The number of students with chronic and complex health conditions significantly affects a teacher's ability to teach and meet the needs of the whole child--especially combined with the impact of societal issues such as poverty, violence, and the growing population of families who speak a language other than English at home. Education in America is…

Responses (N=239 from 12 states) to a cost survey on support services for children with disabilities indicated an average per annum expenditure of $5,282 per family (excluding surgeries) and a cost of $95,083 to raise a child to age eighteen. Options must be developed for the increasing number of individuals who find themselves medically…

The Bamford Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability (Northern Ireland) was established in October 2002 to examine all aspects of the law, policy and provisions that affect people with mental health needs or a learning disability in Northern Ireland. Its report "A Comprehensive Legislative Framework," which deals with the reform…

Under new "managed health care systems," the classical functional separation of risk taker, claims payor, and provider are vertically integrated into a common entity. This evolution should produce a competitive environment with medical care rendered to all Americans on a more cost-effective basis. (CJH)

Introduces the special issue and discusses the historical failure of American government to redress the injustices suffered by African Americans and the role of scholars in creating and perpetuating racist stereotypes. Emphasizes the need to address issues of Black health and crime. (FMW)

Summarizes findings of December 1987 hearings in Des Moines and Nashville on the dimensions of mental health problems in rural America. Outlines 18 Commission recommendations to Congress and state legislatures covering mental health service delivery, funding, public education, professional education, and research. (SV)

Reviews the nutritional consequences of participation in food assistance programs, specifically the impact of these programs on the diets of African American households. Findings indicate that, although participants have better quality diets than nonparticipants, these diets are inadequate when compared to accepted dietary standards. Suggests…

The cost-effective "wellness" health care approach, emphasized by many corporations, will soon be emphasized by school districts. Wellness programs, beneficial for employees, can be launched by utilization of community resources and by knowing employees' health needs. (CJH)

Discusses the findings of the 1986 National Institute on Drug Abuse household survey. Points out the limitations of the survey and identifies trends associated with drug use. Reviews current efforts in dealing with the drug problem and recommends specific policy changes. (ML)

Issues involved in applying the needs assessment model of the Colorado Social Health Survey to planning and management in Massachusetts are reviewed. The methodology in this special issue provides a new paradigm for mental health needs assessment in general and will be valuable in the Massachusetts plan specifically. (SLD)

Discusses areas of disagreement between the Institute of Medicine's report, "Homelessness, Health and Human Needs," and the controversial supplementary statement, "Health Care for the Homeless," issued separately by 10 of the authors. (FMW)

Implications of the Colorado Social Health Survey for indirect needs assessment in mental health planning and administration are discussed. The survey model parameters' generalizability to other areas of the nation should be investigated, as well as improved ways of linking specific populations to needs, preferences, and outcome dimensions. (SLD)

Service-planning issues necessary for successful implementation of an indirect needs-assessment model to estimate geographical differences in the prevalence of needs for alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health services are discussed. The issues include selection of need categories as target groups, estimation model selection, and understanding…

This supplementary statement, prepared by 10 members of the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Health Care for the Homeless, expands upon the Committee's report, "Homelessness, Health and Human Needs." Argues that the only broad, long-term solution to the health problems of the homeless is immediate action to provide decent, affordable…

A summary is provided of a large-scale needs assessment research project in Colorado that tested the validity of several statistical procedures or models for indirectly estimating the need for alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health services across geographic subregions using a Colorado Social Health Survey sample of 4,745 adults. (SLD)