During January 1984, Fayetteville Technical Institute (FTI) conducted a community assessment survey throughout Cumberland County to assess the knowledge, perceptions, and opinions about FTI of community residents, businesses, and high school students. Three survey instruments were designed to answer eight research questions: (1) what are the…

Practical information is provided, in a question and answer format, for community college officials who are planning to conduct a community needs assessment. A brief discussion of the usefulness of needs assessment surveys to the college planning process is followed by descriptions of eight steps to be followed in planning and conducting a survey:…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other specified Federal agencies regarding their responsiveness to the problems and needs of small communities. A major objective was to define a "small" community and to determine how its problems and needs differ from those of a…

Most analyses of California's nursing shortage find that too few nurses are being educated to meet future demand. Coffman and Spetz (1999) estimate that state nursing programs need to educate an additional 3,600 students per year between 2000 and 2010, and 5,000 more per year between 2010 and 2020 to maintain an adequate nursing force. Unless the…

This paper describes strategies for developing drug abuse prevention programs in rural communities, based on available evidence about factors contributing to drug abuse. Comprehensive interventions to prevent drug abuse and other youth problems are needed because drug abuse is entwined with other problem behaviors and stems from a complex set of…

Argues that research with ethnic minority and subcultural groups is often stymied by measures developed on samples of European Americans. Offers recommendations to help researchers create measures that are sensitive to both the culture and the communities of research participants. Further presents steps used to create measures that are culturally…

Addresses issues regarding the design of electronic community information services and user preferences for information services. Presents results of surveying 80 Wisconsin residents about their community information needs. The following community information needs were identified: library services, local government and banking, local calendars of…

Provides guidelines for preparing a proposal for funding a library literacy project, including funding sources; community needs statement; plan of operation, including goals and objectives and a time frame; quality of key personnel; budget and cost effectiveness; evaluation plan; adequacy of resources; and cooperation and coordination. (LRW)

Explains the two components of an effective child-care-program needs assessment: purpose identification, and process and implementation. Discusses the types and sources of specific information needed for a successful assessment, as well as common pitfalls to avoid. Outlines four steps in the process and implementation component. (TJQ)

In 1999, 108 of Appalachia's 406 counties were "distressed," with high poverty and unemployment rates. Three experts on Appalachia (Ron Eller, Amy K. Glasmeier, Greg Bischak) discuss problems and potentials of these counties, focusing on the working poor, welfare reform, the utility of social indicators, the challenge of changing the…

Mental health service needs of American Indians in the Flagstaff (Arizona) area were surveyed among 156 adults, 28 adolescents. and parents of 51 children, focusing on help-seeking behaviors, desired services, factors promoting service use, adults' emotional and other problems, youth problems, and acculturation levels. Problems fell within the…

This analysis of the transformation of the Charles Sturt University Regional Archives from a library special collection to a multi-function regional repository highlights the importance of stakeholder interests in determining institutional configurations and collection development priorities. It also demonstrates the critical importance of…

"Lessons Learned" is a series of publications that are a brief recounting of actual school emergencies and crises. School and student names have been changed to protect identities. Information for this publication was gathered through a series of interviews with school stakeholders involved in the actual incident. This "Lessons Learned" issue…

This study used multiple methods to assess basic community needs and attributes of community atmosphere (cohesion, religious involvement, and recreational activities) in two psychometric studies. Part 1 revised self-report community assessment measures, developed multi-item scales for each construct, and tested reliabilities and factor structures…

To gather information for Maui Community College's (MCC's), on the Multi-Ethnic Island of Lana'i. fall 1992 of students and residents of the island of Lana'i to assess community interests and educational needs. Responses were received from 232 Lana'i residents, of whom 49% were current or former students, 31% were male, and 84% were employed.…