This textbook provides a comprehensive look at the vast knowledge base supporting special and compensatory education. Each chapter begins with a context and concludes with a section on the school administrator's role in promoting and leading others in each of the special and compensatory programs. Chapters include: (1) "Special Education," which…

In 2000, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), in cooperation with local development districts, nonprofit organizations, and many small municipalities, expanded programs to help Appalachia's distressed counties become economically competitive. The effort calls for increased funding for technical assistance and capacity building in distressed…

Grameen Banks are a model of successful support for the smallest businesses. The Grameen Bank began in 1976, when Muhammad Yunus, an economics professor at Chittagong University in southern Bangladesh, loaned Sufiya Khatun, a weaver of bamboo stools, $4 U.S. to buy supplies and raise her daily profit from 2 cents to $1.25. Her success prompted…

This report contains enrollment data about the North Carolina Division of Social Services Work First clients who were enrolled in North Carolina community colleges curriculum and extension programs during the academic years 1995-96, 1996-97, and 1997-98. North Carolina's welfare reform initiative, Work First, is the State's Temporary Assistance to…

This guide focuses on these two key challenges that states and localities have identified as important for the long-term success of welfare reform and work force development efforts: helping low-income parents sustain employment (steady work) and advance in the work force (better jobs). The guide consists of five parts and is structured to…

States can use Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and state maintenance of effort (MOE) funds to foster access to postsecondary education (PE) for low income parents. Access matters because success of welfare reform depends on helping welfare recipients work steadily and find better jobs; neither of the two most commonly tried…

This report focuses on people who entered the Jobs First evaluation when they were applying for or receiving cash assistance in the Manchester and New Haven (Connecticut) Department of Social Services offices between January-June 1996 and who left cash assistance within 18 months after entering the program (before reaching the 21-month time…

The working poor are typically defined by researchers as individuals who work at least part of the year and earn less than a given percentage of the federal poverty level. This definition tends to understate the problem. In 1997, 15.8 million employed parents had incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The federal Earned Income Tax…

Patterns of speech from lower socioeconomic status mothers to their infants were analyzed to determine correlations with infant risk of mental retardation. Measures of maternal language included sentence form, amount of speech, and syntactic complexity. The proportion of imperatives was positively correlated with risk status and negatively…

Stating that rural extension education in developing countries has neglected small, poor farmers, the author suggests a model changing extension services approach to concentrate on motivating poor farmers to increase production and raise their standard of living through localized personal contact, providing useful technology involving the whole…

Describes the mental health problem among the poor whose rural or cultural attitudes and values often prevent their seeking or receiving services. Describes federal involvement in mental health since 1946, including legislation, presidential policy, currently proposed bills, and budget items. Discusses state and local administration of federal…

Advocates of the "new realism" in urban revitalization argue that effective urban policy involves attracting industries and white-collar taxpayers while improving public management and reducing public services. If this approach is not counterbalanced by socially conscious interests, cities may soon have little room for many of their present…

School readiness problems of disadvantaged children include: the failure of preschool and parent training programs; restricted learning environments and motivational problems; mothers with low intelligence and verbal skills; and a need for comprehensive family rehabilitation. The school psychologist's role in early screening and in fostering…

Captures the cooperative spirit of a suburban Georgia high school with 2,000 highly mobile students from 60 countries and speaking over 30 different languages. Staff work to counter stereotypical assumptions and use diversity as a positive resource for learning and promotion of individual excellence. Diversity-management strategies related to…

The effects of stressful experiences on the psychological well-being of 113 homeless women and 116 low-income housed women were investigated. Measures of victimization assessed multiple dimensions of this construct, including criminal victimization, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse. Measures of daily environmental hassles and quality of family…