Evaluation studies are often considered exemplary because of the quality of their designs, but it is well known that a common--and often necessary--aspect of outstanding studies is stakeholder involvement. Furthermore, the implementation of designs and the nature of stakeholder involvement depend in large part on political and ideological…

Some 20 percent of children in New England have no safe, supervised activities after the school day ends each afternoon. These children are in self-care, missing out on opportunities to learn and explore new interests, and at risk for any number of risky behaviors including substance abuse, crime and teen pregnancy. Policy makers, parents and many…

The Executive Committee and the Subcommittee on Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention were charged to develop and provide leadership to implement a state plan to reduce adolescent pregnancy in Wisconsin. Both the negative outcomes for adolescent parents and their children and the cost to society are at issue. This document serves as a first step to…

The Clinton administration's 1996 welfare reform legislation contained a "charitable choice" clause, a provision that encourages states to increase the involvement of religious organizations in federal programs such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. The administration of George W. Bush has intensified and extended this policy…

This report examines the extent to which welfare reform is changing adolescent behaviors that lead to welfare dependency. It begins by discussing the provisions in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 that require teenagers to stay in school and live with a parent, concluding that relatively little can be…

This paper summarizes changes in key elements of welfare policy and in closely related policies on child support enforcement and sex education and family planning programs. Drawing on a conceptual framework that highlights how incentives created by public policy can affect demographic behaviors, the paper concludes that, as Congress intended,…

The focus of this hearing was on funding for abstinence education. Following an opening statement by Subcommittee Chairman Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, witness testimonies were heard from: Dr. Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C.; Rev. Kenneth Page,…

Older teens living in families receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) face serious sociodemographic disadvantages. When combined with the characteristic risk-taking behaviors of adolescence, these disadvantages pose a threat to TANF teens' immediate and future physical, psychological, and emotional health and to their long-term…