This article is dedicated to an in-depth discussion of the theme community and the implications the multiple meanings of community hold for the field of qualitative research. This theme surfaced from Walderns 2003 study entitled Resistance to Research in Vancouvers Downtown Eastside, which dealt with participant resistance to joining research…

Given that the society has not been able to redistribute financial support away from day and sheltered programs, it needs to cut off the supply of consumers. To make this happen, Rusch and Braddock offered two recommendations in their study: (1) All students must leave high school either competitively employed or admitted to a postsecondary…

High-quality out-of-school-time (OST) programs have a positive effect on youth development, but many cities have found it difficult to address the challenges of expanding and improving the quality of programs offered to underserved and high-need students. In response, The Wallace Foundation sponsored an initiative to help five cities increase…

The Parents Returning to Work Program (PRTW) is a Victorian government initiative which commenced in 2003. It provides grants to assist eligible parents who wish to return to paid employment after a period of caring for children to participate in training that will increase their work skills and job prospects. This evaluation aimed to review the…

Recent child welfare research has identified supervisors as key to retaining qualified and committed workers. This paper describes implementation of a federally funded child welfare training initiative designed to improve worker retention largely through developing, implementing, and evaluating a statewide supervisor training program in a…

This bulletin tells how the boys and girls and staff of the elementary school at Culloden, West Virginia, recently took a critical look at their school program and decided that they ought to do something toward having more useful, interesting, and meaningful learning experiences. Accordingly, they began to develop a curriculum which was different…

This study assessed the attitudes of three groups that participated in Upward Bound, a newly instituted academic advisory program at Tomball High School in Texas. It also provided a baseline of data to measure students' academic performance. The three groups, 300 high school freshmen, 115 of their parents, and 33 full time faculty, responded to…

These hearing transcripts present testimony concerning the quality and availability of child care in the United States, focusing on ways to improve the quality of home-based child care. Much of the testimony addressed the need to provide increased educational and training opportunities for home-based child care providers and to better regulate and…

In response to recommendations in the Illinois Board of Higher Education's November 1994 Priorities, Quality, and Productivity report, the 52 community colleges in the state began preparing annual reports of outcomes related to specific college objectives for the year. This report provides executive summaries of the colleges' reports for fiscal…

The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program is designed to help the more than 1 million workers per year who lose their jobs because of permanent layoffs or plant closures, due in part because of imports. Studies show, however, that the TAA program fails to meet the seven goals of a successful reemployment assistance program: (1) TAA benefits…

Cultural competence is a set of behaviors, attitudes, and policies that enable a system, agency, or individual to function effectively in trans-cultural interactions. The term refers to a person or program's ability to honor and respect the cultural differences of individuals and families who are clients and staff. A culturally competent system…

Program reviews provide department chairs and faculty with vital information about the need for their program, changes that can improve the program's viability, and needs for resource allocation. In addition, well-designed reviews will determine program effectiveness and lead to improvements in program quality. In recent years, the role of program…

The demand for family foster care services has increased rapidly during the past decade, as has the number of special needs children requiring foster care. This monograph presents information collected over the past 20 years concerning policies and programs which have been used to retain and recruit foster parents. The ever-increasing need for…

The United States General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed the Department of Education's Office of Inspector General's (OIG) audit of the annual financial statements for the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1994. GAO reviewed OIG's audit rather than conduct its own to avoid duplication and to…

The General Accounting Office examined the effectiveness of the vocational rehabilitation program administered by the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) in helping disabled veterans obtain and maintain employment. Data were obtained from the following sources: analysis of the VA's nationwide database on all program applicants and their progress;…