Objective: Interorganizational relationships (IORs) between child welfare agencies and mental health service providers may facilitate mental health treatment access for vulnerable children. This study investigates whether IORs are associated with greater use of mental health services and improvement in mental health status for children served by…

The new definition of learning disabilities proposed by the National Joint Committee for Learning Disabilities is discussed in terms of its need, procedures followed in its development, the Committee's intention regarding critical elements, and the definition's current status (acceptance by four of the six member organizations). (DB)

The article presents an overview of the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities, the organizations it represents, its history, its mission statement, a listing of its position papers, and the process by which it operates and takes positions. (DB)

The editorial describes a proposed interagency university-based social/health maintenance model to provide health and medical services to developmentally disabled persons in the Buffalo, New York, area. (DB)

Compares and contrasts characteristics of the mental health system and the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) service system; examines environmental, intraorganizational, and interorganizational variables as they pertain to potential for linkages between mental health and VR providers; and discusses implications for improved integration of treatment…

This paper discusses the importance of interagency coordination in developing services for young children with handicaps and their families. It suggests strategies to improve the functioning of interagency coordinating councils by considering council membership, role definition, goal commitment, vision of the early intervention system, and use of…

The article discusses the cooperative relationship between the Council of Agency Administrators, which comprises 17 not-for-profit New York State agencies, and the Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped. The role of each organization is examined and hopes for future collaborative efforts are outlined. (Author/JDD)

This article reviews U.S. federal legislation mandating collaborative transition planning between schools and adult service providers. The Collaborative Transition Model, a six-stage interdisciplinary approach which relates vocational assessment activities to instruction, is offered as one example of a formal transition system being implemented in…

This article explores the current status in the United States of support to families who care for children with disabilities at home. It summarizes essential program features, program effects, and outstanding issues (such as, ensuring family involvement in policy formation, sufficient funding, and system collaboration). (DB)

The transition of children between the two programs of Public Law 99-457, serving children aged birth through two and age three through five, can impact on state administration and local agency administration of the programs. Recommendations are provided for facilitating the family's and child's transition and ensuring continuity in services.…

The article describes the Utah Community-Based Transition Project, a federally funded project on transition planning for severely disabled youth. The planning process is aimed at facilitating coordination and expansion of community services for each graduate. Barriers facing states as they attempt to implement effective transition planning models…

The article presents a cooperative interagency approach for assessing effectiveness of programs and services to facilitate the transition of handicapped students from school to adult community living. Features of the model include cooperative planning at the policy level, implementation level, and direct service level; and collaboration by state…

The first of two articles discusses the similarities and differences between academic libraries and campus computing centers, and identifies the level of service libraries want from computing centers. The second addresses the advantages of automating library circulation systems, and the need to integrate those systems with other library and campus…

Enumerates changing external conditions and internal organizational problems in community colleges resulting in a paradox involving institutional mission and structure. Lists steps for positioning community colleges as the key provider of specified programs/services through carefully defined linkages with public- and private-sector organizations…

This paper notes developments in supported employment practices and the manner in which support organizations, employees with disabilities, and companies interact. The paper then reconceptualizes supported employment and the role of employers. The reconceptualized approach involves such techniques as extending support to employer personnel and…