Based on the evidence that early intervention and support can reduce family breakdown, strengthen children's school readiness, and benefit society in the long term, the Sure Start program in England is designed to offer support enabling parents to strengthen their relationship with their children and to access more fully local community services.…

This report discusses the outcomes of a study that investigated the characteristics of 959 families participating in the Minnesota TEFRA program, a federal Medicaid option for children with disabilities which allows caregivers to purchase support needed to keep the children in the community. Findings indicate that families of children with special…

Arguing that our democratic society needs citizens with advanced language and thinking skills, this paper invites readers to take part in a Literacy Compact in their communities. It first discusses what a Literacy Compact is, describing it as a pact between students, English language arts teachers, parents, school administrators, and communities…

Prominent among the new models of social service delivery are organizations providing comprehensive, community-based supports and services (CCBSS) to children and their families. A needs analysis explored CCBSS sites' interest in and readiness to use a software tool designed to help them make more effective internal resource allocation decisions…

This sourcebook has been written to help workers and activists consider how they can introduce the idea of children's rights into their work of supporting and developing community groups. The sourcebook focuses on: (1) practical ways of introducing children's rights using exercises; (2) case studies of how some projects and organizations have…

This final report describes accomplishments and activities of a four-year federally funded project to provide technical assistance to Colorado children and youth with deafblindness. Accomplishments are detailed for each of the following six project goals: (1) identification of children with deafblindness; (2) development and maintenance of…

This paper presents baseline data on students (mean age 10 years) with severe emotional disturbances at four public schools, two in Kentucky and two in Vermont, who will be followed in an evaluation of the application of a coordinated, community-based system of care operating in both states. Data are summarized concerning the service systems…

Some educators contend that students who engage in activities related to school subjects learn more efficiently and more effectively, and remember what they have learned much longer than students who do not. Service-Learning (S-L) can provide a central focus around which educational change can occur. Moreover, S-L enhances the ideas promoted by…

The past quarter of a century has seen wide extension of the use of schoolhouses for social, recreational, and community purposes, providing fuller utilization of school buildings erected usually at heavy cost. Thirty-two States have definitely provided by law for such use, and in the other States school authorities permit it under their general…

Describes Thomas Jefferson Junior High School/Community Center, Arlington, Virginia, the first major effort at creating a facility aimed at the total development of the community's intellectual and physical needs. Discusses Stanwood Junior High, the first systems-built school building erected in Pennsylvania; and the Dalhart, Texas, Elementary…

The Directory on Supportive and Rehabilitation Programs and Services for the Deaf usually gives names of contacts in listings for federal, state, and independent programs; social/recreational programs and agencies; and supportive organizations and agencies. (MC)

A community-based educational network was established to improve the deployment of physicians's assistants away from the original site of training in California's San Francisco Bay Area. The graduates' practice locations for a 7-year period was compared before and after the decentralization of the program. (Author/MLW)

A reasonable, well-balanced high school interscholastic sports program should emphasize involvement, skill development, and carry-over. It should not stress sports for the few gifted or talented participants. Middle school needs and the advantages of coordinated school-community physical education activities are discussed. (PP)

Describes the problems of establishing a rural, public, educational radio station in Hyde County (North Carolina) and its potential benefits. Young people and adult volunteers will operate the station, providing a real service to the community in terms of communication, youth activity, educational programs, and decreasing isolation. (LC)