Community groups, volunteers, and local businesses helped a small North Carolina town initiate many programs for at-risk youth including Head Start, DARE, after-school programs at community centers and the library, summer programs, park development, and reduced swimming pool fees. A program that informs crime victims of the status of their cases…

Examined the quality of care provided to children from low-income families, using data from a nationally representative survey of child care centers and a five-site observational study of centers. Found that the quality of care in centers serving predominantly low-income families was better than centers serving middle-income families. (MDM)

This overview of telecommunications in Arizona discusses library telecommunications; state library activities; the Arizona State Public Information Network; higher education projects; community outreach; business and economic development; state telecommunications policy; the paradigm shift in the public's use of telecommunications; community…

Criticizes the research design in "The Small ICF/MR program: Dimensions of Quality and Cost" (Conroy), that found small Intermediate Care Facilities (ICF) for individuals with mental retardation are inferior to other community programs. Discusses the problem in selecting a control group on the basis of pretest matching. (CR)

This article discusses the outcomes of a project that used a community development framework to implement change in early care and intervention services in two culturally diverse communities. It describes how community forums and parent leadership training assisted in change efforts and lessons learned from implementation and evaluating reforms.…

Describes how a group of Extension educators developed, implemented and evaluated a child-care-provider training program that considered provider needs, research-based competencies, and current recommendations for child-care training opportunities. Presents information concerning program focus, program content, program evaluation, and two methods…

Contends that science education researchers should devote more time to creating and studying models of intergenerational and community-based science education. Argues that such inquiries have the potential to provoke new thinking that could expand basic conceptions of what it means to learn and practice science. (WRM)

Examines curricular and pedagogical issues relevant to stressed urban high school environments, proposing coping strategies for physical educators. The article summarizes issues affecting such environments, noting their influence on student participation; provides examples of important content and teaching decisions when working with urban…

Describes SAIL (Students Active in Leadership) as a school-based, youth-directed group. States that the program helps teenagers learn leadership skills by developing and implementing community service activities. SAIL finds partners with whom to collaborate among local businesses, government, and health associations, and these partners provide the…

The study evaluated the effectiveness of a community-based court intervention aimed at reducing truancy in a large urban school district. A quasi-experimental design was used to assess attendance outcomes for 567 truants matched on demographics and drawn from three categories of intervention (no court referral, traditional court referral, and…

In the present climate of public accountability, there is increasing demand to show "what works" and what return is gained for the public from investments to improve communities. This increasing demand for accountability is being met with growing confidence in the field of philanthropy during the past 10 years that the impact or effectiveness of…

This article features Woodland Hills's Neighborhood Youth Services. The Neighborhood Youth Services (NYS) program is a community-based program created by Woodland Hills, a residential program for troubled adolescents in Duluth, Minnesota. Principles for building respectful adult and peer relationships developed in the treatment environment were…

We assessed parent satisfaction with children's mental health services with a new instrument: The Youth Services Survey for Families (YSSF). The Dillman method was used to administer the survey to a random sample of 1,500 parents of Medicaid youth from Kentucky's 14 community mental health centers (CMHCs). The response rate was 37% (n = 534…

Integrity is commonly conflated with basic literacy in assessments of the skills workers need. This case study of a word-based character education program in Springfield, Missouri examines how business leaders may blame a lack of skills by employees on a lack of moral literacy. The premise of this essay is that the expression of a literacy program…

The Anthropology Department at Western Michigan University has sponsored an annual archaeological field school since the mid-1970s. Over the past decade, students have worked with community and government organizations, learning to apply archaeological methods to real world problems to preserve and interpret significant heritage sites. They come…