The Learning Partnership (TLP) initiated a Family and Community Engagement Strategy (FACES) initiative in three Ontario communities to foster active and responsive relationships among community partners and enhanced family engagement in transitions to school. A case study research design, grounded in participatory action research, was used to…

Community organizing for school reform is a growing national phenomenon, as young people, parents, neighborhood residents, and faith-based institutions struggle to improve the quality and equity of public schooling, particularly in urban school districts. Now a decade old, community organizing projects are influencing local public schools in…

Aurora, a village of 147 residents in north central Kansas, was the focus of a 1978 investigation of the community development potential for Kansas rural villages. Students and staff from the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare worked with community residents to identify three programs the village wanted (a recreation program, a…

Twelve urban community action programs (CAP) were examined in depth to determine how each of them operationally defined community action and to evaluate their performance. The criteria used were: (1) a clear statement of purpose and programs consistent with that purpose; (2) strong independent leadership and a built-in evaluation and…

A high priority area for behavioral community psychologists involves working to strengthen informal support systems within communities. A collaborative effort between a community group and academic based psychologists focusses on a community problem--dog litter in an urban area. An original demonstration project was used to influence the political…

The Emergency School Aid Act (ESAA) of 1972 authorizes grants or contracts to nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and local education agencies (LEAs) to support the LEAs' efforts to desegregate or to reduce minority group isolation or its effects. The NPO program is a small component of ESAA which provides financial assistance to community…

The genesis of the Ocean Beach, California, Community School is described in this volume by three of the participants in its formation. A grassroots effort, the school was started amidst a certain degree of controversy and resistance from already established community organizations. The authors describe the processes they went through to gather…

A case study in career advancement in the community action agency in Suffolk County, New York, presents information on demography, economics, institutional resources, minority groups, political structure, funded programs, and the agency's background, as well as on the problems, objectives, benefits, activities, and strengths and weaknesses of the…

A strong local economy which allows residents of a community to work and shop near their homes is perhaps the best safeguard against the threats of urban sprawl, economic stagnation, physical deterioration and loss of unique identity facing many small towns. Utilizing a six-phase process advocated by the University of Wisconsin-Extension,…

Proceedings are presented of hearings before the Senate Subcommittee on Child and Human Development concerning proposed legislation (S. 239 and S. 374) to revise, improve, and extend certain provisions of the Domestic Volunteer Service Act. Testimony from administrators of current programs under the act and from public witnesses focuses on the…

In today's wars, children are on the front lines. This handbook, the result of a meeting of psychologists and humanitarian workers, presents a strategy to meet the needs of children in war and refugee crises that intends to be cost-effective, empowering, and child-focused. The strategy emerged from field work based on the belief that each…

The development of a model network for team leadership by the University of Akron and community agencies is described. The major program objectives were to increase understanding of: interpersonal and intragroup dynamics; organizational development and collaborative planned change; and issues at the local, regional, and national levels that relate…

In 1997, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) published the first edition of "Preventing Drug Use among Children and Adolescents: A Research-Based Guide" to share the latest NIDA-funded prevention research findings with parents, educators, and community leaders. The guide introduced the concept of "research-based prevention" with questions…