The article advocates extension of "permanency planning" in out-of-home placements to include children and youth with developmental disabilities. Though some states currently operate programs according to the principles of permanency planning, significant changes in existing federal policy are recommended to require permanency planning…

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 article examines the emergence of innovative policies in public postsecondary education systems and suggests that state postsecondary governance structures have influences on innovation that are independent of other social, educational, and economic factors. Policy implications are discussed. (SLD)

Despite the persistent possibility that foreign languages and international studies may become lost in the current federal policy of fiscal restraint, the immediate public policy context for these areas is guardedly optimistic. Recent years have produced increased media attention, growing public support, and professional unity and organization.…

Presented are the results of the sixth annual tabular survey of programs in operation or approved for state support of private higher education in the 50 states. As a result of the growth of such programs in the six survey years, the Education Commission of the States (ECS) formed a task force to look carefully at the issue of public support for…

This paper describes two Department of Education reports on gifted education--1972's Marland Report and 1993's "National Excellence: A Case for Developing America's Talent." It relates report findings to findings from a survey of states' policies. The paper calls for states to design programs that nurture talent potential of all students…

With the support of a grant from the Metropolitan Life Foundation, the Education Commission of the States (ECS) sought to broaden discussion of violence in schools and link it to efforts to restructure schools and coordinate social services. The grant enabled ECS to use the Metropolitan Life Foundation's 1993 survey of violence in the public…

"Confronting the New Politics of Child and Family Policy in the United States" is an 18-month project designed to help states, local governments, and the voluntary sector as they respond to the social policy debates and changes precipitated by the 104th Congress. The project's main vehicle, aside from exploratory and analytic work, is a…

This paper presents research findings to help policymakers understand and select various options for holding schools accountable for their performance and to help them devise a multistrategy accountability system. However, it does not recommend one system over another, since a given accountability option must be compatible and adapted to…

This manual for state agencies suggests law and policy changes that meet the new Federal requirements under Title I of the Family Support Act, passed in 1988 and the Title IV-D of the 1974 Social Security Act, both of which enable states to act to locate parents and enforce child support orders. Chapter 1 of this report is the introduction.…

The 1988 state plan for child day care covered in this document focuses on recommendations for a state office for child day care, increased funding for the child care subsidy program, and a pilot voucher system. The plan is based primarily on outcomes of the 1987 Governor's Conference, Child Care: Everybody's Business. The goals of the 1988 plan…

This report, along with its supplemental volumes, assesses the welfare system and its successes and failures, describes the frustrations felt by the poor in the United States, and proposes a basic change in public assistance policy. America's state and federal governments spend more than $150 billion a year on programs to alleviate poverty, yet…

This report provides an overview of the current welfare system. The number and size of federal public assistance programs have increased during the past 25 years, with particular growth in noncash benefit programs, which now constitute about three-quarters of all means-tested assistance. From mid-1983 to mid-1984, more than 52.5 million Americans…

This policy guide is designed to assist governors and state leaders in analyzing the issue of adult literacy and in proposing specific policy strategies for dealing with this national problem. The book offers practical guidance in two areas critical to effective action: it clarifies definitions of "literacy" and "illiteracy" and provides a…

Findings from a state survey about practices in testing students of limited English proficiency (LEP) confirm a general lack of policies and guidelines relating to the standardized achievement testing of LEP students. Concern for LEP students in testing may reflect a general interest in bilingual education. (SLD)