Many government bodies and policymakers have embraced privatization of child welfare services, while others question whether privatization is truly more cost-effective or provides the best services. This book reports on six states' efforts to privatize their child welfare systems and their varying levels of success. This research documents the…

Throughout the Western world, there appears to be a consensus that schools have failed to prepare children for the challenges of the emerging information age. Many high schools that start out as innovative or "break-the-mold" lose their momentum and experience an "attrition of change." They end up becoming like any other…

The Community Design movement advocates that mismanagement of the physical environment is a major factor contributing to social and economic ills of a community. This book provides the proven tools and techniques for bringing community members into the community design process successfully and productively. It offers 15 case studies chronicling…

This book is designed to serve as a practical guide to planning and managing change within a business, and as a text for graduate business students studying change strategies. It focuses on the rationale for change, managing the change process, tools for change, creating a strategic vision for change, and checklists for implementing strategic…

This book is intended to encourage and support leaders in being authentic. It draws on the stories and anecdotes of an educator who has been a school principal for 20 years. Two organizing principles structure the 6 chapters: the core issues of leadership are illustrated and discussed through stories while the evolution of a leader is portrayed.…

Clinical psychologist Daniel J. Flannery reveals the impact of violence and victimization in the lives of children and adolescents from a developmental perspective. He explores how young people experience violence in their everyday lives and how this impacts their mental health and ability to cope with challenges and crises. His case studies show…

This book is designed for established counselors, pastors, social workers, nurses, psychologists, and mental health professionals; it can also be used as a text for counselor training programs or as a reference tool for beginning counselors. It offers a new strategy for helping professionals who are not comfortable fitting their philosophy of…

Over the last 20 years, many districts and schools have begun to explore year-round education or a modified calendar in response to student under-achievement in low performing schools. Here, the authors detail their two-year study of Title I, year-round, or modified calendar schools that switched from a traditional to a modified schedule in order…

Organizational learning is a strong candidate to replace reengineering as the next intellectual bastion on the continuously twisting road to increased organizational productivity. However, there is a paucity of research on how transferring intellectual materials via groupware products fosters organizational learning. This book provides a first…

This book is written about youth gangs with the aim of educating teachers and administrators, parents, and others who work with youth. The main emphasis is on gang identifiers and positive behavior management strategies and crisis intervention techniques that can be used in schools and the home. Section 1, "Youth Gangs Past and Present," provides…

In the wake of the Supreme Court's landmark ruling upholding school choice, policymakers across the country are grappling with the challenge of funding and regulating private schools. Towns, cities, and states are experimenting with a variety of policies, including vouchers, tax credits, and charter schools. Meanwhile, public officials and…

In order to meet today's financial challenges, libraries must be ready, willing, and able to enter the arena of politics and compete for scarce public funding. This book offers librarians, library workers, trustees, and friends' organizations practical advice, case studies, and step-by-step guidance for evaluating the existing local political…

This document, which was developed on the basis of recent research and testimony of small business owners, managers and employees, and training providers, is a basic practical manual for those owners and managers of British small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who want to initiate or improve staff training and development activities. The…

A new world has arrived in which computer and communications technologies will transform the national and global economies into information-driven economies. This is triggering the Information Revolution, which will have political and societal impacts every bit as profound as those of the Industrial Revolution. The 21st century is viewed as one…

This book analyzes how community-based organizations in low income urban neighborhoods can promote reform of their local public schools. Chapter 1, "Reassessing the Declining Urban Neighborhood," discusses the sources of urban decline in terms of a structural relationship between "haves" and "have-nots." Chapter 2,…