Examines the potential of a flexible specialization model to provide effective social services integration in rural areas. Contrasts flexible specialization with craft and Fordist models of production, with implications for service integration. Identifies societal changes supporting the development of flexible specialization in rural areas.…

Compared 63 non-foster care adolescents with 42 placed in kinship care and 69 in non-relative foster family care in their readiness for independent living. Found no significant differences in perceptions of independent living skills and preparation for independent living. Foster care adolescents, however, were more likely to worry about their…

A collaborative service delivery model for provision of speech-language services is presented. The model uses children's literature and content material in a writing process approach to teaching oral and written language skills in the general classroom, and uses pull-out support for initial instruction of voice, fluency, and articulation skills.…

The perspectives of seven hearing parents on their use of sign communication with their deaf children were evaluated. All parents had chosen Signed English rather than American Sign Language (ASL). Parents' understanding of ASL varied greatly; they reported difficulty in developing personal and family fluency in Signed English; and they identified…

A survey of 150 elderly people with disabilities in Hong Kong found that a high proportion was living alone in the community with only minimal networks for emotional support. Effective measures to promote family care of disabled elderly people and approaches to integrating the formal and informal care sectors are discussed. (DB)

The Missouri Parents as Teachers project developed in response to a 1984 state mandate requiring parent education and serves about 85,000 families with children, ages birth through 4. Components include home visits, group meetings, and early childhood developmental screenings. Discussed are the project's historical perspective, project evaluation,…

Conceiving of agricultural labor as different from other work and assuming that agricultural workers differ from other workers obscure the real need for information about farmworkers. Improvement in farmworker health status in the long term can only result from informed policies based on solid research. (SLD)

Discusses the problem of drug-exposed infants from the perspective of a county attorney's office, focusing on a new Minnesota law that responds to the problem through early identification and provision of services. The approach calls for mandated reporting by medical providers and includes the possibility of civil commitment. (SLD)

This article describes several model programs that use telephone technology to link parents with professionals such as speech language pathologists. Strategies for developing and implementing a telephone answering machine call-in program to increase parent involvement in educational and clinical settings are offered, as are suggestions regarding…

Small community homes in England for severely and profoundly mentally retarded adults are described and compared to institutional settings and larger community units. The small homes were found to produce beneficial client functioning and high levels of staff/client interaction. The paper concludes that interaction effects are possibly more…

Society's expectations about what students need to learn, as well as the delivery mechanisms, or technology, available to serve that need are driving changes in attendance patterns and institutional structures in higher education. Educators also know more about how people learn. These shifts challenge assumptions about teaching and learning, but…

This article describes new approaches to providing physical and occupational therapy intervention services in naturalistic early childhood settings and reviews the limited body of literature examining their efficacy. It offers assessment and intervention strategies that support a normalized approach to intervention and offers suggestions for…

The University of Minnesota's Integrated Information Center focused on both technical and organizational integration to bring coherence and unity to support and delivery of information services. After six years, while unexpected progress has been made with end users and technological issues have progressed well, organizational issues continue to…

A nationwide survey of 510 postsecondary learning disability (LD) service providers revealed that an educationally diverse group of professionals is developing programs and providing direct instruction to students with learning disabilities. Service providers are encouraged to utilize interventions that lead to self-determination and independence…

This survey of 31 speech-language pathologists who had adopted or were considering adopting integrated service delivery models examined their perceptions of their expertise; classroom teacher expertise; types of speech and language services provided in classrooms; characteristics of students served; and advantages and disadvantages of integrated…