theoretical stance based upon the systems approach to family functioning and pathology is presented which suggests: (1)…

This paper attempts to discuss several unresolved issues currently of concern in the utilization and training of paraprofessionals. It examines, briefly, three well-known training programs, and elaborates on a fourth, focusing on the objectives and processes of the training. While there is considerable overlap among the programs, especially in…

This paper describes the development and operation of a high school orientation program using peer facilitators. The activities of the administrative team (two school social workers, a guidance counselor, and an assistant principal) are described, as is training of upper classmen to be peer facilitators for freshmen orientation. A brief…

This paper addresses the need for a working partnership between the formal social service system and information network systems in light of decreasing resources and increasing needs of clients. The development of the Community Service Society Natural Supports Program (NSP), a project providing services to families caring for frail older relatives…

A model developed by Transitional Services for New York, Inc., for collaboration between State and County government under private, not-for-profit auspices is described which attempts to assist the transition of former psychiatric patients into the community. The agency functions are described in terms of: (1) a tri-level housing network including…

Salient forces affecting the lives of beginning teachers are examined and a perspective is established on beginning to teach from which knowledge about teacher induction may be considered. Professional knowledge about beginning to teach, beginning teachers, and the induction of teachers is reviewed in terms of the following categories: (1) advice…

This paper describes Project LINC (Living Independently through Neighborhood Cooperation), a model of service delivery that responds to the needs of the frail elderly on a neighborhood basis. The organization of Project LINC is explained, based on four components, i.e.,: (1) intergenerational helping networks; (2) exchange bank of skills and…

The Stratford School (Highland Park, Illinois), a public day school program serving primarily a population of 3-to-21-year-old trainable mentally handicapped students, established a program whereby students with autistic characteristics (who were previously placed in self-contained, homogeneous classes) would be integrated with non-autistic…

Although data indicate that Alzheimer's disease occurs among all racial and ethnic populations, the Alzheimer's disease support group system is used nationally primarily by white, middle-class caregivers. Developing a model ethnic-specific support group for Hispanics requires delineation of formal and informal health care networks in the ethnic…

There is evidence that informal caregiving systems, called natural helping networks, already carry much of the service load of community mental health services, and need to be strengthened to provide even more. Social network analysis is a useful tool for understanding how these informal mechanisms operate, as well as the way in which some…

This paper describes the work of an unusual kind of change facilitator lacking formal authority or educational expertise. Founded in 1993, Partners in School Innovation is a nonprofit organization that supports whole-school change efforts in schools serving low-income communities across the San Francisco Bay Area. It commits to 3- or 5-year…

This paper describes a Nursing Home Ombudsman Program, developed to provide employment for the "unemployable" older adult, that hired 19 older adults to work 20 hours per week for a year, providng friendly visits to senior residents living in nursing homes and minimum outreach services to community seniors. A two-week, eight-session orientation…

This paper presents a needs assessment project developed to establish drug-related services in a small black community. A literature review reveals the influence of social issues relevant to the population on research methodology, program planning, and social action. The convergent analysis approach used in the needs assessment is explained and…

This article describes the Child Development and Parenting Program (CDP), a preventative child abuse program that assists single women who are pregnant or have preschool children to cope constructively with the problems of single parenting. The short-term goals of the program, i.e., providing education in child development and parenting skills and…