This document presents the 1989 Annual Statistical Report on the three major Program Activities of the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, a federally funded agency designed to directly impact the delivery of state social, medical, and legal services to persons with disabilities. Data on the three programs--The Client…

An ongoing debate exists on the issue of volunteering and its political implications in West Germany. Critics of the social welfare system have a direct impact on volunteerism. The ruling coalition aims to limit public spending in the social services sector while the "grassroots" movement emphasizes the danger of state-provided services…

The American Field Service (AFS) has 3,500 volunteers throughout Australia. Local chapters recruit potential host families and participants. Host families are recruited actively and selectively while volunteers are recruited largely through AFS presentations at schools, through friends, and by returning volunteers. Due to a high level of demand…

This module provides information about the benefits of entering into a cooperative agreement with another agency. Also provided is information about developing successful agreements. The guide includes a list of definitions and uses a question-and-answer format to discuss the rationale for interagency cooperation, the best approach to…

This module, intended for special needs personnel, includes an overview of vocational education for students with special needs; a glossary of 55 specialized terms associated with serving special vocational needs students; a listing of 14 national professional associations, including addresses, publications, and features; a listing of 8 Missouri…

This document is intended to provide Maryland's public schools with the information needed to initiate and pursue Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) certification of their prekindergarten programs. After a brief introduction in section I, section II addresses the certification process in terms of definition, overview, and steps in…

Ways in which schools, law enforcement agencies and communities can work together to develop strategies to effectively reduce truancy are provided in this handbook. Areas covered include: (1) a definition of truancy; (2) a truant profile; (3) strategies for dealing with a truant; (4) suggestions for components of truancy reduction programs; and…

This paper describes experiences with in-house evaluation, using four case examples from Child and Family Services (a social service, child welfare, and mental health agency) in a meta-evaluation model to illustrate benefits and sensitivities of the internal evaluator's role. Projects reviewed were: (1) a child sexual abuse treatment team; (2) a…

This report describes the activities of five federal agencies as they made the transition from merit pay to the Performance Management and Recognition System (PMRS) during fiscal year 1985. It also discusses how PMRS addressed the problems identified with merit pay. In addition, the report presents information on the pay increases and performance…

The revival of Hebrew as a modern spoken language in the early part of this century is discussed. The usage of spoken Hebrew in the Middle Ages and its evolution within and outside the Middle East are described. The interpretation of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda's late nineteenth century interest in reviving spoken Hebrew as a call for general spoken Hebrew…

In order to build United States competence in world affairs a strengthening of foreign language and international studies programs is required. Few would argue that the United States should not possess an educational system which produces at least a minimal cadre of experts about other peoples and cultures. Our national security requires…

A guide to federal student financial aid programs is provided for students. General information is provided on: eligibility, financial aid, application forms, records needed, the Student Aid Report (SAR), verification by applicants of the information reported on their applications, transfer students, deadlines, addresses where applications are…

This report is the result of a project which analyzed the current collection of statistics from academic, public, and school libraries by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and by state agencies and prepared recommendations for a more efficient and effective national data collection system. Current data collection methods are…

A study of the reliability of the proficiency ratings scale and techniques used by three federal government agencies--the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Language Institute, and the Foreign Service Institute (FSI)--to test employees' oral language proficiency in French and German had two randomly selected two-person teams of testers from…

A review was conducted of methods used by the U.S. Department of Education and by state or private nonprofit loan guarantee agencies to protect the federal government's interest when collecting defaulted student loans under the Guaranteed Student Loan Program. Questionnaires were sent to 58 guarantee agencies that administer the program to…