Village inreach program -- rural community development -- mothers home care/early intervention program

The evaluation covers the period 1984-7/88. The programs have met a vital need. Many disabled children have gained more functional capacity and some have entered mainstream schools. In some situations, younger siblings of the disabled children may have been prevented from developing the same disability. The Gaza program greatly exceeded recipient targets, serving 300 families in the first year and 470 in the second. The number of West Bank recipients is also impressive, although not as great as in Gaza, where the project was administered by a single agency and in a densely populated area. The West Bank program served 182 children at home, and, when unrest caused discontinuance of village work, served 71 institutionalized children. The programs have been widely accepted by the administering organizations, cooperating agencies (i.e., hospitals and social service agencies), and the general public. On the negative side, the West Bank program experienced many administrative problems in its formative years so that some phases were never implemented, such as training and employing local village women as home counselors. Several recommendations are made to improve the financial sustainability of the programs, such as making or buying toys and physical therapy equipment locally, using sliding fee schedules, and encouraging local participation. However, under the current political and economic situation, attaining self-sufficiency is not possible. Evaluators recommended a 3-year project extension, but only a 3-month phase-out period was granted due to current political unrest.