Substance abuse among U.S. Blacks is discussed as the concomitant of a chaotic, rapidly changing, and exploitative society. The impact on families and children of drug and alcohol use is viewed as a personal issue; however, it is a public issue because its causes lie in the social structure. (SLD)

Describes development of a brief scale to assess public attitudes toward homelessness (PATH). Responses of 222 adults in New York (New York) to the PATH scale and 5 brief scales suggest the PATH scale's reliability and construct validity. The PATH scale can aid analysis of public perceptions of homelessness. (SLD)

Describes a procedure developed by students that measures the mass concentration of particles in a polluted urban atmosphere. Uses a portable fan and filters of various materials. Compares students' data with official data. (DDR)

Uses the experience of a project working with unaccompanied refugee minors from Albania to England to describe the circumstances of these immigrants. Experience suggests that those in mainstream schools have the best chance of building a life in England. Support should be provided to ensure education and social services for these students. (SLD)

Twenty-four black parents from Houston were interviewed for their perspectives on nature and environmental education. Four overarching questions addressed the importance of nature, environmental concerns, environmental practices, and views toward environmental education for their children. Parents spoke of commitment to environmental issues and…

Describes the process by which experimental Ford Foundation programs designed to stem the urban crisis evolved into more narrowly constructed interventions to reform service delivery systems and alleviate poverty in inner-city neighborhoods. Related themes are highlighted and limitations caused by problems of institutional constraints, political…

Presents a conception of the origins of genocide and mass killing, as illustrated by the Holocaust and violence in the former Yugoslavia, and relates these experiences to youth violence in the face of difficult living experiences in the United States, stressing the role of unfulfilled or frustrated human needs. (SLD)

Although not every American is touched directly by violence, it is hard for anyone to escape the problems of violent crime completely. This book, designed for the education of young readers, discusses violence and explores reactions to it. It is stressed that violence is not a new problem in the United States or in the world, but rather a…

Homelessness affects people of all backgrounds, races, and religions. Whether the number of homeless people is 300,000 or 3 million, as some estimates claim, there are too many people in America who struggle to find shelter daily, making homelessness one of the most serious problems facing the nation today. This discussion, designed for the…

Student mobility is a topic that frequently surfaces in discussion about the problems of urban schooling, but it is one that tends to fade from the agenda as discussion continues. Using data from the Chicago (Illinois) public elementary schools, this paper first describes the extent of urban school instability. Many schools, in fact, do not have…

The National Center for Children in Poverty has recently conducted research on case management in service integration projects, with the core information coming from 16 projects around the country from many service domains. Six programs specifically target very young children living in poverty, and six provide services to very young children…

The Education Commission of the States has found that urban school districts face enormous problems. This document looks at a variety of ideas about how to re-engineer the urban school district. These essays encourage educators and the public to think about the nation's urban school systems and how they might better meet the needs of children. The…

The Prevention Training Institute has been developed to pilot a new strategy to assist inner-city service providers to further recognize and act on their own empowerment. Service providers must have the necessary capacities to incorporate new directions. These include knowledge of the current research, access to resources, and an understanding of…

An exploration of the economic and historical causes of homelessness is combined with accounts of individuals and families who are on the streets or in shelters and how they came to that point. Following an overview of the problem of homelessness and its causes, nine chapters present stories of homeless individuals, friends, and families. These…

Comments of Daniel E. Koble, Jr., explaining the methodology and findings of the Needs Study to the AVA Administration Division, are excerpted. (AG)