Harm reduction is fundamentally a movement intended to empower the patient and consumer of health services. This project applied harm reduction theory as a strategy to empower collaborating community partners and researchers to overcome their preconceptions about each other in order to create a successful HIV prevention intervention and evaluation…

Grant writing experience can be a valuable asset for students completing masters-level degree programs across a variety of disciplines. A service learning grant writing project was incorporated in a multidisciplinary program evaluation course as part of a writing requirement. Twelve students served as "ghost writers" and wrote grant…

Evaluation data are reported from two examples of a comprehensive approach to urban school reform that attempted to involve the full range of stakeholders, including parents, in school reform. The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation awarded grants to five urban school districts to improve middle schools by focusing on high expectations, high content,…

This study used multiple methods to assess basic community needs and attributes of community atmosphere (cohesion, religious involvement, and recreational activities) in two psychometric studies. Part 1 revised self-report community assessment measures, developed multi-item scales for each construct, and tested reliabilities and factor structures…

This evaluation attempted to determine if the Eugene, Oregon School District 4J community schools program was accomplishing its goals. Researchers completed interviews with 770 community residents, 46 community school teachers, 45 noncommunity school teachers, 14 principals, and 154 agencies. Researchers found that no community school had carried…

A sociopsychological approach is applied to social systems in examining the community mental health center movement. The interrelated concepts of task(s), social structure, culture, and social process help explicate the overwhelming emphasis on direct clinical service at the cost of indirect service. The historical evolution of the task-mandate…

Urban decentralization is an attempt to reorganize local services through some combination of: (1) giving service recipients or clients greater responsibility over service policies (the client dimension) and (2) increasing service resources at the level of specific, geographically defined neighborhoods (the territorial dimension). The…

This study describes and evaluates the first year of a 2-year masters degree urban teacher education program. The first year consists of four separate components, each of which is evaluated separately on the basis of previously stated objectives. The first component, Community Orientation and Study, involves a 6-week living experience in the inner…

The 1973-74 Arizona Commission of Indian Affairs Annual Report provides information on the conditions and problems confronting Arizona Indians. The Commission recognizes its responsibility to provide solutions to such problems as attaining a status of social, economic, and political equality with other citizens of the State and nation. Commission…

This handbook provides instructions to help communities form county rural development (CRD) committees. Guidelines are applicable to committee work in general and to community involvement in identifying and discussing local problems, determining community needs, setting goals, identifying available resources, securing adequate leadership, and…

An evaluation was conducted of the effectiveness of the 12 LULAC [League of United Latin American Citizens] National Education Service Centers, Inc. (LNESC), which assist Hispanic and other educationally deprived students in pursuing post-secondary education. The evaluation focused on three LNESC objectives: (1) to increase the number of persons…

Using the systematic plan of the Public Education Project developed in Region J of North Carolina as its model, this guide presents in detail seven major steps in organizing a public education project for emergency medical services: (1) assessing needs; (2) survey methodology; (3) determining objectives; (4) media usage--both mass media and…

A SUMMER PROGRAM OF EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT FOR DISADVANTAGED YOUTH, AGES 16-22, WAS EVALUATED. THE PROGRAM, WHICH WAS DEVELOPED BY THE NEIGHBORHOOD YOUTH CORPS AND CONDUCTED JOINTLY BY THE NEW YORK CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION AND SIX COMMUNITY AGENCIES, ATTEMPTED (1) TO IMPROVE THE READING AND WRITING SKILLS OF THE ENROLLEES, (2) TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO…

The process called deinstitutionalization, whether of the elderly or mentally disabled, involves complex issues, not the least of which are economic, physical, social, and psychological costs; any attempt to further this process perforce needs a comprehensive, specific plan suited to community needs and to those who are to be served. A workable…

A study investigating institutional factors affecting the performance of the employment service (ES) focused on (1) organizational characteristics conducive to high performance in state ES agencies and their local operations and (2) the external linkages of the ES with state and local politics, other agencies, and the U.S. Department of Labor…