This study examined processes and strategies utilized by states to implement transition policies designed to facilitate coordination of the state-level service delivery systems of special education, vocational education, and vocational rehabilitation. The study used a model involving four policy instruments: mandates, inducements, capacity…

This study (stage two of a proposed four-part study) employed qualitative methods and descriptive statistics to examine child mental retardation from the perspective of the family. Ninety-five mothers of children with mental retardation were surveyed using an 80-item questionnaire and 3 open-ended questions which provided mothers an opportunity to…

The 21 papers in this monograph on rehabilitation of minority persons with disabilities are organized into four sections which focus on: (1) perspectives of policy and practice; (2) challenges and opportunities in rehabilitation of diverse individuals; (3) cultural diversity's challenges to service delivery; and (4) strategies for empowerment.…

This report presents case studies from seven states showing how state governments are: (1) responding to demands for more efficient and effective delivery of children's services; (2) taking on additional responsibilities formerly handled at the federal level; and (3) passing on added responsibilities to the local level (school districts, local…

A practicum at a licensed, non-profit family day care agency in Canada serving over 4,000 children and their families was designed to assist in clarifying the meaning of family support and family-centered child care. The practicum was developed to assist the agency in moving towards operationalizing its commitment to provide optimal family support…

Hawaii's Health and Education Collaboration Project (HEC) is intended to develop a personnel preparation model that promotes working relationships among trained collaborative providers and keeps families pivotal to the process. This monograph reports on the progress of this family-professional partnership initiative. Following the preface, the…

This guide was developed as part of a project to provide practicing physicians with training to enhance their understanding of and involvement with early intervention and the special education system in Connecticut. The introductory section notes that best practices in both primary medical care and early intervention promote care that is family…

This report describes a model designed to provide family-centered, community-based coordinated services for families and their children with chronic health care needs. The model, which was implemented to serve 208 children over a 5-year period, is based on three key concepts: families should have the choice to receive services in their homes and…

This report examines information about the health status of migrant farmworkers, including specific issues related to migrant health services in Michigan. Despite the high rate of families with two wage earners, one-half of migrant farmworker families have incomes below the poverty level. Poverty is associated with poor nutrition and sanitation,…

The Defense Conversion Adjustment (DCA) Demonstration, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Work-Based Learning, consisted of 19 demonstration projects that used three approaches to alleviate the negative impacts of defense cutbacks on communities, firms, and workers: community planning, dislocation aversion, and worker…

The Indiana Deaf-Blind Project was designed to enhance and further develop coordinated direct services to children and youth with deaf-blindness for whom Indiana is not obligated to make available a free appropriate public education. These include children from birth through age 2 and 18 through 21. The work of the project was focused on: (1)…

The adult continuing education (ACE) programs provided under contract with the Gloucestershire (England) Adult Continuing Education Service were evaluated in January-February 1994. An evaluation team visited more than 60 venues, including main sites and a wide range of village halls, family centers, women's institute halls, and other outreach…

A project proposed to demonstrate an effective delivery system for providing family literacy services to homeless parents of young children by taking the "Read Me a Story" program directly into bridge housing sites where the families resided. The approach offered was the direct parent/indirect child model. The curriculum came from…

This report is designed as a guide for policymakers and practitioners interested in designing more effective staff development practices. It provides information about elements of effective staff development practices identified through a review of research and site visits to nine staff development programs identified as providing effective…

This chapter examines the rationale for and means of achieving effective collaboration in planning and delivering services to gifted and talented students. First, the historical and philosophical background of current emphases on increased collaboration are reviewed. The necessity of collaboration with general education professionals is stressed…