This paper describes institutional reforms implemented at Kfar Tikvah, an Israeli community for 126 moderately mentally retarded individuals. The process of changing to the organizational structure used in the kibbutz system is examined through descriptions of reforms in everyday life, social life, and work and economic independence. (JDD)

A survey of 648 United States and Canadian colleges and universities concerning their alumni education programs revealed that, although programs vary greatly, the most prevalent types are campus nonresident, foreign travel-study, and on-campus resident programs. In many cases, alumni office and continuing education divisions cosponsor programs.…

A model of direct care human service staff turnover was proposed and tested with 236 direct care staff members in 9 private, nonprofit New Jersey agencies. Four variables were found to be related to job satisfaction: (1) agreement of the job with personal goals and values; (2) burnout; (3) satisfaction with supervision; and (4) employment history.…

A sample language arts/history curriculum based on state curriculum standards was created and implemented in a classroom for 22 secondary students with emotional/behavioral disorders in a residential treatment program. Emphasis on story elements and narrative summary writing resulted in improvements in both summary writing skills and academic…

Examines the developmental, familial, and peer deterrents that form barriers to adoption placement, based on interviews with 17 teen mothers in a residential facility. Analyzes responses based on an Eriksonian developmental model, and notes the role of family "cutoffs" and "re-admissions" and peer pressure as deterrents to…

An HIV/AIDS education program was given to 121 family-based foster care providers and 61 supervisors of foster care facilities for individuals with mental retardation. Although these service providers had some prior knowledge about HIV and AIDS, there were significant improvements in knowledge following the training. Implications for serving…

Examines constructions of adolescence and pathology and their relation to human service intervention. Locates history of related discourses along a trajectory of 20th-century capitalism, attending especially to racialized, gendered, and class-based aspects. Argues that the youth treatment industry may not be preparing youth for healthy adulthood,…

Residential treatment centers have faced many changes as the involvement of managed care has led to reduced lengths of stay and increases in the severity of problems treated at this level of care. This paper discusses the development of a new theoretical framework that combines social learning theory with the research on resilience to create a…

The authors present the findings of a study that explored student perceptions of the residential environmental education (EE) program at the New Jersey School of Conservation. The authors administered a 3-item instrument that was based on the minute paper/muddiest point techniques to 2,779 students from 31 schools. A qualitative methodology with a…

This paper explores historical and recent trends in the delivery of residential adolescent substance abuse treatment, looking specifically at the impact of managed care on the service delivery system. Three historical eras are conceptualized by the authors: (1) an era prior to managed care in which services were provided on a fee for service basis…

This study examined the effects of a recreation activity staged according to self-determination theory (SDT) principles on in-situ vitality and in-situ affinity toward nature of teen-age male students (age 14-17) enrolled in a residential treatment program. Procedures involved staging snowshoe tours for three groups of students. Each of these…

This chapter presents the findings from a network analysis of a demonstration program for the developmentally disabled to show the application of graphical network analysis in program evaluation. The developmentally disabled demonstration (DDD) program was a five-year pilot project to provide person-centered service environments to people with …

Families In Recovery Staying Together (FIRST) is a team from Children's Hospital and Research Center at Oakland that has joined in collaboration with two local perinatal residential drug treatment programs to create early childhood mental health services at those sites. The authors highlight the collaboration strategies and challenges the partners…

A long-established agency for troubled children was following a philosophy based on behavioral control and treatment of pathology. As staff examined their beliefs about the process of change, the climate evolved from enforcing behavior control to empowering youth to develop positive strengths. A charter school was created and new behavior…

The cognitive abilities of 24 males at an in-patient substance abuse facility were assessed using the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination (Cognistat). Findings suggested that there were significant changes in cognitive functioning during the 21-day in-patient treatment as measured by the Cognistat. Implications for mental health…