Describes a system partnership program model in which schools, social services agencies, and criminal justice agencies, collaborate to serve high-risk young adolescents. The model features a services integration strategy that promotes joint planning and which results in a closely coordinated response by schools, social services, and…

In Pennsylvania, high-poverty nonmetro counties are attracting additional poor immigrants, especially the least educated, at the same time that college graduates are showing a net outmigration from rural areas. This pattern increases the strain on rural educational and social services. Survey results suggest that the poor move primarily for…

Permanency planning to help families affected by AIDS includes case management and mental health, medical care, child welfare, and legal services. This article presents the efforts of one community in a midsize city to develop and implement a multidisciplinary coordinated plan for providing services to children affected by the illness or death of…

The current status of street children in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is characterized by marginalization from society through street vending, begging, theft, and prostitution. Evaluation of a drop-in center serving children without family linkages indicates need for needs assessments, follow-up activities, measurement of individual child progress,…

Considers the competing demands placed on evaluators in relation to the service (characteristics of the intervention), the sample (people participating), and methodology or research design. Explores compromises that may be required between scientific ideals and real-world limitations, and assesses implications for obtaining meaningful results in…

This article describes Options for Justice, an agency that provides education and training to professionals and direct services to offenders with developmental disabilities. Recommendations for developing and implementing similar programs are offered. Areas addressed include assessing need, funding, selection of program services, staffing, the…

Outlines factors that have influenced the approach of fully integrating children and family services into the fabric of their community and culture. Describes how school-based mental health services provide the foundation for the actualization of the interagency systems. States that significantly better outcomes have been noted from this model…

Using schools as a hub, full-service community schools bring together many partners to offer wide-ranging supports to community members every day. Community schools generally foster strong partnerships, share accountability for results, set high universal expectations, build on community strengths, embrace diversity, and avoid cookie-cutter…

This exploratory study looked at the rate of staff satisfaction as compared to client satisfaction in a residential treatment facility. Research has shown that staff who have negative attitudes, and are not satisfied with their positions, transport those negative feelings onto the clients they are serving (Balfour & Neff, 1993). While some…

Children and families impacted by severe mental illness (SMI) have multiple strains that effect family functioning, child safety, and parental rights. Traditional services for children and families struggling with severe mental illness have not achieved success in improving family functioning and keeping families intact. Wraparound is a philosophy…

Purpose: Making good consumer decisions requires having good information. This study compared long-term-care recommendations among various types of health professionals. Design and Methods: We gave randomly varied scenarios to a convenience national sample of 211 professionals from varying disciplines and work locations. For each scenario, we…

Research has documented a crisis in Texas high school graduation rates. Only 67 percent of Texas students graduate from high school, and some large urban districts have graduation rates of 50 percent or lower. This study documents the public costs of high school dropouts in Texas and examines how school choice could provide large public benefits…

The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is the nation's oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization committed to engaging people everywhere in promoting the well-being of children, youth, and their families and protecting every child from harm. By publishing a diverse range of views on a wide array of topics, "Children's…

Seldom do the needs of children with disabilities divide neatly along program lines. Instead, children and their families navigate a large, complex, and fragmented array of programs with inconsistent eligibility standards, application procedures, and program goals. "Meeting the Needs of Children with Disabilities" examines these programs, focusing…

This report discusses the development of a core curriculum for caregiver and social service training programs at Fraser Valley College in British Columbia (Canada). It outlines the goals of the project, which included responsiveness to student and employer needs, quality and consistency of instructional programs, and maximum transferability…