Based on the work of the National Council on Research in Child Welfare (NCRCW), this handbook is designed to help social service agency executives cope with changing times for child welfare agencies, strengthen traditional services to meet today's needs, and analyze and plan for the future. The manual aims to demystify quality improvement theory…

This publication provides a step-by-step guide to help schools and districts implement strong, sustainable professional development that drives achievement of student learning goals. The toolkit is based on the experiences of national professional development award winning schools and districts. The most common thread among the winners is that…

To help mitigate the impact of multi-environmental degradation, the model program for emotionally at-risk children that uses nature to enhance emotional well-being (or intellect) has been constructed, implemented and researched. The six sessions that compose the program are designed to impart social-emotional understanding and prime perceptions by…

This annotated video transcript follows the discussion of six experts in community relations and charter schools. The panel was convened as part of an initiative to identify the specific needs of charter-school founders and to develop a leadership-training program designed to address those needs. Each member of the panel shared his or her insights…

In 1996, suicide was the ninth leading cause of death in the United States. The nation must address how to develop and implement a national strategy for suicide prevention to achieve a significant and measurable reduction in suicidal behaviors. A national conference on suicide prevention brought together policymakers, health and mental health…

This booklet is intended to help decrease the barriers of prejudice toward people who have mental illnesses. It serves as an educational tool to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness and to help develop anti-stigma or anti-discrimination programs. Increasingly, the media is doing a better job of breaking down the stereotypes…

Disagreements often lead to confrontations that contribute more to an escalation of a conflict rather than to its resolution. This bulletin shows how to start and carry out a community mediation program that helps prevent violence. Mediation can reduce violence in neighborhoods and schools. Peer mediation is a way of handling conflicts and…

This document describes the Kentucky Manufacturing Skill Standards (KMSS) development process. The Manufacturing Standards project is divided into three phases: standards, assessment, and curriculum. The vision of this project is to identify a standards-driven assessment process and determine the level of competency and understanding. This data…

Noting that a family with young children is under tremendous pressure and that a babysitting cooperative can give parents relief during a vital stage of a family's development, this book provides guidance for mothers of preschool children in starting and maintaining a Smart Mom's Babysitting Cooperative based on the University Place Baby-Sitting…

This bulletin describes the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's efforts to fight juvenile gun violence. The Office awarded four community demonstration grants to implement "Partnerships To Reduce Juvenile Gun Violence." Partnership goals include increasing the effectiveness of existing strategies by enhancing and…

This paper discusses the position of Canada with regard to international education, drawing on the findings of a prior study intended to foster development of an agenda for promoting a more strategic national approach to the internationalization of Canadian education. International education, for the purposes of this discussion, includes extending…

This manual was developed for educators and natural resource managers who are establishing interpretive programs where biodiversity is the richest and most threatened. The manual contains five units which are based on the experiences of staff at the American Museum of Natural History and represent the key steps of designing an interpretation…

This book takes school leaders through the process of creating and sustaining an induction and mentoring program. It challenges school leaders to think beyond initial, short-term goals to a wider, long-term vision, providing guidance on telementoring in the cyberage and advice to ensure development of highly effective practices that will improve…

All states have systems for mental health, public health, substance abuse, and child and adult welfare that have been in existence for many years. Treating clients across these areas is often prevented by the fact that each agency acts independently. As a result of the compartmentalization of community services, many clients fail to get the help…

This paper describes a process for developing quality teacher education programs. The process begins with the core beliefs of all faculty members involved in the program. A retreat is an appropriate place to start the process of promoting appropriate philosophy and developing core beliefs in faculty members. Once this process is completed, it is…