Guidance for leaders of a volunteer group working to combat adult illiteracy in a given community is provided in practical detail. In Chapter 1, Problems of Illiteracy, the results of an interview poll with a sample population of Americans 16 years of age and older show that there are 21,000,000 adults in the United States whose skills are not…

Presented are duplications of the responses given by Recreation Programs for the Handicapped (Miami, Florida) as part of a project to collect, share, and compile information about, and techniques in the operation of 18 community action models for recreation services to the disabled. Model programs are categorized as consumer, client competency,…

The study is a survey of the different kinds of voluntary rural service (service-learning) corps of students from the institutions of higher education in Malaysia. The history, organization, and activities of the service corps are examined, and this type of student social action is viewed with reference to the role of higher education in the…

Four interdisciplinary programs for the developmentally disabled are described: (1) a paraprofessional degree training program; (2) supported employment for institutionalized adults; (3) a service/research program in the area of communication technology and training for nonspeaking persons; and (4) a communication skills program for persons who…

Over the past 30 years, the rate of childhood obesity has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2 to 5 years and adolescents aged 12 to 19 years, and it has more than tripled for children 6 to 11 years of age (Institute of Medicine, 2005). At present, approximately 9 million children over 6 years are considered obese (Institute of…

Early Head Start is a comprehensive, two-generation federal initiative begun in 1995 aimed at enhancing the development of infants and toddlers while strengthening low-income families. This report contains information from the Survey of Early Head Start Programs. Beyond the need for an updated picture of the Early Head Start program, the Survey of…

This issue of "The Future of Children" focuses on efforts to provide publicly funded health insurance to low-income children in the United States through Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The articles summarize current knowledge and research about which children are uninsured and why, discuss ways to…

Noting that the quality, continuity, and stability of out-of-school time programs depend, in part, on the presence of a well-trained and fairly compensated staff, this paper examines the unique characteristics of the out-of-school time workforce that contribute to inadequate compensation and explores workforce compensation from an economic…

One teacher's experiences teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to adults in community-based programs are drawn upon to illustrate how ESL syllabus design can better reflect the conditions that attract students to community agencies, and how the agencies can better serve students uninterested in or disadvantaged by formal educational…

This document describes a study of the organization, operation, sustainability, and impact of community anti-drug coalitions nationwide. The study involved case studies of eight highly effective community coalitions and a cross-case analysis of characteristics shared among the coalitions. A consistent set of distinguishing features was examined…

In the past decade, the nature of fathers' involvement with their children and families has become an important topic, with government agencies and nonprofit groups developing programs to help men manage the challenges of fatherhood. This report presents the first set of findings from the Bay Area Fathering Indicators Data System (BAyFIDS)…

This document provides information on how internal or external facilitators can support early intervention teams in promoting meaningful change in their communities. The information presented is derived from a federally funded project that provided training and technical assistance to local early intervention interagency teams. The project's…

This issue of WIN (Welfare Information Network) Issue Notes focuses on the tendency of children from low-income families to drop out of high school, become teen parents, become involved in drug-related activities, and become involved in other activities that place them at high risk of long-term welfare dependency. Section 1 offers the background.…

Noting that the fragmented approach to early childhood education in the United States has resulted in enormous variability in program quality, this report describes characteristics of the "ecole maternelle," the preschool system in France. The report is based upon observations made by 15 American delegates who visited 11 preschools in…

This book is intended for fieldworkers or researchers and indigenous communities who are planning collaborative projects or research. Narratives of educational projects in Alaska Native and New Zealand Maori communities illustrate the ways that collaborative projects were developed in indigenous communities in the late 20th century. To illuminate…