The farm crisis is affecting many sectors of rural society, but few empirical analyses of the impacts of the crisis on rural communities have been completed. A case study of a rural community was c...

Abstract This paper attempts to examine several aspects of the analysis of public policy as it pertains to the community development professional. Specifically, it looks at some of the definitions of public policy; at who are the policy makers, why we should study public policy, what are the “policy styles” of local government, at what are the models used to understand public policies and at how we may assess the impact of public policy. The analysis of public policy has gone through some immense changes in the last two decades. Knowledge of some of these changes may have a beneficial impact on those of us working in the area of community development.

Abstract Agencies and organizations involved in community development activities continually need additional staff members to meet growing backlogs of projects and problems. Concurrently, colleges and universities around the country have developed programs in experiential education. Through it students are provided with off‐campus learning experiences that help integrate theoretical coursework with practical application. The service‐learning nature of these internships provides an excellent opportunity for community development organizations to meet their staffing needs while simultaneously providing students career experiences. Although academic internship programs exist throughout the nation's college campuses, they are both difficult to locate and frustrating to use.

Abstract This article explores the pro's of professionally certifying those engaged in professional community development and of accrediting institutions that provide training for them. Its author points out that if we can define what is unique about C.D. practice, and if we feel these unique elements of practice are important enough to be helped to survive, then certification and accreditation of those who profess them are necessary. Such action would protect those elements from arrogation and garbling by professionals in older sister fields who are re‐packaging their traditional wisdom as “Community Development” to hype its salability, enhance its power to attract university students, and to justify new courses, degree programs, grant funds, jobs, etc. But because Community Development, far more than these sister professions, is catalytic‐involving clients so completely in the amelioration of their own problems‐its certification procedures must be correspondingly liberal. Full professional credentialing should be allowed on the basis of proven performance, alone, as well as on appropriate institutional training, alone, or any combination of the two.

(1972). The Management of Conflict. Journal of the Community Development Society: Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 100-105.

Abstract As part of the program leading to an M.S. Degree in Community Development at Southern Illinois University, students are required to fulfill an internship of approximately 400 hours. The log of one intern's successes and failures in four months (200 hours) of working on community social action programs, is presented here. The log unfolds as an unglamorized description of the Community Development process, perceived and recorded by the intern. Little analytical commentary is attempted to allow the readers, especially other community development students, to do their own analysis.