The impact of community-wide teen pregnancy prevention initiatives (CWIs) on local U.S. birth rates among adolescents aged 15 to 19 years was examined using synthetic control methodology within a quasi-experimental design. CWIs were implemented in 10 U.S. communities from 2010 to 2015. Each initiative implemented evidence-based teen pregnancy…

Finding ways to move knowledge-to-impact is a key priority for research funding agencies, universities, and academics. However, academic engagement with the broader community is not without tensions and challenges, including arriving at mutual benefit and relevance, and addressing power dynamics and often incompatible communication practices. This…

An increasing number of children and youth have mental health disorders. To address this issue, federal and provincial mental health policymakers in Canada have recommended: (a) improving the coordination of services, and (b) increasing the role that schools play in providing supports. One way to operationalize these recommendations is to…

The Community Outreach Centre (COC) is part of the Community Development portfolio in the Division of Student Affairs at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It opened in fall 2007 as a resource and support centre for students who live off campus. The overarching goal of the centre is to cultivate community among off-campus students…

Discusses use of volunteers to augment local government services such as libraries, parks, paralegal aid, elderly care, data processing. Outlines requirements of successful programs and steps toward initiating volunteer programs. Presents case studies of volunteer programs in two Maryland communities and 41 examples of how local governments can…

This paper describes key elements and strategies of a system whereby communities can provide more effective support and service systems. It is intended as an overall framework for improving children's educational outcomes by helping prepare all children for successful participation in school, strengthening family capacities to support their…

The ineffectiveness of community boards as avenues for meaningful citizen participation in providing public human services may be traced to problems in service institutions, in communities, and in the boards themselves. In service institutions, community participation in the provision of services is discouraged by: (1) professionals' condescending…

This document consists of the three 1999 issues of a journal highlighting the Making After-School Count Initiative, programs across the country wherein communities and schools cooperate to serve children during after-school hours. The February 1999 issue describes grassroots efforts by California parents and religious leaders to secure funding for…

This review examines literature on the community's role in the achievement and psychosocial outcomes of disadvantaged students. It identifies three classes of factors as pertinent: community structure, community climate, and community involvement. Community characteristics were found to have only a weak effect on achievement at the individual…

The Community Involvement Program (CIP) carried out in a grade 12 class in each of three Etobicoke secondary schools in the Province of Ontario was evaluated. The data analyses at the end of the first year of the program indicated that the CIP had achieved its major objectives of: (1) increased knowledge of community and social agencies; (2)…

This report summarizes the results of a study on the impact of Head Start on children's cognitive and socioemotional development, on child health and health institutions in the community, on enrollees' families, and on communities where Head Start programs operate. After discussing the background and methodology of the study, the report concludes…

The model, structure, program, and impacts of the Newton (Massachusetts) Community Schools are described as exemplary of community education service delivery. The Newton Community Schools have two components: education of the whole community and the involvement of citizens in program and policy decision-making. Section 1 of the report provides a…

Community participation in program decision-making and implementation is an ideal that community and academic stakeholders aspire to in participatory research. This ideal, however, can be difficult to achieve. We describe lessons learned about community participation from a quasi-experimental trial aimed at reducing the uptake of smoking among…

This conference summary contains 36 presentations. Participants' comments, taken from response cards, are quoted throughout. Presentations from the Opening Plenary include a keynote address--"What Is Literacy?: Critical Issues for the Next Decade" (John Ryan) and four "Panelist Presentations" (Francis Kazemek, Lorraine Fox,…

This assessment of the second year of the South Carolina Education Improvement Act of 1984 presents an analysis of information in six areas important to improving education. This trend information can be used to determine whether proposed benefits of the act are being realized. The first chapter reviews trends in student test scores and other…