Serving Children and Families Through Community-University Partnerships

A consistently identified criticism about contemporary higher education is that academia is not playing a visible role in contributing to the improvement of the lives of people in the community - as the lives are lived on a day-to-day basis. However, there has been a long tradition of such `Outreach Scholarship' in America, and this focus is gaining renewed attention, at least in part, because policy makers and philanthropic organizations are pressing universities and colleges to use their learning resources in ways that more directly benefit society. Universites have listened to, and continue to heed, such appeals. Serving Children and Families Through Community-University Partnerships: Success Stories illustrates such work by presenting several dozen exemplary `success stories' of community-university partnerships that serve to enhance the lives of children, youth, and families. These illustrations are drawn from collaborations across the breadth of the nation and reflect the work of many diverse colleges and universities. Moreover, these partnerships involve an array of target audiences, ranging across the individual life span from infancy through old age and involving a diverse set of groups and organizations. In addition, this work takes many forms, for example, technical assistance, evaluation, training, program design and delivery, demonstration or participatory, action research, and dissemination. The book is useful to two broad audiences: (1) Individuals, in and out of academia, in decision-making roles that directly impact what gets done or does not get done in colleges and universities; and (2) Persons outside academia who are concerned with creating positive change across a wide-range of issues pertinent to the lives of youth, families, and communities. This volume will guide universities and communities to work together to promote positive development in the diverse children, families, and communities of our nation.