Head Start began in 1965 as part of the War on Poverty. Today Head Start serves families with more complex and longer-lasting stresses than those faced by families in the 1960s. As Head Start builds on its historic accomplishments, the six programs profiled in this report offer creative and different approaches to strengthening Head Start's…

This volume documents the rise in violence in our communities and explores its impact on children's physical, psychological, and social development. Focal themes are: the necessity for better information about the kinds of violence to which children are exposed, the necessity of beginning to build intervention strategies aimed at violence, and the…

This newsletter theme issue discusses collaboration between professionals and families whose children have emotional disorders. Background information is provided on the concept of empowerment and the development of collaboration as a principle for delivering services. Factors that lead to empowerment and barriers experienced by families are…

This manual provides information to assist individuals in working together more effectively to provide comprehensive services and improve outcomes for children with special health care needs. The manual emphasizes the need for a union of services that places the child and family at the center and exists to provide educational, medical/health, and…

This qualitative research study aimed to examine the nature of systems change and to identify practices and strategies that states, specifically New Hampshire, use to promote community integration and deinstitutionalization of people with developmental disabilities. The study describes the New Hampshire system, including state practices,…

This bibliography lists materials available from the National Agricultural Library's (NAL) AGRICOLA database that are related to crime and crime prevention in rural areas. The bibliography was derived from a search of books, journals, research reports, and Cooperative Extension Service publications that have been entered into the database since…

In a few years, the United States is going to have the largest number of teenagers it has ever had; at the same time, crime among teenagers is rising, and the recreational and learning activities and jobs that teenagers need for positive development are becoming scarcer in inner city and rural areas. Efforts in youth programs during the past 25…

This report of the National Task Force on African-American Men and Boys is the beginning of an approach to repair society's breaches and restore the streets to safety. The Task Force, headed by Andrew J. Young and established in 1994, conceived its mission as one of reclamation. The Task Force made 61 specific recommendations, and three general…

Equity issues in education and the conditions out of which they emerge frame the chapters of this yearbook. These chapters analyze the arenas in which our society must seek greater equity, but they do not offer a blueprint, or any singular theory or body of knowledge. The chapters are: (1) "Community Education and Education for Community" (Colin…

This report provides brief descriptions of a variety of community and educational programs for children and families with special needs, especially at the early childhood level in Vermont. Part 1 describes six programs characterized as community/regional-state partnerships. Part 2 describes family-centered resources, supports, and services,…

This handbook is the fruit of two projects of the University of Minnesota's College of Education: (1) the Dowling Friendship Program, a 3-year project at a public elementary school in Minneapolis in which children with and without disabilities participated in a variety of recreation activities during school, after school, at each other's homes,…

This document presents the state of Maine's rules of general applicability and specific rights of children who are receiving services from the Maine Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. The first section presents general rules concerning: statement of intent, definitions, basic rights, least restrictive appropriate treatment,…

Michigan was the first state to apply the permanency planning philosophy to children in the mental health system who have developmental disabilities or severe emotional disorders. Permanency planning involves identifying strategies for supporting children within permanent family relationships. This report outlines how the permanency planning…

The Community Integration Project (CIP) was an outreach project implemented in four Virginia and Maryland school districts to support the inclusion of children with disabilities and their families in school and community early childhood programs. The project focused on the sharing of resources between local education agencies and school and/or…

Social service workers and artists from 16 cities attended a conference to share their experiences and hopes for child welfare. The conference opened with a theater performance telling the story of an inner city teenager who dreams of dancing professionally but becomes involved in selling crack; the audience helps to create the story's ending.…