The FNS Research Corner provides a continuing series to summarize recently completed and current research conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in the area of child nutrition. Summaries of recently completed research projects and in-progress research are provided in this article.

This report presents the final results for the evaluation of the New Americans Centers (NACs) demonstration project in Arkansas and Iowa. It focuses on program operations and plans for program sustainability, while highlighting services provided through the demonstration projects in Arkansas and Iowa. It also documents outcomes for New Iowan…

This report focuses on the seven original Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD) projects selected for funding in 2003. Three of the original seven projects were selected for a national random assignment evaluation in 2005; however, this report only focuses on program operations prior to joining the random assignment evaluation for the three…

Accessing Curriculum through Technology Tools (ACTTT), a model development project, was developed and tested by staff of the Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood (the Center), a research and development unit within the College of Education and Human Services at Western Illinois University. The major goal of ACTTT was to develop,…

The second of two volumes, this document continues the final evaluation report of Project Developmental Continuity (PDC), a Head Start demonstration project initiated in 1974 to develop program models which enhance children's social competence by fostering developmental continuity from preschool through the early elementary grades. In particular,…

A summary of the first 18 months of operation of the Federation of Rocky Mountain States' Educational Technology Demonstration (renamed Satellite Technology Demonstration after May 1973) details the history of the demonstration and explains the rationale for the demonstration's evaluation planning and historical analysis. The report concludes with…

The handbook is intended to assist evaluators working with preschool model demonstration projects funded by the Handicapped Children's Early Education Program (HCEEP). Background on HCEEP is provided, and the function of evaluation within the network is emphasized. A section on planning evaluations deals with such aspects as focusing, planning…

Described in this report is a job placement exemplary project conducted at Maury High School in Norfolk, Virginia from 1973 to 1976. Goals of the project were to provide placement services to all students seeking part-time, temporary, or full-time employment. Procedures included organization of the administrative job placement office and…

Flexibility and accountability are two levers for change that occupy an increasingly prominent place among federal strategies for educational improvement. In return for introducing higher academic standards and performance-based accountability systems, states and districts have been granted increasing flexibility over how they may use the funding…

The report reviews 1978-1979 performance of the Resource Access Projects (RAPs), a network of projects federally funded to assist handicapped children in Head Start through the development and dissemination of materials and information, and by providing training services to Head Start staff and to the families of handicapped children. Following an…

This paper reports on seven day care centers established through the Southeastern Day Care Project to provide state child welfare agencies with experience in developing day care programs and providing program administrators with information for program planning and development. The project was funded by the Donner Foundation and the Office of…

This country has long debated the question of how to design the welfare system, particularly the federally supported Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program which provides cash assistance to families headed primarily by female single parents. A pressing issue is whether welfare programs should continue to be broad entitlements or…

Father involvement enhances children's well-being. A growing body of research supports this conclusion, showing that children with involved fathers exhibit greater school readiness, increased cognitive development, higher levels of empathy, and other positive characteristics (Administration for Children and Families 2004a). Research also indicates…

The report summarizes the evaluation made of six special occupational education programs (five for the deaf and one for the blind) funded under Vocational Education Amendments of 1968, Part B, Section 4(B) of P.L. 90-576. Section I provides an overview of the observational techniques used to conduct the evaluation. The overview identifies what was…