The University of Missouri Extension needed to develop an annual program review process that collaboratively engaged county-level stakeholders. The results from the first 2 years highlight the results, challenges, and implications of the design process. The annual review process needs to be adaptive, responsive, and reflective from year to year…

This guide explains, in simple language, the procedures for utilization of Colorado's developmental disabilities system. It begins with a definition of developmental disability and then explains how to contact a Community Centered Board to determine eligibility for services. The guide outlines the processes of applying for services, receiving…

The report describes services, administration, and future directions of the Children's Special Health Care Services program, part of the Michigan Department of Public Health. Division programs are carried out at local, regional, and state levels and provide: preventive services (through generic and newborn screening services and neonatal intensive…

This digest identifies current programmatic efforts to inform and support parents and briefly reviews research on the effectiveness of parent education and support programs. The discussion of approaches to parent support focuses on parent education programs, the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments (Public Law 99-457), Head Start, state…

Since 1992, Vermont has been pioneering the development of community partnerships for improving social well-being, using indicators to track success. The working definition of a community, for outcome purposes, is the area served by a school supervisory union. Vermont is divided into 60 such supervisory unions (school districts), but…

School districts are central players in the child care delivery system: they operate a mix of child care centers and programs, serve a range of children of different ages, and fund their programs from a variety of federal, state, and local sources. This report provides a range of programmatic and fiscal information about the federal and state…

Nine components of Westchester County's Family Day Care System in White Plains, New York, are outlined in some detail. Westchester County, comprising 450 square miles of cities, suburbs, towns, and villages, borders on the Bronx, and, while very affluent, has the second largest number of homeless persons in the nation, and an ethnically and…

In order to assist states in developing model programs, this report examines the common characteristics and strengths of a number of state programs that coordinate social services for at-risk students and their families. After discussing the characteristics of at-risk children and their families, the report presents a comprehensive and…

This planning document proposes that services to Vermonters with mental retardation be unified around the community mental retardation service system, in order to provide community placements for residents of the Brandon Training School (BTS) who are under court order for discharge between 1989 and 1993. The Department of Mental Health plans to…

The author reviews the need to provide continuity of services to developmentally disabled persons and makes recommendations for the redesign of New Jersey's organizational structure responsible for personal program coordination. Limitations of existing programs are seen to involve administrative, categorical and geographic factors. Proposed are…

The study found that quality of life of 46 mentally retarded individuals was impacted by the funding source used to support their community-based residential programs. Clients in programs using Medicaid funds were less active and involved in life than were clients living in programs funded by non-Medicaid state sources. (Author/JDD)

A survey was conducted of the number and needs of adults with mental retardation or other developmental disabilities (MR/DD) currently waiting for community services. Survey data were obtained for 46 states and the District of Columbia. Respondents included directors of state mental retardation/developmental disabilities programs, state…

This bibliography is intended to be a survey of interagency collaborative literature, with a focus on programs for children (especially children with emotional disabilities) and their families. The bibliography is divided into chapters covering the following areas: (1) writings describing actual collaborative efforts by agencies, on both the local…

The first goal of the America 2000 initiative was to have all young children able to start school ready to learn by the year 2000. This paper summarizes the efforts of six communities to meet that goal through increased collaboration between health care providers and educational institutions, on the assumption that children's health is directly…