This brief paper summarizes three papers and a response presented at a symposium examining longitudinal comparison studies of federally funded community mental health services (CMHS) for children and their families. Emphasis was on comparing the system of care approach to a more traditional approach. The symposium provided an update on the status…

This brief paper on a topical discussion session held at a conference on children's mental health about implications of the 1999 report, "Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General," for children. The discussion focuses primarily on the chapter in the report specifically about children and mental health with comments by four individuals who…

This factsheet discusses the goals and principles that govern the development of culturally competent mental health programs for children and adolescents and their families. Principles include: (1) the family is the consumer and usually the focus of treatment and services; (2) Americans with diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds may have a unique set…

This document presents responses of a national telephone survey of 510 parents of children with special needs to find out whether or not parents believe that special education, as it is now structured, is effective. An introduction examines issues related to reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), noting the…

There are now many educational organizations and institutions that have decided to pursue flexible delivery and online learning as strategies. While many educators value online delivery of programs for the flexibility and opportunities offered, the environment offers far more than these outcomes alone. Online delivery supports and encourages very…

This paper looks at ways of ensuring Czech regions and municipalities are fully motivated to make efficiency improvements in public service provision and so help achieve countrywide fiscal sustainability. The very large number of small municipalities in the Czech Republic means that scale economies are difficult to exploit and the policy options…

The future of higher education and its relationship to economic growth were the focus of a one-day conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on November 2, 2005. Cosponsored by the bank, the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, and the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, the event brought together over 100 academic, business, and…

This study investigated the efficacy of collaborative teaching in serving students with disabilities at all educational levels. Interviews were conducted with 14 building administrators, 103 general and special education teachers, 32 parents of general education students, 37 parents of special education students, and 53 general and 70 special…

This theme issue focuses on family-centered practices and policies for service delivery. The first article, "Family-Centered Service Delivery," reports on a study of 130 published sources in education, social work, nursing, psychology, occupational therapy, and related disciplines, which found that the key components of family-centered…

This document describes ways to meet professional development needs of vocational and academic teachers preparing to engage in school-to-work transition activities. Section 1 presents 13 professional development themes: involving students in workplace experiences, gaining work experience, visiting the workplace, taking coursework, participating in…

The reasons that students in the United Kingdom fail to complete General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQ) courses were examined through a study that involved four key elements: questionnaire survey of 3,391 students enrolled in GNVQ courses in further education colleges and schools; questionnaire survey of 782 centers providing GNVQs;…

This report focuses on approaches designed to strengthen the state-federal vocational rehabilitation partnership with private sector employers. Chapter 1, "Successful Partnerships: The Employer Speaks," is written by business people (businesses listed at the end of the chapter) and addresses the needs of the private sector employers, the structure…

In 1996, the Rhode Island State Advisory Committee for Gifted and Talented Education surveyed 34 Rhode Island school superintendents on the status of gifted and talented education in their districts. Findings from the survey indicate: (1) Rhode Island school districts are serving about 4.5 percent of the student population; (2) there were…

The draft Plan of Action for Early Childhood Education and Development (ECED) was prepared for consideration by country delegates and other participants at the 1997 Second Caribbean Conference on Early Childhood Education. The plan provides a framework for consideration of the issues involved in constructing a country policy and program for ECED.…

This guide is designed to help funders and government and nongovernment agencies understand the types of programs with the greatest potential to improve the lives of some of American society's most disadvantaged members. Much of the material is drawn from "Nurturing Young Black Males: Challenges to Agencies, Programs, and Social Policy,"…