This guide was written to help persons find help when they are faced with an urgent situation regarding an elderly family member, friend, or neighbor. It provides guidance as to where to find help in the community where the older person lives. The first section of the guide contains the most frequently asked questions in significant areas of life,…

This paper discusses the rationale for needs assessments, briefly describes different types of needs assessments, and outlines basic procedures which can be used in planning and implementing a community needs survey for services for young children and their families. The demographic and statistical approach to needs assessment is briefly…

Describes strategies used by reference librarians to provide service to the developmentally disabled, including reference service to volunteer and professional service providers, specialized information networks, information and referral services, and key reference tools. Deinstitutionalization, normalization, the developmental model, and least…

Comprehensive mental health programs should be designed on the basis of identified mental health needs and locally established priorities so that the resulting combination of services is geared to the specific and unique requirements of the catchment area. In addition to being comprehensive, local programs should be physically accessible, ensure…

Prepared as a tool for implementing a career education program, the guide is designed to help high school students and teachers explore career options available in the public services field. The eight major occupational groups covered in units are: (1) government agency management, (2) social and economic services, (3) educational services, (4)…