School-community partnerships have shown promise as an educational reform effort. In these partnerships, schools expand their traditional educational mission to include health and social services for children and families and to involve the broader community. Such partnerships have been found to enhance student learning, strengthen schools and…

A framework for evaluating public-private partnership projects in housing and community development organizes nine criteria in three categories: (1) need for partnership (problem magnitude, duplication); (2) process (planning, structure of partnership, management of operations, resource acquisition/management); and (3) outcomes (achievement of…

Reporting on a rural planning and development program that proposes to develop, install, and evaluate alternative models for more effective collaboration and integration of the complex bureaucracies with responsibility for rural regions, this paper describes "Partnership for Rural Improvement" (PRI). Focusing on 11 counties in…

Highlighting the need for a redefinition and redirection of social services for children and families, this report proposes a new model for social services that can enhance the development of children and the functioning of families. Two essential and interrelated components of the model described and discussed are: (1) supporting and expanding…

Few national level programs in the United States directly support both local development and education/training. Although both are needed to accomplish the desired goals of economic stability and low unemployment, distinctly different sets of policies exist for each, and because of limited federal resources, each program is in competition with the…

This digest summarizes the underlying structure, concepts, and ideology of the Project NEXUS manual, "A Community Approach to an Integrated Service System" (CAISS). Project NEXUS is a 3-year project charged with the development and field-testing of a technical assistance manual to aid communities in the development and/or improvement of…

Despite challenging financial conditions in 1981-82, the Partnership for Rural Improvement (PRI) continued its traditional emphases on project development, organizational development, interorganizational coordination, and training and education as well as its newer emphases on task forces, community education, internships, community service…

The result of a rural development conference, this publication emphasizes the theory of rural public service planning and is addressed to middle and/or top level planners and public administrators and/or researchers concerned with the delivery of public services. The objectives of this 12-paper collection are: to review existing methods and…

A community-based education program enables rural communities to meet needs and solve problems by utilizing the total community environment and its human resources. Components of this program are: (1) expanded use of school facilities; (2) lifelong learning and enrichment programs; (3) interagency coordination, cooperation, and collaboration; (4)…