Many welfare programs give greater benefits to unmarried individuals than to a married couple of otherwise identical income. The resulting marriage penalty discourages marriage and rewards single parenthood. Combined marriage penalties across federal and state welfare programs can reach tens of thousands of dollars per year for a given family. One…

This report provides six mini-case studies of higher education policy reforms enacted in other states, exploring the important role that state policy leadership played in developing, promoting, and implementing these policies aimed at improving higher education outcomes, and discussing the relevance of each reform effort for California. This…

Examined how interest group struggles affect the formulation and implementation of a statewide long-term care system by using California's experience to illustrate the competition that can develop between senior citizens and disabled groups. (Author)

This case study is intended to provide education planners in other states with information on Colorado's experience with the Lifelong Learning Project. It is organized into several sections. To set the context, major circumstances affecting state-level planning and policy development are described. They are presented under two headings: (1)…

The six chapters of this theme issue attempt to define conceptual and methodological issues in the evaluation of integrated services systems and to begin to synthesize some of these issues. An introduction to these evaluation issues is followed by case studies and a discussion of implications for program and policy development. (SLD)

State-sponsored teacher networks in Vermont and California are compared, using interviews with teachers, network staff, and policymakers. It is concluded that state-sponsored networks can improve teachers' knowledge and motivation while empowering them. Recommendations are made for loosely coupled and capacity-building strategies to support…

The Minnesota Business Partnership (MBP) was studied as a policy innovator in state school reform (for kindergarten through grade 12) in relation to agenda setting, alternative formulation, and authoritative enactment. Focus is on the MBP's policy-making involvement during the 1985 state legislative session. Overall, the MBP's influence was…

Events leading to the passage in 1984 of Arizona's bilingual education law are examined using interviews with policy elite and concepts developed by D. E. Mitchell and others (1985) for studying distinctive cultures of state educational policymaking. Passage of a mandatory or more comprehensive law was not likely. (SLD)

This article describes the history of New York's efforts to create partnerships with families with children with emotional disturbances, articulates the stages of parent involvement in policymaking, and summarizes lessons learned and recommendations for effective and enduring families as policy allies. A case study is presented. (Contains…

Twenty case studies of state educational decision making from 1971 to 1991 are analyzed to portray the changing nature of Minnesota's education policy system and to consider whether the often cited "structural linkage" typology remains explanatory. The reformist tradition continues in Minnesota in spite of revenue problems and societal…

This report presents the fourth study conducted by the Massachusetts Early Childhood Advisory Council since its inception in 1985, an investigation focusing on how interagency collaboration occurs in local early childhood programs in Massachusetts and whether mandating interagency councils is effective in promoting collaboration. The report also…

This document is one of a series of reports which describe the experiences of six state agencies that are developing systems to affect the development and implementation of policy in the federal/state program for vocational rehabilitation. The state programs are developing model program evaluation/management information support units. This second…

This study attempted to describe and explain the different approaches taken by policymakers in a diverse group of states, as they seek to implement Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which provides federal mandates and aid to assist states in planning and developing comprehensive multidisciplinary, interagency, coordinated…

A study explored the policy process that led to the development and implementation of the Virginia Student Retention Program (VSRP--a program to facilite minority student recruitment and retention projects at Virginia colleges and universities), and examined perceived institutional impacts. The study attempted to determine whether the VSRP and the…

An evaluation of adult basic education (ABE) programs was conducted in North Carolina, using a case study approach. Research was done by six teams that collected information from taped interviews with participants in six programs chosen to represent rural and urban areas and various demographic and racial mixes of students. Materials and records…