<p> The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between the variable duration of case management and outcomes represented by the variables quality of life and functional ability. The samples were selected from archival data collected from the Maryland Medicaid pediatric rare disease population receiving REM case management services during fiscal year 2002. The Barthel Index measured the functional ability from the clinician perspective and PedsQL measured quality of life from the parent and child perspectives. Results indicated the perspectives of clinicians, parents, and children were significantly different for the same patient. Clinicians reported no significant correlations between duration of case management and functional ability as measured by the Barthel Index. Duration of case management was negatively correlated with physical and social functioning from the parent perspective for child-parent dyads. Duration of case management was also negatively correlated with children&rsquo;s perceptions of physical functioning for the child-parent dyads. Duration of case management in a randomly selected patient sample demonstrated similar trends toward significance for physical and social functioning. Children and parents from the same family demonstrated significant differences in perceived quality of life for the patient.</p>

<p> The report, <i>A Crucible Moment,</i> published in 2012 by the National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement described a crisis in higher education surrounding the lack of civic learning and engagement opportunities for students. This crisis has led to decreased political participation and a general lack of knowledge in civics education (National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012). Educating students for citizenship in America's colleges and universities will assist with sustaining the country's democracy by engendering a sense of civic responsibility in young adults that will last throughout their lifetime. This qualitative case study examined the relationship between two institutions of higher education (IHEs) and AmeriCorps programs to determine how the partnerships operated and whether they addressed the recommendations for higher education cited in <i>A Crucible Moment. </i> </p><p> IHEs are using <i>A Crucible Moment</i> as a guiding document to think about civic learning and democratic engagement. While many are in the process of creating new initiatives and programs to address those issues, this study focuses on two existing programs that may provide a framework for strategically integrating civic engagement into higher education using a readily available government resource&mdash;AmeriCorps. With recent budget cuts impacting education, it is difficult for many IHEs to obtain additional funding to support initiatives directly related to student learning. As a result, finding resources to implement civic learning and democratic engagement opportunities that are often perceived as tangential to the education process is nearly impossible. AmeriCorps, now in its 20^th year of implementation, has had a steady stream of funding and bipartisan support from the government over the years. IHEs that sponsor an AmeriCorps program have the potential to civically engage students and promote mutually beneficial community partnerships. </p><p> Using inteorganizational collaboration theory as a framework, I examined two different models of IHE-AmeriCorps partnerships. Based on the levels of collaboration, I was able to assess the degree to which these types of partnerships could be feasible at distinctly different IHEs given their organizational structure and resources. Although the findings of this research are not generalizable, they provide insights into how IHE-AmeriCorps partnerships operate and demonstrate that, in the cases examined, they do implement the key recommendations of <i> A Crucible Moment.</i> As a result, an IHE-AmeriCorps partnership could be an effective and relatively inexpensive way for an IHE to enhance their civic engagement opportunities.</p>

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