A solution to the rural health crisis will require not only changes in student selection, curriculum, and training location but also strengthening of the rural economy, improved reimbursement to rural hospitals and primary care physicians, and increased sensitivity among leaders of the medical profession to rural community and practitioner needs.…

With the support of outreach library services and visits by university-based faculty, area health education centers improve a rural community's ability to recruit, retain, and keep up-to-date primary care physicians and other health manpower. North Carolina is an example of this enhanced professional environment. (Author/MSE)

Steady urbanization and decreasing availability of health services for an aging rural population are occurring in Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan medical graduates find rural practice unattractive, and medical careers are not attracting rural youth. A comprehensive strategy of recruitment and reorganization of health care is needed. (MSE)

A survey of 989 service providers for handicapped children, age 0-6, examined the degree to which early intervention activities focus on the family. The survey assessed perceptions of the value of working with parents, time devoted to family-focused activities, kinds of services offered, achievement of objectives, and factors impeding services.…

Discusses the Resourced Open Learning Facility (ROLF), which was developed by the U.K. Skills Training Agency (STA) as a means of delivering off-the-job skill training for the unemployed. Employment training is discussed and an evaluation of ROLF is described, including management issues and types of trainees. (Author/LRW)

Parents of 53 young children identified for giftedness between the ages of three and five responded to a questionnaire concerning child characteristics, support and availability of specialized services, curricular expectancies, and requested and volunteered services. Among immediate concerns expressed were developing and maintaining the child's…

Progress toward effective service delivery to young children with handicaps and their families is impeded by lack of coordination at local levels and variations in eligibility requirements and population definitions. A centralized interagency identification/referral program was found to facilitate data utilization for decision-making, interagency…

This article describes the current state of postsecondary educational services for deaf students in Canada, discussing service delivery, assessment and admissions (using United States programs for comparison), a case study of the province of Alberta, and a brief description of Canadian developments and the future. (Author/PB)

Summarizes the key policy issues raised in hearings on "Federal Information Policy Mechanisms" held by the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, Subcommittee on Science, Research and Technology. The issues discussed include privatization of the National Technical Information Service, sensitive but unclassified information,…

Four-year colleges and universities (N=184) offering special programs for post-secondary students with learning disabilities were surveyed. Results related to students served, assessment and referral procedures used, academic and nonacademic services offered, and procedures employed for staff training are discussed in this article. (Author)

The article discusses the future of consultation as a special education service delivery model in the context of its historical development and current practice. The influence of the educational reform movement and the regular education initiative on special education consultation is discussed, and future directions for the discipline suggested.…

The article examines the efficacy of educational consultation through a review of research studies in the following categories: field-based survey research, outcome studies, and process investigations. It is suggested that future research maintain a broader-based ecological perspective which includes such factors as staffing patterns, cost…

To help families of latchkey children, school personnel must understand the problems they face; identify families in need of assistance through parent and student surveys and interviews; and provide services to assist them, such as parent education programs, networking, discussion groups, survival skills training, and student assessment and…

Some behavior disordered children drift from agency to agency, with little continuity or communication among services. The price paid is a high one, not only in dollars, but also in terms of negative personal, family, professional, and community consequences. A sense of interagency collaboration needs to be revitalized. (JW)

Described are educational services, residential programs, and financial support for individuals with mental retardation in Belgium. The services are available from several government agencies and cover the entire life cycle of the individual. The situation of the mentally handicapped person with psychiatric problems is also briefly reviewed. (JDD)