The Iowa Community Betterment (ICB) program provides support to communities attempting to maximize their own resources and create development. In two ICB projects, Edgewood citizens developed badly needed affordable housing and built a golf course, and Greene residents boosted tourism by building a paddlewheel riverboat and supporting local…

Previous research on program implementation is integrated and extended to form a participatory approach to evaluating program implementation. This method focuses on the continuous active involvement of program developers, managers, and staff in the evaluation process. The methodology is applied to an actual program to highlight the steps involved.…

Assessed extent of unresolved grief in bereaved individuals attending two programs, their spiritual perspectives, and the relationship between them. Fifty-six individuals completed questionnaires, and 42 completed same questionnaires 3 months later. Results indicated that individuals manifested initial reactions to death, and these reactions were…

Family-and-consumer-sciences students worked with community agencies and residents to prepare an exhibit of family photographs. The project supported development of students' cross-cultural competence and professional skills. (SK)

Discussion of a survey on non-governmental organizations involved in community-based rehabilitation for people with disabilities focuses on differences between collaboration in industrialized and less developed countries; resource dependency; and structural characteristics of organizations that influence their interactions. The limited public…

Outlines the rationale for promoting comprehensive development in troubled communities. Argues that such approaches employ strategies that address the social, physical, and economic needs and circumstances of community residents. Looks at historical and current approaches and examines the experience of the Ford Foundation's Neighborhood and Family…

Reports preliminary evidence on an innovative approach to gang violence which relies on community mobilization, social intervention, suppression, opportunities provision, organizational development, and targeting. Describes program processes and outcomes. The project involved teams of community youth workers, tactical police officers, adult…

Surveys directors of Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)-accredited programs on plans for their programs, needed curricular changes, and what makes community counseling distinct as a counseling specialization. Respondents were evenly divided between those who see community counseling as generic…

Examples of creative programming to meet community needs in State College, Pennsylvania, are described: summer arts and crafts for K-6, intensive English courses for Russian refugees, brown-bag parent education seminars for employees of a local business, and a summer reading initiative. (SK)

Studied tribal libraries through visits to libraries in Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona. Tribal libraries serve as key information centers for the tribe's sovereign nation, and are almost always the education center of the community. However, they get minimal federal support, and few states enjoy a functional working relationship with them. (SLD)

Interviews with 28 community coalitions in the Healthy Communities initiative should that:(1) communities must recognize their interdependence; (2) ownership of community agendas should be shared; (3) coalitions should broaden representation; and (4) sustainability may be enhanced by support infrastructures and a bottom-up perspective. (SK)

Youth-adult partnerships (Y-APs) are an innovation being used increasingly as a key strategy for promoting youth development, as well as for building strong programs and communities. This article discusses three pitfalls that can undermine their effectiveness: (1) the assumption that youth should do everything of importance; (2) the belief that…

Communities are telling inspiring stories about what happens when they use public dialogue and action to involve large numbers of citizens--with the greatest diversity possible--in a search for common ground to resolve tough issues like race, community police relations, and education reform. These efforts, often called "study circles," are…

As practitioners of Catholic Social Teaching, Catholic nongovernmental organizations are excellent resources for Catholic colleges and universities seeking to integrate social justice into educational programs and institutional practices. In this article, the partnership between Catholic Relief Services and Cabrini College is presented as a case…

This article reviews research into the genesis and spread of both neighbourhood houses and learning centres in Victoria and community-based men's sheds in Australia to identify some similarities and differences. Our article asks questions about the gendered communities of practice that underpin houses for women on the one hand, and sheds for men…