MDC's mission is to help organizations and communities close the gaps that separate people from opportunity. The organization has been working to create positive change in disadvantaged communities for 40 years--by conducting research and demonstrating effective programs at the community level. MDC focuses on three areas: education, economic and…

This study examines whether parental investment and membership in social clubs are associated with safer sexual behaviors among South African youth. Participants comprised 4,800 randomly selected adolescents age 14 to 22 living in the Cape Town area in 2002. Logistic regression was used to examine associations between measures of parental…

Objective: Develop, implement, and evaluate an intervention (a guided experiential assignment) to improve nutrition students' attitudes toward working with older adults. Design: A quasi-experimental design with an additional qualitative component (mixed methods). Setting: A North Central land-grant university. Participants: 100 college students…

This article describes a task-based writing project. High-school students in Zambia wrote a proposal to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in their community. By writing on a topic related to their lives, students were motivated and empowered to use their English skills for positive change. The project was an interactive workshop that invited a community…

This module presents the range of benefits youths receive from their participation in Community Science Workshops (CSWs)--from personal, to social, to academic and how these benefits reveal the core values of the CSWs in action. The multi-year evaluation of the CSW program included site visits to multiple Community Science Workshop sites around…

We describe two interventions designed to encourage community action with youth in a school and a community service setting. The school intervention took place with a Year 10 class, while the community-based intervention took place with a group of same-sex attracted youth. Using a participatory action research framework, youth in both settings…

Since the 1970s, the share of U.S. children growing up in single-parent families has doubled, a trend that has disproportionately affected disadvantaged families. Paul Amato and Rebecca Maynard argue that reversing that trend would reduce poverty in the short term and, perhaps more important, improve children's growth and development over the long…

During the summer of 2006, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and union officials announced that the Pico Union area of East Los Angeles would soon be home to the Belmont Zone of Choice (BZC). The BZC encompasses the Belmont High School attendance area and will include up to 10 Belmont Pilot Schools, each with a targeted enrollment of 400…

Although knowledge about the efficacy of treatments such as pivotal response training (PRT) for children with autism is increasing, studies of large-scale effectiveness for and transportability to diverse community populations are needed. The current study provides a large-scale preliminary assessment of (a) the effectiveness of a community-based…

This article reviews approaches for developing comprehensive strategies that stop violence before initial perpetration occurs. Using feminist theory and public health perspectives as its foundation, the use of educational sessions, community mobilization, social norms, social marketing, and policy work are all explored. (Contains 1 table.)

This report provides an evaluation of the efforts each state and the District of Columbia are making to provide nutritious summer meals to children of low-income families. The evolution of the Summer Food Service Program for Children (SFSP), created by Congress in 1968 to provide funds for eligible sponsoring organizations to serve meals to…

This book provides a framework for developing community-based family support initiatives in public housing. After describing the historical and present contexts of this approach, the book details principles and key elements. Profiles are presented for eight organizations, all working in public housing, but with different strategies and emphases:…

Research indicates that problems faced by many youngsters and families, such as poverty, inadequate housing, and poor health care and nutrition, are interrelated in complex ways. These problems are often inadequately addressed because of flaws in the social service delivery system. These flaws include a lack of communication between public and…

Research shows a clear link between drug and alcohol use and crime and violence. This report describes progress made in 1993 as a result of New York State's anti-drug abuse agenda and priorities for 1994. Efforts exist in three complementary areas: prevention (preventing people from being involved in substance abuse); treatment (treating those who…

This monograph presents papers and dialogue group highlights from a symposium on the growing challenge of school aggression and violence, strategies to combat this aggression and violence, and ways to make schools safe again. An introductory paper by Cynthia L. Warger is titled "Responding to School Violence within an Educational Framework."…