A study investigated how positive behavior support was experienced and understood by team members (n=19) from four residential, community-based teams who achieved positive outcomes for adults with severe challenging behaviors. Findings from the study depict an overall culture of support consisting of interrelated layers of social context.…

Examines a failed effort at university-community collaboration among three community-based organizations and the University of South Florida. Explores the dynamics of the interaction, analyzing the roles played by the competing goals and conflicting decision-making procedures of each party. Offers guidelines for universities seeking to establish…

A study examined parent and caregiver perceptions of educational opportunities for 17 students with severe disabilities in an inclusive high school and 27 students with severe disabilities in a high school that focused on community-based programs. Results indicate that interview participants supported inclusive schools and believed children were…

Innovative solutions to local problems in Appalachia were highlighted at the 1999 Ideas That Work conference. Presentation summaries focus on computer literacy and access to computers for middle school students, collaborative services for preschool children, youth programs, motivating students to attend college, training and technical assistance…

The Rediscovery foundation provides advice and training to Native American and other indigenous communities for establishing and operating wilderness camps to rediscover their ancient ways and connection with the land. Describes a 2-week camping trip in British Columbia with members of the Nuxhalk Nation during which they established a new…

Describes the prevalence and patterns of vision impairment in the Sultanate of Oman. Reviews the types of special education and rehabilitation services offered and future priorities. Concludes that, although at present, few visually impaired children are receiving services, a special education system is evolving into a community-based approach to…

Describes a collaborative community response coordinated by a local school health advisory board (SHAB) that addressed key findings from a youth risk behavior survey. Objective data helped focus school and community efforts, and the leadership of the SHAB successfully partnered a response with a number of community organizations. Surveys showed…

At the core of democratic citizenship is deliberation: citizens' tendency and capacity for debating issues of common importance. This study considers civic organizations--often found to be political mobilizers--as political microcultures: environments for political discourse that structure participants' understanding of the practice of…

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the development of safety, permanency, and child well-being indicators by using administrative data sets as well as by using these indicators as tools for evaluating Florida's Community-Based Care (CBC) initiative. Longitudinal data from 37 counties including 4 counties that implemented community-based…

A literature review was carried out to establish what evidence exists about disabled children's participation in decision-making, both regarding their own lives and about the shape of service delivery. There is evidence that disabled children hold and can express views, given the right environment. However, participation of disabled children needs…

This article profiles Toni Schweitzer, a parent who has a fantastic kindergarten program for her four-year-old twins. The program runs from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the local community school where certified teachers and early childhood educators work side by side to offer a child-centred program that covers her entire working day. The program is…

This article examines a national applied theatre programme coordinated through the Department of Child, Youth and Family in New Zealand. The programme uses dramatic processes to create opportunities for communities to discuss and find their own answers to the issues of child abuse and family violence. The programme utilises a sophisticated in-role…

National senior service programs have had a long and relatively successful history. Emerging at the intersection of federal aging and poverty policy initiatives in the early 1960s, projects such as the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) and the Senior Companion Program (SCP) have expanded in size and scope over the last several decades. These two…

This article describes the doula concept and role developed by the Ounce of Prevention Fund in Illinois, working with several community partners. Doulas: (1) seek to build sturdy parent-child relationships to promote the healthy intellectual, emotional, and physical growth of children; (2) use a relationship-based model of intervention; (3) are…

This essay advances a way of thinking about assessment that envelops both process and outcome. We assert that learning in community service learning and the assessment thereof might fruitfully be considered in communication with others (the students, constituents from the community, instructors, etc.). Concepts central to a social approach to…