This hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions examines cutting childcare and preschool costs for working families. Opening statements were presented by: (1) Honorable Patty Murray chair, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; and (2) Honorable Richard Burr, Ranking Member, a U.S. Senator from the State of…

How can local education agencies (LEAs), elementary schools, and teachers make sure the kindergarten year deepens and builds on children's previous learning? What are the best ways to keep children and families connected to school and engaged in learning? And how can LEAs, schools, and classroom teachers provide the smoothest transition possible…

Congress did not enact a continuing resolution bill by midnight September 30, 2013, thereby triggering a partial government shutdown effective October 1, 2013. October 1 began the federal fiscal year 2014. Most discretionary programs, those that are subject to the annual Congressional appropriations process, will not receive 2014 funding. Most,…

Federal funding for early childhood education and care promotes three overarching policy goals: (1) increasing children's access to services; (2) raising the quality of early childhood programs; and (3) fostering greater coordination among the many providers--public schools, center-based child care, home-based child care, Head Start, and more--of…

There is growing unease about suspension and expulsion of children at the preschool level. Preschoolers are expelled at three times the rate of K-12 students (Gilliam, 2005). Boys--particularly African-American boys--comprise a disproportionate number of these cases, a fact that has caused concern among parents, policymakers, and advocates alike.…

This hearing serves as a first in a set of hearings focusing on early learning. In his opening statement, Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, strongly encouraged members of this committee on both sides of the aisle to hold roundtables and have discussions on early learning in their local…

The National Coalition on School Diversity has updated this review of federal support for school integration during the tenures of Secretaries Arne Duncan and John King, who both served during the Obama Administration. While much remains to be done, the Obama Administration has made concrete progress on school integration policy. This overview…

Significant gaps exist in children's mental healthcare, and barriers prevent access to existing services. Current federal initiatives call for state governmental agencies to recognize and resolve deficits in their systems of care. Previous work has acknowledged some of the problems in meeting the mental health needs of children within a system of…

In November 2010, the British Government, modifying one of the proposals in the Browne Report published in October, decided to allow English universities to charge tuition fees of up to 9,000 British Pounds, while removing almost all the public funding previously provided in the form of a block grant. This had consequences the Government should…

In the winter of 2009, with more than 1.4 million job losses in the first two months of the year, the federal government passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law as a way to quickly inject liquidity into a stalling economy and maintain critical services that would allow individuals and communities to survive through the…

The federal government's annual budget process was kick-started this year with a bold proposal that has implications for anyone who provides child care. But keeping child care front and center in Washington will take a lot of effort in 2010. On February 1, the Administration released the Budget Proposal for Federal Fiscal Year 2011. It calls for…

During the past 20 years, afterschool programs have become an increasingly vital part of most American communities. Today, some 6.5 million children across the nation participate in these programs. Another 15 million children would participate if a program were available to them, according to their parents. These numbers tell at least two…

In Mark Greenberg's view, a national child care strategy should pursue four goals. Every parent who needs child care to get or keep work should be able to afford care without having to leave children in unhealthy or dangerous environments; all families should be able to place their children in settings that foster education and healthy…

The applicability of Britain's University Grants Committee funding structure to higher education institutions in the United States is examined. Implications of the British block grant system, which purposely limits decision-making inputs, are discussed. (LBH)

This article is concerned with the aged and looks briefly at the history of federal involvement in mental health care, discusses current trends, and examines the future of mental health care in the United States. (CMG)