Makes recommendations for providing better services to people with developmental disabilities, including clarifying the support that people with developmental disabilities need and providing that support; making a fundamental shift toward community based programs; eliminating rigid and complex rules; creating the future; and making a commitment to…

Describes the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation National Program in Self-Determination, a program facilitating change through the support of "learning community" grants to self-advocacy organizations and others. Local implementation is demonstrating creativity in establishing new tools of self-directed management of resources, listening to…

Describes a community needs assessment conducted by Native Americans with Native Americans, for Native Americans in the Northeastern United States. Focus groups and interviews were used to gather the data, which pointed to the importance of including culture as a foundation for everything in the community. (Author/SLD)

Two examples from the cluster evaluation of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation's Community Partnership for Health Professions Education illustrate why flexibility in evaluation design and activities is essential to collaborate with program directors and be responsive to program needs. (SLD)

Describes a research-based self-care health education program for recently widowed people. Program aims to provide a foundation of knowledge, motivation, and encouragement to initiate positive behavioral changes, and to establish a support network. Preliminary analysis suggests the program is achieving many of the intended outcomes. (Author/JDM)

This report describes and assesses ad hoc multiagency conferences with varying hospital and community agency participants, each conference devoted to a single hospitalized child suspected of having been abused. Analysis of questionnaires sent to 22 conference participants found most participants reported the case-specific conferences to have been…

A study of 2560 individuals with developmental disabilities found that individuals residing in community settings experience greater social integration into the community than those in institutional settings; however, social integration was found to be more strongly related to consumer satisfaction in institutional settings than in community…

Reviews policy approaches to, and legislation for, community revitalization. Discusses how early federal policies contributed to the segregation and isolation of poor neighborhoods and describes how new community-based programs counter the urban disinvestment practices that fostered segregation. Outlines policies that recognize the need for…

Develops a comprehensive approach to meeting the needs of urban, low-income, multicultural communities. Outlines a neighborhood network that focuses on the developmental needs of youth, engages residents, and promotes interdisciplinary services. Examines one school of social work's efforts to help a neighborhood develop such a network. (RJM)

The Food Project brings together Boston-area youth to grow and distribute food for the hungry and in the process, develop leadership and job skills. Summer crew workers (high school students) grow vegetables, distribute them to food pantries, and sell them at farmer's markets. Crew leaders learn more about sustainable agriculture and hone…

The Rural Elderly Enhancement Project, in which a nursing school development a model of community participation and involvement, was evaluated through interviews with 73 community members. Many projects designed to foster community competence in elder care and youth/school-based health have been sustained. (SK)

Examines how service learning in teacher education can help build a community of learners, strengthen the capacity of teachers to enhance the community, and foster increased teacher involvement in the community development process. (RS)

Reviews the efforts of Michigan public libraries to create local and statewide electronic information services. Highlights include Internet access; libraries' roles in the community; networking climate; three local and regional projects; and statewide initiatives, including those of the state library. (LRW)

To determine the effects of a service-learning experience, first year pharmacy students were surveyed on their perceptions regarding: (1) cultural diversity, the elderly, the poor, and the disabled; (2) community service and social support; and (3) their service learning assignment. The experience positively impacted their perceptions regarding…

Introduces concept of Community Youth Development, the purpose of which is to help communities respond to youth violence; reviews community efforts to respond to youth violence; describes history of community youth development; discusses positive youth-development building blocks; provides four-part definition of community youth development;…