As environmental issues become more complex, the public may be less interested in becoming knowledgeable enough to participate in decision-making. Yet its input can be critically important in some community-based issues. A community forum is one tool designed to provide information, enable participants to ask questions to experts and create an…

Longitudinal impacts of a consumer-directed support program that provides families with an individualized budget were studied at three points in time over a 9-year period: Time 1 (1991), Time 2 (1995), and Time 3 (2000). At Time 3, families in the program were also compared with families on the waiting list. Over time, families in the program…

This position paper explores the nature of community involvement in education, focusing particularly on Botswana schools. The exploration was made against a decision taken by the Ministry of Education to end the partnership venture established in the 1980s between itself and the local communities in the running of the junior secondary school. The…

The challenges our nation faces in educating all of our young people are alarming. Yet in seeking solutions we often find ourselves divided. Public schools are too fundamental to our democratic values to leave isolated from other community institutions. This disconnect does not serve our children well. When addressing public education, we must act…

Social development and stress process theories suggest that participation in one's community can function as a protective factor for mental health, especially for youth from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. However, the effects of community involvement on adolescent mental health could vary across racial/ethnic groups and levels of…

School districts across the nation are reaching out to their communities in hopes of creating support for their programs. Toward that end, this article provides a rationale for and an overview of the elements of effective community engagement. The author outlines the need and analyzes the shift toward new approaches in community engagement. Next,…

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (www.usdoj.gov), Community Policing is defined as: "The focus on crime and social disorder through the delivery of police services that includes aspects of traditional law enforcement, as well as prevention, problem-solving, community engagement, and partnerships. The community policing model balances…

As more and more institutions look outside the campus walls for opportunities to serve their surrounding communities, a need has grown for guidance in developing true partnerships. There is no template that can be applied to campus-community partnerships. Each situation will be different and require different strategies, but a look at some basic…

The Miami Youth Development Project (YDP) had its beginnings in the early 1990s as a grassroots response to the needs of troubled (multiproblem) young people in the community (Arnett, Kurtines, & Montgomery, 2008, this issue). YDP is an important outcome of efforts to create positive youth development interventions that draw on the strengths…

This paper describes work directed toward creating community-supported positive youth development interventions that draw on a developmental intervention science outreach research approach. With respect to developmental interventions, this approach focuses on creating evidence-based longitudinal change intervention strategies for promoting…

In this rebuttal to Linn's critique (see EJ802887), the authors state that, while Linn provides a thoughtful critique of the culture-centered approach by questioning its feasibility, he missed the idea that the very concept of effectiveness is brought under scrutiny by the culture-centered approach, with the focus being on examining the universal…

Catalyst-Clemente is an innovative educational program based upon a collaboration involving Australian Catholic University, Mission Australia and the St Vincent de Paul Society. The program enhances the transformational learning opportunities and re-engagement of disadvantaged people within the community. This paper reports on the origins and…

The author traces the history of the campaign to stop Islington Green School being closed and turned into an academy specialising in business and financial services. Although the campaign, after a number of successes now looks as if it might fail in its immediate objective, the author argues that the battle was still worth fighting because of the…

The City of Saskatoon's Local Area Planning (LAP) Program is a community-based approach to developing comprehensive neighbourhood plans. In order to achieve sustainable and implementable Local Area Plans (LAPs), the City of Saskatoon has been using innovative methods of collaborative decision-making to engage citizens. The program has been…

The purpose of this research is to analyze characteristics and motivators among alumni of the Community Involvement Program (CIP) for donating to the University of the Pacific. The research questions were: (1) what are the characteristics and motivators of CIP alumni for donating to the University of the Pacific? (2) do the characteristics and…