Comprehensive, integrated services for infants, toddlers, and families are essential for optimal child development, and collaboration across systems is increasingly important to maximize limited resources. The authors describe three successful initiatives in Oklahoma that use a collaborative systems approach to providing direct services to young…

Last summer, the Chabot College Children's Center Evening Program came close to being shut down due to lack of funding. In order to break the typical mold of annual fundraising ideas (e.g., t-shirts, flower pots, and cookie sales) which give low returns, the Center hosted its first fundraising venture called "International Arts Performance…

This paper examines a regional 2009 H1N1 rural response model, which utilises community partnerships with local government, county emergency management, public health, private healthcare, Medical Reserve Corps volunteers, and other organisations in rural Southeast Idaho. Unique aspects of the collaborative use of federal, state, county, and…

Among the many notable features of Coos County, New Hampshire, is the region's high level of community engagement and a rich civic culture. Community and Environment in Rural America (CERA) surveys by the Carsey Institute have shown that nearly one-fourth of adults in the community report membership in a civic or fraternal organization, and an…

The environmental management approach to alcohol and other drug abuse and violence (AODV) prevention is based on the principle that college students' conduct can be shaped through concerted efforts to reengineer the environment that shapes their behavior. Constructing a campus, community, and state-level environment that will protect students and…

Art museums and other institutions of informal learning can promote multicultural understanding by collaborating with community ethnic groups and designing exhibitions that richly characterize the cultures they represent. Through the lens of educational programming for the exhibition "30 Americans," this article describes how both the Corcoran…

The mission and values of Victoria University provide the underlying criteria for the development and implementation of the Community Gateways initiative, which aims to transform the lives of those living in the west of Melbourne through the power of further education. Community Gateways takes the university into the community by providing career…

This article describes the environmental education (EE) program developed in the neighboring community of Serra da Canastra National Park based on a research project focused on the maned wolf conservation. The article assesses three tools used to foster the community's participation in discussing local issues: (1) communal production of a book…

This article discusses the community collaboration and systems advocacy domains of the ACA (American Counseling Association) Advocacy Competencies (J. A. Lewis, M. S. Arnold, R. House, & R. L. Toporek, 2002). A case illustration is presented, and the 8 Advocacy Competencies within each domain are applied to the case study.

The purpose of this article is to examine the authors' experiences while trying to enter and engage local communities in bottom-up literacies through participatory action research (PAR) toward the community's own collective self-development. In trying to enter five different communities, I have found several challenges and roadblocks such as…

Background: Researchers, schools, and community organizations are increasingly interested in forming partnerships to improve health and learning outcomes for adolescents. School-based service learning programs with young adolescents have been shown to improve students' health and educational outcomes. Quality school-based service learning practice…

Public health leaders of the 21st century are challenged by increasingly complex problems and escalating expectations amid scarce or shrinking resources. Community and interdisciplinary collaboration holds promise for synergism and capacity building. Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP), the latest…

As educators, we grapple with a myriad of dilemmas and often have difficulty resolving issues that relate to curriculum and instruction, funding, facilities and supervision, to name a few. Depending on the leader(s), a variety of ethics come in to play when making decisions. The ethic of connectedness refers to community building and welfare as…

Character educators have a special responsibility to look after children's welfare. At a time when one out of every five children lives below the poverty line, and the United States ranks next to last among the wealthiest nations of the world in looking after the well-being of its children, character educators cannot be silent. Character educators…

Wheat and soybean producers pay a small amount per bushel produced as a check-off. Funds are used for research, outreach, and crop promotion. Commodity organizations and Extension joined forces to develop multi-state educational outreach on spring wheat and soybean production. Participatory planning involved producers in developing these…