Guidelines and ideas for creating successful school/community projects are provided in this handbook. Organized like a cookbook, the book contains 43 chapters by individual contributors who take a community-based approach to education, in which the schools are the pivotal institutions of a community. The first section outlines the roles, or…

Although increasing numbers of organizations are speaking out on behalf of children, politicians need to hear first-hand from families about their concerns for their children. This book provides parents and others with skills necessary to organize effectively and speak out on issues that affect children at home, at school, and in the broader…

In view of the national attention that has recently been brought to public school improvement, a list of suggestions is presented in the form of leading questions to guide communities in assessing the quality of their local schools and in promoting beneficial change. The evaluative questions touch on a wide range of issues: school financing…

This handbook describes the roles that parents, tribal governments, law enforcement personnel, courts, schools, and health care and social service providers play in alcohol and substance abuse intervention and prevention in Indian communities. It explains the legal responsibilities each group has and actions community members should expect the…

In response to requests for information from people and organizations all over the United States on how to contribute to the healthy development of young children, the Families and Work Institute has gathered concrete suggestions from leaders in diverse fields into this booklet of action tips. This effort was undertaken to support the "I Am Your…

"Engaging Residents to Improve Results for Children and Youth, Families and Communities" is a "Toolkit" that is the product of an international working group composed of delegates from six participating nations--Chile, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2002, the working group set out…

Noting that the need for after-school child care will vary considerably by community, this tool kit has been developed to encourage local collaborations of community members to examine the needs and programs for school-age care, with this term including child care before school and during the summer, in their community. The guide provides a…

This manual aims to help communities develop a plan to improve services to children from birth to 3 years of age who are chronically ill or disabled, and their families. Section I provides background information needed to begin a Community Approach to an Integrated Service System (CAISS) committee in a community. It addresses the issue that…

In 1997, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) published the first edition of "Preventing Drug Use among Children and Adolescents: A Research-Based Guide" to share the latest NIDA-funded prevention research findings with parents, educators, and community leaders. The guide introduced the concept of "research-based prevention" with questions…

Designed to inspire parents throughout the United States to develop parent support programs, this book describes one such program which successfully operates in a community of 150,000 people. The Postpartum Education for Parents (PEP) program is designed to offer free assistance to families following the arrival of a baby. Specifically, the…

Spurred by the economic boom of the late 1990s and a decades-old national standards movement that increased both the transparency of assessment results and the awareness of urban public school failure, communities across the country are turning to community organizing as a strategy for improving public education. As organizations confront the…

The conference reported in this document brought together parents and employers to identify practical strategies to help youth with disabilities succeed in the transition to the world of work. The conference attempted to enhance partnerships among parents; employers; national, state, and local governments; and organizations devoted to improving…

This handbook offers a variety of prevention and therapeutic services that can be tailored to meet the unique characteristics of a school and community. In section 1, an overview of the dropout problem and the comprehensive dropout prevention strategy are presented. In section 2, on needs assessment, data collection, objective selection, and…

This book, which provides information parents can use to counter violent television programing, alerts parents to the fact that television programing in the United States is pushing violent entertainment to its technological limits and allowing children to interact with the programing through their toys. The nine chapters in Part I discuss the way…

Describes 10 things parents can do to prevent youth violence locally, including: (1) talk to your children; (2) set clear rules and limits; (30 know the warning signs; (4) know when to intervene; (5) stay involved with the school; (6) join the PTA; (7) organize a community violence prevention forum; (8) develop a school violence prevention/crisis…