Describes progress made in recent years in addressing the educational needs of homeless children and youth in America and notes concerns that remain, including awareness and perceptions of homelessness, early childhood educational needs, interventions, interagency collaboration, and the need for comprehensive evaluations of educational efforts for…

Discusses how to create successful internships between businesses, schools, and students. Describes benefits, including staff development opportunities, recruitment and placement opportunities, and career decision support; investments, including planning, resource demands, and self-esteem; and strategies for success, including realistic…

This article examines how the related concepts of risk factors, protective factors, and resilience relate to postschool outcomes for youth with disabilities, especially the adult transitions of youth with high-incidence disabilities. Issues related to research and practice are identified, including building resilience through support at the…

Analysis of a national survey indicates that more than a third of children with autism, a fifth with mental retardation, and a fifth with other types of special health care needs had problems obtaining needed care from specialty doctors in the preceding year. The most common problems included getting referrals and finding providers with…

Describes the work of performance improvement specialists and presents a method for determining whether a particular person or position meets the job criteria. Discusses the attributes of being a heurist, or taking a holistic approach to problem solving. Lists 10 steps for a needs assessment and 30 characteristics of successful performance…

Demonstrates how electronic mail and the World Wide Web are effective tools for focus group research and programmatic decision making by highlighting how an electronic needs assessment survey was conducted on participants' use of the Web. Sidebars contain the four-step focus group methodology; sample questions and responses; and a comparison of…

An assessment of the needs of persons with developmental disabilities and their families was conducted via focus groups of individuals with disabilities, family members, and professionals (n=50). Concerns included preservice staff training, inservice staff training, and program delivery and development. Implications for quality assurance and…

A survey involving 53 parents of children (mean age 5.3) with mental disabilities asked parents to rate various aspects of special education and related services. Results found parents were more concerned about development of skills in key areas than holistic skills development and were satisfied with current student placement. (CR)

A survey of 823 high school students found that the higher the adolescent is on a Need scale, the greater the likelihood of engaging in substance use. Further results indicated that cigarette smoking, drinking alcohol, and smoking marijuana are associated with significantly higher scores on the Need scale for both males and females. (RJM)

Discusses diversity in the workplace and offers guidelines for practitioners in designing, developing, and implementing diversity training. Highlights include linking the diversity initiative to the organization's mission, cultural climate assessments, reviewing policies and procedures, needs assessment, learner analysis, establishing objectives,…

Teams of seasoned teachers and administrators were assigned to a group of low-performing North Carolina schools each year to work with the local faculty to help turn around these schools. Provides a description of the assistance teams, how they were developed, and how they work. (Author/MLF)

Parents (n=535) of children with special needs were surveyed about four domains of infant mental health: attachment, behavior, stress/coping, and regulation/adaptation. Parents wanted help especially with behavior and regulation/adaptation issues. They rated all learning techniques as acceptable but preferred techniques available in the home.…

Rural Australian health services have great difficulty completing complex competitive submissions for health funding. A collaborative, capacity building approach between a local university and six rural communities in Victoria proved effective in enabling the communities to research their own needs; consult with stakeholders; and develop a…

The planning of a community-based accident prevention program in a rural Queensland (Australia) community is described. The process involved the establishment of a local steering committee, data collection, presentation of findings, determination of priorities, review of the evidence, description of target group, exploration of problem and…

This position statement by the National Joint Committee for the Communication Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities addresses access to communication services. It states that eligibility for communication services should be based on individual needs and argues that eligibility determination based on a priori criteria violate recommended…