This "Policy Note" highlights new information about youth crime and prevention that suggest that California has a unique opportunity over the next several years to invest in new preventive approaches for reducing youth violence. Several surveys by the California Center for Health Improvement (CCHI) have documented that Californians share…

State, federal, and local spending on low-income children are examined for 13 states to help policymakers see the priorities that are actually reflected in their spending. The 13 states were chosen to ensure geographic, political, and economic diversity as part of the "Assessing the New Federalism" project, and together they include about half of…

A hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources examined the need for provision of comprehensive services to youth. Topics discussed included: (1) the provision of coordinated social services to students and families in schools; (2) school readiness; (3) dropout prevention; (4) improved school achievement; (5) drug- and…

This module is part of a training program for foster parents and foster care workers offered at Colorado State University. The module's learning objectives include: (1) identifying the needs of those involved in the foster care process; (2) examining the decisions involved in placing a child in foster care; (3) focusing on the family in which the…

This paper examines the role that public policy and practice play in supporting the efforts of natural, adoptive, and foster families who have children and youth with disabilities in keeping their families intact. Obstacles and barriers to implementing the philosophy of permanence planning, especially for children and youth with disabilities, are…

This report explores ways to implement ideas outlined by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) in a November 1992 policy statement. The CCSSO statement called for joint action by state and local agencies to prepare students for productive employment, healthful lifestyles, knowledgeable and contributing citizenship, strong family…

This digest provides some guidelines for developing partnerships between schools and outside service agencies and suggests some roles that teachers can play in the process. The successful provision of service depends not only on administrators, but also on people in direct contact with students, including classroom teachers. School administrators…

This newsletter issue focuses on strategies for program workers to help enhance family support. The newsletter includes the following articles: (1) "'But What Should I Way?': Five Principles To Help Families Deal with Television"; (2) "Shaping the Future--How to Build Partnerships with Local Community Foundations"; (3)…

This paper discusses economic, social, and political trends and values/beliefs that will affect the quality of life of persons with developmental disabilities and their families to the year 2000. The paper describes four plausible future scenarios: "America Revitalized"; "Post-Industrial Reformation"; "The Stressed Society"; and "The…

Drawing on studies by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) and other federal and state organizations, this document summarizes information and findings on six federal block grant programs involving social services, low-income home energy assistance, mental health, community services, maternal and child health, and preventive health. It also…

This study analyzed the short-term effects of the Youth Advocate Liaison (YAL) service upon selected behavioral measures from the school, police, and courts, using a sample of 147 former securely detained youth, aged 13 through 18, in Lake County, Illinois. Data sources were 14 school districts, 2 special education units, 321 police…

This analysis is the sixth of a series of seven reports on the ways that the urban fiscal crisis has affected children. Michigan's depressed economy, retrenchment of public finances, and attendant effects on local government have changed both the process of providing services to early adolescents and the nature of the services themselves. Despite…

The sixth and last manual in this set of Head Start training manuals offers detailed descriptions of workshop modules on 1) preparing staff to help parents with the transition from Head Start to public school, 2) using the outdoors as a learning environment, 3) planning for the classroom, 4) learning basic skills for conflict resolution, 5)…

The study obtained cross-cultural measures of quality of life (QOL), based upon perceptions of individuals with mental retardation/developmental disabilities (MR/DD) of their degree of satisfaction, productivity, independence, and community integration. The Quality of Life Questionnaire was administered to 92 persons in MR/DD programs in…

A study identified motivations and disincentives for business philanthropy among 101 small and medium-sized corporations operating nationwide, as revealed through interviews conducted with their executives from March through August 1984. Discussions identified several principal incentives to encourage corporate support of community services and…