As part of a larger study to examine the usefulness of mentoring as an intervention serving at-risk youth, this study evaluated the implementation of two pilot programs in Saint Louis (Missouri) and Atlanta (Georgia). Both programs were at public agencies aiming to operate large-scale mentoring programs to serve adjudicated youth between the ages…

A study explored the role of work experience in addressing problems of homeless people in Saint Paul (Minnesota) during the 1989-91 grant cycles of the McKinney Job Training for the Homeless Demonstration Program. The program included a number of elements: outreach, intake, assessment and enrollment, orientation, work experience, basic…

The problems of rural students at risk of school failure and incompletion are in many ways similar to problems of urban low-income children and young people. These problems include poverty, unemployed parents, substance abuse, low self-esteem, child abuse, and sexual activity. However, children in many chronically depressed and isolated rural…

This publication is first in a series of annual updates of statistical information about young children and their families living in poverty in the United States. It builds on the report "Five Million Children: A Statistical Profile of Our Poorest Young Citizens," and incorporates information from the 1990 March Supplement to the Census…

A study was conducted to determine the earnings made by students while enrolled at Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) in California, and during their first and third years after leaving SBCC. The study, which compared employment status and earnings by occupational field, and outcomes for associate-degree completers and those earning 12 or more…

This report examines how communities and groups can shape the content of health services to bring more comprehensive health services to poor children and families. The report is based on a study of 11 comprehensive primary care programs and systems some of which offer school-based services: 4 freestanding community-based programs, 4 local systems…

The understandings of and interest in the environment of children in an inner-city black community were studied. To investigate their environmental moral reasoning, children's evaluations and supporting justifications were assessed regarding a hypothetical scenario that involved polluting a local waterway. Seventy-two children, 12 males and 12…

Many of the institutions that have helped children deal with the challenge of growing up, such as small towns and extended families, are disappearing or changing, and as a consequence schools are faced with greater responsibilities. Educators must reexamine what they do to acknowledge and validate the home and family, and must extend the…

A fresh look should be taken at the traditional distinction between adults with reading disabilities and those with little or no literacy skills. Although the distinction may still be valuable for theoretical purposes, it may not be as useful as it once was for practical situations. Many adults seeking literacy instruction today have limited…

When New Jersey passed the Quality Education Act to equalize expenditures between rich and poor school districts, it added a level of regulatory oversight to the "special needs districts," the 30 poorest districts in the state. This paper describes that oversight system and the additional paperwork burdens it created for those districts.…

A study examined the roles of literacy and teamwork in an automotive parts manufacturing company that was restructuring to implement a "high-performance" model of team organization, worker responsibility for quality control, and a pay-for-knowledge compensation system. The study focused on the formal and informal educational practices from which…

Smart Start is a statewide initiative to ensure that all of North Carolina's children arrive at school healthy and ready to learn. A formative evaluation assessed, from the perspective of local participants in the original twelve Smart Start sites, how well these process goals are being met in the implementation process. Focus group and individual…

This document is a resource guide to disabilities studies, an approach to disability which seeks to examine the social, economic, and political forces that for years have served to marginalize and oppress people with disabilities. Following an introduction that explains the field of disability studies, Section 1 is an annotated bibliography of 13…

Helping families access affordable, quality child care has been the primary focus for the Orange County, North Carolina Smart Start Partnership for Young Children. This study investigated the effects of Smart Start efforts on children's skills at kindergarten entry. Kindergarten teachers rated the cognitive, language and social skills of 39…

This document begins with a report describing a Northampton Community College project to develop a manual to help adult literacy providers understand how they fit into welfare reform. The accompanying manual consists of four sections corresponding to the project's four objectives. Section 1, intended to enable adult literacy providers to…