The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, previously called the Food Stamp Program) is a key component of the U.S. social safety net. SNAP is the only social safety net program universally available to low-income Americans, and is intended to help families meet their basic nutritional needs. It can also help to stabilize the economy…

As states release draft Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) state plans for public comment, advocates and other stakeholders have an important opportunity to improve them. The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) is offering a list of questions, which is included in this document, to consider when reviewing state plans. These…

Title VII provides funding for the education of American Indian/Alaska Native students based on a formula grant available to school districts, charter schools, and local education agencies (LEAs). This report explores why some eligible schools and districts do not apply for federal Title VII, potentially resulting in American Indian/Alaska Native…

The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009 gave states additional resources and tools aimed at improving participation in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). In 2007, five million uninsured children were eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, constituting 64 percent of all uninsured children.…

This report points out that although Follow Through, an experimental program designed to find more effective approaches to teaching young children from low-income families, achieved differences in outcome between Follow Through and non-Follow Through children, problems in its initial design and implementation will limit reaching statistically…

An evaluation of the College Aides Program in Baltimore, Maryland, public schools was prepared by an independent agency. This program, funded under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, offers low income college students the opportunity for full time study by providing part time jobs. Students from Morgan State College were…

This testimony examines the role that affordable child care plays in helping unemployed mothers enter and remain in the workforce, focusing on how current federal programs create service gaps for low-income mothers attempting to work. These are issues needing consideration as consolidation of these programs is weighed as a means of closing these…

Case studies describe the changes occurring in a large urban school system following passage of the Hawkins Stafford Amendments allowing the use of Chapter 1 funding in schoolwide projects (SWPs) in schools where 75 percent or more of students are economically disadvantaged. The potential of SWPs is discussed. (SLD)

Recognizing the inadequacies of the theoretical framework upon which the Concentrated Employment Program (CEP) was constructed, an effort was made to develop a more useful set of assumptions by which the program could be appraised more critically. Summarized in this document are the outcomes of attempts to construct an analytic framework within…

A hearing was held to consider problems women face in obtaining preventive care or early comprehensive prenatal care. Testimony concerned: (1) the Public Health Service Expert Panel's report on prenatal care; (2) Los Angeles' critical shortage of maternity care providers; (3) new research from Detroit that suggests that even when prenatal care is…

Compares the following four ways of providing additional funds for low-income students: (1) separate programs; (2) districtwide discretionary funding; (3) building-wide funding; and (4) vouchers for low-income families. Disadvantages of each are discussed, and large scale trial of buildingwide funding is recommended. (SLD)

Early Head Start is a comprehensive, two-generation federal initiative begun in 1995 aimed at enhancing the development of infants and toddlers while strengthening low-income families. This report contains information from the Survey of Early Head Start Programs. Beyond the need for an updated picture of the Early Head Start program, the Survey of…

The history of federal support of supplementary education for low-achieving children in low-income neighborhoods demonstrates the positive, although not statistically significant, impact of Chapter 1 and the Hawkins Stafford amendments and predecessors. Issues that must be considered in reauthorizing Chapter 1 in 1993 are discussed. (SLD)

Current debates about welfare reform center on the upcoming reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) legislation. The provisions of TANF include the elimination of the entitlement to cash assistance, block grant funding to the states, mandatory work requirements, sanctions, a 5-year limit on cash assistance, and…

Congress has requested that the National Institute of Education (NIE) assess the current effectiveness of compensatory education programs in meeting their fundamental purposes, and examine a alternative methods by which the effectiveness of compensatory programs might be improved. These requests are included in the provisions of Section 821,…