Introduces a statewide child care resource-and-referral network that links programs together at the state level while linking parents and providers at the local level as a model for meeting child care needs in rural areas. Suggests that the collaboration and creativity of rural community members and state-level leaders can ensure the best services…

Priority setting is examined from the perspective of planning practitioners operating in a major federal regulatory agency. Causes of ambivalence in setting priorities are considered, and ways to reduce ambivalence are suggested. Three models are proposed for setting priorities in the public sector. (SLD)

This article discusses aspects of the concept of quality of life that impact on policy development and habilitation services for persons with intellectual disability. The article contends that quality of life should not be viewed as an individual score for a person but in the larger context of a guiding principle that underlies the development,…

Explores policy development in the area of youth violence prevention, using the experience of the California Violence Prevention Initiative, a five-year effort of community action programs, policy, and research, and leadership development. The interests that were served, and the interests that should be served, are discussed. (SLD)

The six chapters of this theme issue attempt to define conceptual and methodological issues in the evaluation of integrated services systems and to begin to synthesize some of these issues. An introduction to these evaluation issues is followed by case studies and a discussion of implications for program and policy development. (SLD)

This dissertation provides historical insight into the design and implementation of one strategic plan of a public higher education system in an effort to inform future similar strategic planning processes. On July 1, 1994, the Board of Regents appointed Stephen R. Portch the ninth Chancellor of the University System of Georgia. The timing was…

Although a sustained campaign has been underway to preserve published materials of importance to scholarly research in the United States, there has not been a similar impetus for the preservation of unpublished materials and the kinds of collections held by archives. A systematic methodology for developing preservation priorities for archival…

Issues such as income, occupations, affirmative action, family structure, social class, and poverty are discussed in terms of their appropriate assessment to develop social policies and programs. Methodological biases, such as making generalizations about groups on unrepresentative samples, are discussed. (AM)

Wisconsin's Task Force on Early Education, Child Care, and Family Involvement identified the early education, child care, and family support services that will be needed in coming years and determined how these services should be implemented and coordinated. The task force began its work with an invitational conference involving about 100…

The Maricopa Community College District's (MCCD's) Commission on Student Assessment and Initial Course Placement was formed to assess the current status of student assessment for initial course placement across the district, to review the available instruments that assess student skills for placement, to discover what other community college…

This two-volume report of a planning study conducted for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting presents an assessment of the opportunities and risks associated with public broadcasting's involvement in teletext and videotext. Volume 1 contains a strategic assessment that offers analysis, recommendations, and conclusions regarding the market for…

Policies and issues associated with the privacy and security of criminal history information are presented. The first chapter discusses general concepts regarding privacy and security of criminal justice information, including definitions of basic terms, considerations of interests requiring attention when developing policy, relevance of fair…

This second revision and update of the initial five year plan for the Chicago Public Library reflects the administrative team's planning of objectives and tasks for this period. A literature review summarizes thoughts on the environment of the library, and a survey of its development is followed by an outline of the plan's goals, objectives, and…

A policy-focus Delphi study was conducted to identify the barriers which prohibit handicapped students from entering or completing vocational technical programs in community colleges in Texas and to identify recommendations and tasks relating to the removal of these barriers. A seventy-two member participant group, which included a nineteen member…

The role of government in curriculum development and how priorities among various types of curriculum and related efforts should be set is discussed. It is argued that federal involvement in curriculum is necessary as a part of general commitment to educational reform and renewal. It is suggested that other major forces in curriculum development,…