Contemporary environmental crises are often attributable to a growing disconnect between humans and the natural world. One potential solution to this disconnect, as it relates to children, is the naturalizing of school playgrounds. This paper seeks to contextualize the impacts of a school ground naturalization program on the outdoor play and…

This study originated as an institutionally sponsored research residency conducted using utilization-focused evaluation (Patton, 2008) to investigate the nature of dispositional changes in candidates pursuing National Louis University's M.Ed. and Ed.S. degrees leading to educational leadership (EDL) state certification in one large urban school…

After decades, the concept of "how to change the status quo of deaf education" continues to dazzle and frustrate us intellectually and academically. We want deaf and hard of hearing students to achieve academically and to thrive in the world as adults. Yet, too often, test scores and post-school outcomes remain unacceptably low. Our…

Family-to-family services are emerging as an important adjunctive service to traditional mental health care and a vehicle for improving parent engagement and service use in children's mental health services. In New York State, a growing workforce of Family Peer Advocates (FPA) is delivering family-to-family services. We describe the development…

Making Connections was the Annie E. Casey Foundation's signature place-based, community-change initiative of the 2000s. It sought to build on previous work and launch an effort focused firmly on the framework of family strengthening. The Foundation started Making Connections in 22 places, focusing eventually on first 10, then seven sites. It…

Parent involvement programs can play an essential role in the academic success of Latino youth. This article reports the effectiveness and evaluation of two new Extension programs that help Latino parents become more involved in their youths' academics. The Latino Parent and Family Advocacy and Support Training (LPFAST) targets parents of K- 8th…

Described is an empowerment and self-advocacy training program for individuals with disabilities and parents of young children with disabilities, called Partners in Policymaking. Discussed are first-year activities, program evaluation data from participants, and both quantitative and qualitative short-term outcome data collected from first-year…

The report describes evaluation activities of Minnesota's PACER (Parent Advocacy Coalition for Education Rights) Center's "Parents Helping Parents" Program and the "COUNT ME IN" Project. Section 1 focuses on "Parents Helping Parents," a program to make parents more effective advocates for their children and to…

This report highlights the progress of the 15 statewide family advocacy projects funded by the Center for Mental Health Services of the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration during the 1993 fiscal year. Section 1 provides an historical background and a summary of the interim report. A qualitative description of the…

This resource training manual for family advocacy workers is designed to help these workers meet the needs of families who care for adolescents with emotional disabilities. It is intended for use with a companion manual which focuses on the needs of youth themselves, and stresses that effective case management must integrally involve both youths…

Recommendations are offered to parents who wish to ensure an appropriate school placement for a deaf or hard of hearing child. A table lists 30 recommended standards to facilitate full inclusion and the associated actions that parents can take to ensure compliance with these standards. (DB)

Parents of gifted children are advised to follow a four-step plan of information gathering and advocacy when their children are not receiving an appropriate educational program. Examples of three parents following this procedure are presented, along with a checklist for program and teacher evaluation. (DB)

This manual is intended to be used in conjunction with a 1-day training workshop to help parents of children with emotional disorders establish working alliances with protection and advocacy agencies for people with mental illness (PAMIs). The workshop prepares parents for developing specific plans for forging alliances with the state PAMI. The…

This study characterized individual advocacy performance differences of 3 individuals with developmental disabilities and 21 parents before and after participating in training programs called Partners in Policymaking. A three group taxonomy of advocate development (beginner, involved, and activist) is suggested. (DB)

This report outlines the National Head Start Association's (NHSA) Quality Initiative, which is designed to promote and recognize practices of high quality in Head Start preschool programs. The Initiative recognizes that within the Head Start community there are four levels of quality: Needs Improvement, Adequate, Achievement, and Excellence. The…