Assessment and evaluation can be important tools in improving the effectiveness and quality of programs, especially criminal justice programs, if they are integrated into the plans and designs of strategies instead of being added later. An evaluation systems approach to program development is needed to ensure that effectiveness and efficiency are…

The tremendous economic, cultural, and social changes that have taken place in the United States in the past 30 years have significantly altered family life. To meet the needs of families, communities and family structures have changed. For the past 10 years, the National Government has been redefining its role in relation to the family. While it…

This paper discusses the allocation of policy influences at the national, state, and local levels of government. A theory of what causes a change from a decentralized to a more centralized system is developed and whether and how such a theory of change is related to a theory of the origins of a federal system is explored. The author presents…

Findings of a study that examined the responses of local school board members in Louisiana, Minnesota, and Nebraska to the National Goals for Education (NGE) are presented in this paper. A survey mailed to 718 local school board members in July 1991 obtained 298 responses, a 42 percent response rate. The respondents assigned a higher priority to…

The July 8, 1970 President's Message to the United States Congress on the American Indians is presented in this paper. The speech covered self-determination without termination, the repeal of the termination law, Indian directed programs, the restoration of Blue Lake to Taos Pueblo, local school control, economic development legislation, Indian…

The paper demonstrated the need for American Indian involvement in the education policies affecting Indian children in Alaska. It analyzed the method that the State of Alaska used to fund schools for native children and the administration of the Johnson-O'Malley (JOM) Program by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Alaska is in a unique educational…

The United States does not have a coherent national rural policy. The federal government has focused on a sector-based policy that has only indirect impact on rural America. State governments have failed to move beyond their traditional focus areas of education, corrections, Medicaid, and other state services. The diversity of rural America makes…

This report presents the findings and recommendations of an Early Childhood Development Task Force established in 1974 by Governor Straub of Oregon. The Task Force was established to study the need for a centralized structure or agency to determine policies and plan programs in child development for Oregon. The Task Force was also requested to…

In 1974 local government in England underwent external and internal reform. The external reforms involved changes in governmental structures and functions, while the internal reforms involved the introduction of "corporate management," a concept stressing more centralized administration and fewer local executive bodies. This paper first…

This document reports on the background, purpose and proceedings of a policy forum entitled, "High Quality Inclusion Opportunities for Preschool-Age Children with Disabilities," held on December 13-15, 2004. Project Forum at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) convened this policy forum as part of its…

Discusses the diversity of continuing education, typically postsecondary, in the United States and the varying federal, state, and local educational policies that shape it. Due to funding complexities and institutional policies, continuing education operates within a market economy and is considered a special service for which most ought to pay.…

A distillation of hundreds of speeches, working papers, panel sessions, informal discussions, and formal resolutions, this report is derived from the First National Conference on Rural America (April 1975) and reflects emergence of a rural political platform. Attended by approximately 1,500 people from 49 States, Puerto Rico, and Canada, the…

Because men hold most of the high status, decision-making positions in American society, they have greater access to and control of property, power, and prestige. Women, conversely, are accorded low status because they fulfill the lower prestige roles of childbearing and childrearing. Although some city and county government positions are filled…

Attention to the politics of education particularly as operated within urban school boards using the concept of elite-arena councils is drawn in this paper. A brief summary of the data and the political-anthropological concepts used to analyze the data, conclusions and recommendations based on those data, and their analysis are presented. The…

The research investigated the relationship of a person's sex to his or her public policy preferences, with particular regard to women's issues. Women's issues are reflected in public policy which directly affects women's lives. Examples are day care facilities, sex bias of educational materials, and abortion facilities. The study was conducted to…