This volume collects the personal experiences of the volunteers who serve across the nation as Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). The CASA program trains ordinary people to become advocates for children, to learn all they can about an individual child and his individual troubles and struggles, and to report back to a judge about what the…

This examination of the use of aversive techniques as a form of "therapy" for people with mental handicaps includes 12 articles by specialists who argue that the use of aversive procedures is socially, ethically, legally, and scientifically untenable as well as 3 ancedotal case studies by a patient advocate and 2 personal accounts by…

The monograph contains seven papers on developing and maintaining cooperation between parents of handicapped children and education professionals. B. Pattison reviews the history of parent involvement and advocacy and offers suggestions for improving school and community relations in "The Early Years and Now: The History of the Parent…

America's public schools face a demanding call for reform. This guidebook argues that public schools are failing and that the "education establishment" has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. The book provides guidelines for parents and citizens for making community-based changes or state reform of education. Section 1, "What Is…

Since the late 1970s, California's rural poor (frequently immigrants and refugees) have been engaged in grassroots efforts to change the cultural and political landscapes of their communities. Told in the words of rural people, this book presents six stories of struggle and empowerment. In Yuba City, Latino and East Indian farmworkers felt that…

Nine articles describe how to achieve three National Association for Girls and Women in Sport goals: advocacy for women's full participation in physical activity and sports leadership; recruitment, development, and promotion of female leadership positions; and advocacy for initiating and enhancing quality sport and physical activity programs for…

Ratification by Australia of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990 acted as a potent stimulus for a series of debates and controversies concerning the place of children in Australian society. The debate has largely taken place in relatively specialized forums involving lawyers, members of the judiciary, social…

This book provides a brief account of the life and work of the founder of the Children's Defense Fund, in the form of a letter to her 3 sons and 25 lessons to live by. It discusses her childhood in segregated South Carolina in the 1940s and 1950s, the influence of her parents on her outlook, and her concept of service to others as the purpose of…

This book portrays images and views of approximately 45 Native American women in their roles as mothers, grandmothers, tribal elders, teachers, preservers of traditional beliefs and practices, and leaders in the continuing struggle for survival. An introduction by Anna Lee Walter presents an overview of the modern Native American woman. In the…

Federal and state tax laws and most private programs give funding to all parents who put their children in day care but give nothing to parents who cut back on their work hours to care for their own children. Challenging the conventional wisdom about child care, this book argues that Americans have wrongly embraced day care and devalued work that…

This collection of speeches focuses on arts advocacy from perspectives ranging from arts education to the role of government and business in the arts. The book contains an introduction by Milton Rhodes and includes eight speeches: (1) "To Answer the Hunger Within" (Thomas H. Kean); (2) "It is the Dark We Have to Fear" (Edward Albee); (3) "Making…

This volume contains a collection of more than 50 articles and essays written by a professor of education at Kent State University who coordinates the undergraduate and graduate programs in gifted child education and directs a program for gifted students in grades 7-8. The articles, from publications such as "Education…

Over the last generation, parents have felt more and more intimidated by child care "experts" and have increasingly surrendered their role as the primary educators of their children. On the premise that theories of development, often colored by ideological positions on the family and its function in society, should take a back seat to…

Noting that successful social policies for children are critical to our nation's future, this book discusses the status of children in America and suggests that the nation's current policies may not be serving them well. Proposals for seven new social policies are discussed that deal with the following domains affecting children from birth through…