Drawing on a multiyear local research project on the affordable housing crisis, this article outlines a pedagogical approach we call Community-Initiated Student-Engaged Research, or CISER. The CISER model brings together three key groups of actors--undergraduate students, university researchers, and community organizations--drawing on and…

This article describes a model of civic engagement based on four key community organizing practices, created at Occidental College and implemented since 2001. The foundations of this model do not include confrontation, mass mobilization, or demonstrations--tactics commonly associated with the term community organizing. This model, instead,…

Oakland Community Organizations (OCO) has worked for over ten years to improve educational opportunities in low-income neighborhoods in Oakland, California. The work of thousands of parent, teacher, youth, and community leaders has resulted in the formation of nearly fifty new small schools and more than ten charters, creating settings for…

The issue of providing individual services historically has been a major dilemma for social action, Alinsky-style community organizations. Empirical evidence suggests that most action organizations that moved into service provision lost mass-based participation, militant tactics, and a power-building orientation. The author presents a case study…

California's Healthy Families/Medi-Cal for Children (HF/MCC) program provides low- and no-cost health insurance to low-income children. In December 1999 and January 2000, 72 community-based organizations (CBOs) were contracted by California's Department of Health Services (DHS) to supply culturally appropriate HF/MCC outreach and enrollment…

Following a case study of father-daughter incest, the author comments on the prevalence of incest and describes Santa Clara County's Child Sexual Abuse Treatment Program (CSATP). The founding of CSATP, its treatment model for incestuous families, and its preliminary results are covered. (SJL)