The Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program was evaluated from the standpoint of its impact on three groups: VISTA volunteers, communities served by VISTA sponsors, and sponsoring organizations to which VISTA volunteers are assigned. Survey questionnaires were sent to 1,250 of the 3,400 VISTA volunteers currently in service, 494 current…

The Saturday Institute for Manhood, Brotherhood Actualization (SIMBA) is a collaborative effort of 12 community organizations that combine resources and ideas to reduce risk factors and increase resilience for young African American males. The program offers youth, aged 9 to 16, who reside at the Lorenzo Benn Youth Development Campus, training…

Social capital is the glue that holds a community together. It is the network of relationships among persons that can be used to get things done. Social capital is a necessary, but not sufficient, ingredient of community building. A community must mobilize its social capital and the mechanisms of its infrastructure to face and resolve collective…

Join Together convened a panel of experts to review U.S. policies for addiction treatment and recovery. Although the panel reached an agreement on six recommendations for policy changes that can make help more accessible and expand treatment to more people. These recommendations are: (1) treatment for alcoholism and other drug addiction must be…

Based on the experiences of the staff of the Community Membership Project of Bloomington, Indiana, this paper discusses how community builders have collaborated with 10 older persons with developmental disabilities to increase their community participation. The paper addresses the initial stages of community building with older persons, the…

This report provides guidelines and a process for people with disabilities living in Massachusetts to follow to evaluate employment service options that will allow them to receive services best meeting their individual needs. Strategies for finding out information about the different programs and a checklist are given by which to evaluate…

School-community collaborations are partnerships that can take different forms and serve many purposes. An overview of some partnership models is provided in this text. It shows how schools can play a central role in the revitalization of a community by serving as community centers and by fostering school-based enterprises. Ways in which students…

More than 4,000 people responded to a survey about community efforts to reduce substance abuse and gun violence. Six major findings were identified from the responses of 1,608 people who identified themselves as leaders of community efforts in these areas. Community leaders want significant changes in long-standing public policies and a change in…

The role of state and local policymakers in creating an environment conducive to cooperation between schools and human services agencies is discussed in this educational policy bulletin. To ensure effective service delivery programs and enabling policies, policymakers must consider: (1) the qualities of collaborative service delivery programs,…

This booklet attempts to answer commonly asked questions of parents of children with developmental disabilities about how to get children active in community recreational activities. The questions focus on accessing recreational activities and settings that include children both with and without disabilities. The booklet notes requirements of…

This booklet first looks at principles in evaluating services for people with mental retardation and strategies for evaluating and monitoring community services. It then describes two programs which involve parents/families in the evaluation and monitoring of community services in New Zealand. Basic principles include the importance of written…

Presenting an overview of phonics work in community literacy programs in metro Toronto, Ontario, Canada, this book enables new tutors and facilitators to learn how to think about and do the kinds of phonics work that is used by experienced tutors and facilitators in the community programs. The first chapter of the book discusses the history of…

This report presents amendments to H.R. 4250, a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 1995 through 1998 to carry out the Head Start Act, the Community Services Block Grant Act, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act, and the newly enacted Family Resource and Support Act. The text of the amendments themselves, as well as the complete…

Fundamental changes in family life in recent decades have raised parental and familial stress to unprecedented levels. The result is increasing isolation and frustration among families, placing them at risk for a wide range of social problems. Public and private institutions have been slow to respond to the changes in family life, to the needs…

A national phone survey was conducted by the Eastern Kentucky University Training Resource Center to determine how states were addressing the problems associated with the transition of youth from correctional facilities to their home communities. The survey, which was conducted during March-May 1987, asked chief state juvenile correctional…