The article describes critical factors in the organization and delivery of services to students-in-transition with severe to profound mental retardation. The extent of need for transition services is reviewed; a framework for transition case management in Philadelphia is described; and the roles of communications, capability, and disposition in…

A system was developed to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of transition services for special education students in Maine. The project's three phases included preliminary activities relevant to the development of the evaluation system; activities in developing, field testing, and revising the evaluation strategy; and selecting and evaluating…

This response to the articles by Brewer and Uphoff on transitional programs in this issue addresses two questions: (1) Do transition classes protect children? (2) Do transition classes assist in school improvement? (BG)

Reveals that 250,000 refugee children have entered U.S. schools since 1975 and that a significant proportion attend Catholic schools. Provides information on the Transition Program for Refugee Children, suggests ways Catholic schools can obtain TPRC funding, summarizes reports on the program's effectiveness, and lists state coordinators for…

Examines the failure of Project Follow Through and Chapter 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to sustain the progress made by Head Start through the school years. Discusses the Head Start Transition Project, established in demonstration sites in each state, which seeks to ease the transition of children from Head Start through the…

Discusses the maturationist, behaviorist, and cognitive interactionist views of transitional programs. Research on transitional programs and possible effects of such programs on kindergarten and first grade classes is discussed. (BG)

Extra-year school readiness programs, which serve as "developmental kindergartens" or "junior first grades," are well-intentioned transition programs between kindergarten and first grade that are intended to serve children judged to be at risk for early school failure. Despite their good intentions, these programs are…

Details evaluation of the West Virginia site of a federally-funded program to maintain early achievement gains viewed as crucial in alleviating poverty-linked social distress. Notes that the Post-Head Start Transition evaluation showed no achievement gains. Asserts that findings provide no support for a general policy of early and continuing…

Compares two models for delivering emancipation preparation services to foster youths on pragmatic, structural, and client outcomes dimensions. The models differ primarily on the extent of caseworker involvement. Suggests that a model which incorporates both skill-building programs and an intensive and integrated case management function holds…

Discusses high dropout and failure rate at the Distance Teaching University of South Africa; describes development of a transitional study program to give underprepared students remedial assistance, including course organization, content, and student participation; reviews research on the program's effectiveness; and outlines strategies to…

Reflects on a study of the effectiveness of an inservice training program on individualized education programs that was provided to two vocational coordinators and seven teachers of students with mental retardation. Discusses the reasons the study focused on behavioral objectives and the importance of writing quality behavioral objectives. (CR)

Introduces articles presenting a cross section of current research activity on preparing foster youth for adulthood. Suggests it is vital to develop a knowledge-building agenda; that research efforts be prospective and programmatic rather than ex post facto, occasional, or sporadic; and that attention be directed toward testing and evaluating…

This consensus statement was the result of a conference on school-to-work transition for youths with disabilities which brought together service providers, consumers, family members, researchers, and others. Consensus was reached on several principles, organized around six broad areas: (1) what school-to-work transition for this population is and…

The debate about whether special education should abolish or conserve its cascade of services model has produced conservationists, who believe in a case-by-case approach to integration by which movement into less restrictive settings is planned, implemented, and evaluated individually, and abolitionists, who work for full inclusion of all students…

Discusses successes and problems of Head Start. Suggests that Head Start's difficulties relate to its implementation, not its design. Proposes increasing the effectiveness of Head Start through a series of reform strategies that relate to interventions that address the needs of children in child care, preschool children, and school-age children.…