Project Proud Option of Palmer, Massachusetts, had the following objectives: (1) develop and implement a system for assessing the functioning levels of handicapped students in institutional schools as these functional levels relate to already existing job task outlines and performance objectives; (2) develop new job opportunities within the…

An introduction by Dr. David D. Komisar provides background and objectives for a study which eventually involved observations in six residential institutions. Two institutions were judged to be ineffective as residents appeared to be not happy or self-sufficient, showed little intellectual growth (or were rarely, if ever, retested), had many…

An account of theory and practice in the psychiatric inpatient care of children at a large residential treatment center is presented. The formative factors of the home and community are discussed; consideration is given to the validity of the residential center as a treatment center and to the omnipotence and/or helplessness of the patient. Ego…

According to data collected in 2003 by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), just over 96,000 youth were incarcerated in juvenile correctional facilities throughout the United States (not including those being held in detention). An additional 10,000 youth were in state prisons or adult jails during the same time,…

The shift from institutional to community-based care for the mentally ill failed because communities were not prepared to undertake this responsibility. Suggestions for more humane care are given. (IS)

The study of 742 older persons (above age 45) with a developmental handicap residing in either community or institutional settings in Alberta, Canada, found those residing in congregate care settings had significantly higher frequencies of health impairments. Persons residing in the community had significantly better independent living skills and…

We identify explanatory risk variables associated with the co-occurrence of two problem behaviors: juvenile offending and adolescent fatherhood. Data were gathered from a 5-year prospective, longitudinal study of 531 incarcerated juvenile offenders as they transitioned from youth correction facilities back into the community. Of the total sample,…

The abuse of people with developmental disabilities has a long and horrific history, which extends from prehistoric to current times. Only in the past 20 or 30 years has society recognized that this abuse is a serious social problem and, with this recognition, research has been carried out on the topic. The limited research that has been done…

Since the early 1990s, research, largely from a feminist perspective, has been devoted to identifying the "gender-specific needs" of delinquent girls. This article explores racial differences between girls and how these differences may affect the commission of violent behavior and self-injurious behavior. Self-report data were collected…

The aim of the current study was to reveal attitudes towards child sexual abuse and investigate predictors of such attitudes. A random sample of the Norwegian adult population (n = 296), active Christians (n = 125) and prisoners convicted of child sexual abuse (n = 36) were included in the study. The results show that women were more negative…

North Carolina has a dropout crisis--only two thirds of North Carolina high school students graduate. One reason this crisis has not received the attention it deserves is because the state was reporting badly inflated graduation rates (supposedly as high as 97 percent) until it finally adopted a more realistic reporting method earlier this year.…

Research has documented a crisis in South Carolina's high school graduation rate. While state officials report a graduation rate above 70 percent, researchers from South Carolina and elsewhere place the rate just above 50 percent, with rates among minority students lower than 50 percent. South Carolina's graduation rate is the worst of all 50…

A Spokane, Washington, program was designed to offer training and employment opportunities within the residential and commercial construction industries to females, minorities, incarcerated persons, veterans, and economically disadvantaged men and women. A total of 21 classes with a total of 3,116 training hours were offered to 277 participants.…

The Adult Basic Education (ABE) program of the Saginaw (Michigan) Public Schools achieved 8 of its 11 objectives for 1987-88. The program is designed for adults who have less than an eighth grade education, and provides basic and remedial instruction in mathematics and communication skills, as well as Michigan Life Role Competencies (MLRC),…

These 11 papers consider the older learner as a consumer of education and examine how the concepts of education, educators, institutions, and learners must be revised if educational involvement in later life is to be regarded as the norm. Following a prologue, "Education and the Interpretation of Life Experience" (Michel Philibert), the…