Background: Although models such as the coordinated school health program (CSHP) are widely available to address student health needs, school professionals have been unconvinced that scarce resources should be allocated to improving student health. Concern that attention may be diverted from meeting academic accountability goals is often seen as a…

In the past three decades, program evaluation has sought to more fully engage stakeholders in the evaluative process. But little information has been gathered from stakeholders about how they share in evaluation tasks and whether role sharing leads to confusion or tensions between the evaluator and the stakeholders. This article reports findings…

Where mental health administrators used to rely on subjective judgments of senior clinicians to evaluate the effectiveness of mental health services, they now rely more on a quality assurance (QA) plan. The primary motive for undertaking a QA program should be better service. QA may start out being very expensive in terms of personnel and…

Teachers evaluated a new, preventively oriented school mental health program. Overall, expressed attitudes were positive, more so in settings which had more assigned mental health professional time. (Author)

This article profiles selected Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) interventions in three Oregon communities that have completed Safe Schools/Healthy Students projects, representing a substantial investment in building school and community collaborations, expanding positive behavior supports in schools, and establishing school-based mental…

Major strides have been made in the field of youth development. However, youth transitioning into adulthood have not received similar attention. These older youth have frequently been overlooked by policymakers and practitioners who have been more focused on designing programs and services for adolescents and young children. Because older youth…

For two decades, school-based clinics have been providing basic health care to medically underserved teenagers and addressing the increasingly complex health and social problems facing young people, particularly unintended pregnancy. Today there are 150 school-based clinics operating in most major cities and many rural areas. In 1984, the Center…

This study assessed the long term effects of the fifth and sixth grade units of the School Health Curriculum Project (SHCP) by investigating the seventh-grade student's health knowledge, health-related attitudes, health-related practices, and health locus of control. Results are presented and conclusions are discussed. (MT)

Three evaluation methodologies used in studies of volunteer utilization are reviewed: model-program comparison, benefit-cost analysis; and qualitative program review. The importance of utilizing a comprehensive evaluation incorporating all three methodologies is discussed using an ongoing community mental health center volunteer program as an…

Describes the nutritional needs of individuals in New Mexico, and the efforts of the Nutrition Improvement Program (NIP) of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine at Albuquerque to remove hunger and malnutrition. (DM)

Three models of evaluation emerge: objective and independent, objective but serving one interest, and pseudo-scientific public relations. Evaluation of an interdisciplinary mental health education program and roles must all be attended to or the weak link undermines the rest. (Author/RL)

Proposes a framework for the evaluation of health and human services programs in community settings. Applies this framework to the discussions in this special issue to see how well the chapters advance community-based program evaluation. Concludes that the chapters are valuable for those interested in improving the evaluation of community-based…

Using a case example of one of the mental health agencies in Florida, we demonstrate the utility of concept mapping for developing a program logic model and articulating a program theory for program assessment. The results of the concept mapping procedure enabled identification of 100 program services as described in statements by staff. Moreover,…

We describe changes in adaptive functioning for children enrolled in the Intensive Mental Health Program (IMHP), an innovative model for serving children with the most severe forms of SED. Most children show marked improvements in multiple indicators of role performance and symptomatology. Although a high risk, high need group, most children…