The Student Participation And Retention Keys (SPARK) project at Blue Ridge Community College sought to determine why adult basic education (ABE) and General Educational Development (GED) students dropped out of the college's basic skills program and how student retention could be improved. With input from current and former students, a survey form…

This handbook offers step-by-step guidelines for practitioners and community leaders who desire to upgrade the human services available to students and their families. Specifically, the book offers strategies for developing school and community collaboration to improve the benefits provided to students in a school district. The book describes the…

This report presents information and opinions advocating for school-based health centers. Each section starts with a brief introduction and follows with quotations from leaders in the field. The leaders whose thoughts are captured here believe school-based health centers are part of the solution to increasing childhood and adolescent health…

This Program Focus discusses the strategies of the Beacon Community Center Program (the Beacons), the history of its crime prevention programs, and general operations. It focuses on the activities of one particular program, Red Hook in Brooklyn (New York City), before analyzing the Beacons' potential for preventing crime. A core concept of the…

Passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), which includes the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, has caused dramatic changes in welfare reform. PRWORA emphasizes a Work First approach to welfare reform; to receive full TANF funding, states must meet the minimum required…

This guide is designed to assist families and service providers with developing individualized family service plans (IFSPs) for families of children (birth to 3) in Connecticut who exhibit characteristics of pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), autism, or related disorders. Sections address the following topics: terminology, early…

This report is the first of a series focusing on school-linked services, family support programs, and school-family-community partnerships in Rhode Island. The report provides a rationale for school-linked services as a strategy to improve outcomes for children, describes Rhode Island's Child Opportunity Zone (COZ) Family Center initiative, and…

The procedural safeguards required by the Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Program (Part C) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are intended to protect the interests of families with infants and toddlers with special needs and of the early intervention system. Early intervention system personnel are legally obligated to…

A comprehensive, multifaceted, and integrated continuum of interventions is needed to address barriers to development and learning in order to enable good school instruction and positive opportunities for child and youth development. Such an approach is essential in enabling many schools to enhance their effectiveness and many homes and…

This report describes the discussion and outcomes of a series of regional meetings on barriers to student learning that brought together leaders representing national, state, and local agencies. The report discusses the lack of an explicit policy framework for comprehensive integrated approaches to student learning. Factors that get in the way of…

It is long been acknowledged that psychosocial and mental health concerns must be addressed if schools are to function satisfactorily and students are to learn and perform effectively. This reality is reflected in the aims of the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. And, it is consonant with the goals and…

This document provides 2001-02 year service plan guidelines for fulfilling the requirements of the Student Health Partnership, a joint endeavor of the provincial government partners of Alberta Learning, Health and Wellness, Children's Services, and the Alberta Mental Health Board, to enhance the provision of a range of integrated health and…

This document provides information on how internal or external facilitators can support early intervention teams in promoting meaningful change in their communities. The information presented is derived from a federally funded project that provided training and technical assistance to local early intervention interagency teams. The project's…

This guide describes ways in which partners at the state level can move toward more integrated and comprehensive support systems for children and families eligible for services under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It reports on the collective experiences of states participating in the "Opening Doors Project,"…

This document consists of a compilation of information on various aspects of the Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities (Part C) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 1997 (IDEA). It collects a variety of resources that meet the information needs of state and jurisdictional Part C program staff, the…