More than 2 million people are incarcerated in the United States, and around 700,000 are released from prison each year. Those who are released face daunting obstacles as they seek to reenter their communities, and rates of recidivism are high. Many experts believe that stable employment is critical to a successful transition from prison to the…

More than 2 million people are incarcerated in the United States, and around 700,000 are released from prison each year. Those who are released face daunting obstacles as they seek to reenter their communities, and rates of recidivism are high. Many experts believe that stable employment is critical to a successful transition from prison to the…

An increasing number of jobs in today's workforce require postsecondary education, yet large numbers of workers lack the essential skills and credentials to fill these jobs. The result is that many workers remain underemployed, reaching a ceiling early in their working careers. In 2007, the Joyce Foundation launched the Shifting Gears initiative…

Illinois Shifting Gears is a multilevel initiative that has simultaneously created bridge programs in the field and altered state policy to facilitate the creation of more programs in the future. These efforts have informed each other, giving policymakers the opportunity to interact with practitioners, troubleshoot bridge programs, and make…

This report provides initial results of Illinois' Shifting Gears Initiative that operated between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2009. This mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) evaluation sought to accomplish three goals: (1) to assess program and student outcomes for two models (adult education and developmental education) for two target groups…

The guidelines for Title IV Consolidation, Part C of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, provide direction to state education agencies for the diffusion of exemplary or innovative programs and practices. In Illinois, diffusion strategies developed under Title IV-C have resulted in the replication of many successful programs. (GC)

This document outlines the ideas of the Illinois Department of Aging on the implementation and management of the Elder Abuse and Neglect Intervention Program. These topics are addressed in order to provide a basis for discussion of key elements of the proposed program and serve as a guide in the development of rules, policies, and procedures for…

Project TAPE (Technical Assistance for Postsecondary Education) was a two-year federal demonstration grant to provide technical assistance to personnel serving learning-disabled students in Illinois. The program involved training of support personnel, development and implementation of Specific Intervention Strategy modules, and a system of state…

During a pilot project on the state role in facilitating adult learning, six states were asked (1) to establish and maintain a participatory planning mechanism for gathering information and building consensus among the public and private agencies and institutions within their states and (2) to use that mechanism in formulating policy…

This second volume of the interim report provides detailed case study reports on each of the eight Youth Apprenticeship Projects. (Volume 1, an overview of data from the site visits, is available separately as CE 032 791.) Discussion areas covered in each site visit report are local context/operational environment, administrative information,…

An Illinois elementary school district concerned about unnecessary referrals for possible special education designed and piloted a regular education assistance team system which brought about greater regular teacher collaboration and increased accuracy in referral for case study evaluation. The building level teams consisted of regular education…

This publication examines seven programs that emphasize industrial and educational collaboration for special needs youth and adults in Illinois. The programs use various strategies to help persons with special needs, such as disadvantaged, handicapped, and limited-English-proficient persons, to prepare for the economic and employment mainstream.…

This document, which was developed with input from 14 Illinois middle schools, is a comprehensive guide to planning and implementing career development activities in middle schools. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) background information (the rationale for and importance of career development; young adolescents' interests and…