In the past, employer-provided, job-specific training for new employees and continuing education for those who wished to advance in their jobs were often sufficient to keep abreast of technological changes. This is no longer the case, however. The substantial monetary and time expenditures associated with retraining programs that are begun only…

The core of the U.S. social welfare system provides old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid to dependent children. In recent years, as social and economic developments have created new vulnerabilities for the American family, observers are asking whether the system needs refinement and rethinking. The Project on Social Welfare and the…

As of February, 1989, the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) was serving 3.9 million people, about one-half of them eligible for the program. Although Congress has consistently voted for increases in WIC funding, and some states have increased funds, Congress has not yet provided sufficient funding to serve…

Part D of Public Law 90-576 and other federal mandates have authorized the use of funds for exemplary projects and programs in vocational education. Despite the investment of funds, recent studies have found little evidence of impact. Therefore, a project was conducted to identify what administrative techniques or organizational arrangements were…

This study argues for the use of public service employment (PSE) as a portion of an anti-recessionary fiscal policy package to include public works and tax cuts. Keynesian economics, deficit spending in this case, serves as the study's underpinnings. Chapter 1 reviews public service employment's current low status as an anti-recessionary measure.…

The East Central Curriculum Management Center (ECCMC) was evaluated by the Illinois State Advisory Council on Adult, Vocational and Technical Education. The council reviewed the internal operations of the center, including (1) an assessment of how various units within the Illinois Office of Education (IOE) related to the Center; (2) a survey of…

Summer day camps for learning disabled elementary school students can help children to maintain and improve academic and social skills that may otherwise regress during summer vacation. Two such New Brunswick programs are described in terms of rationale, camp structure and organization, funding, student selection, staff selection, training,…

After-school programs have grown rapidly in recent years, spurred by rising employment rates of mothers, pressure to increase academic achievement, and concerns about risks to children who are unsupervised during after-school hours. The percentage of public schools offering "extended day" programs (which include before- and after-school programs)…

This study considered how 25 highly diverse after-school programs with funding of $5.6 million were evaluated during a 10-month period. The paper describes the evaluation methodologies used and determined which methodologies were most effective within a diverse and political context. The Bayview Fund for Youth Development (name assumed for…

Community schools are state-funded public schools, exempt from various rules and regulations in exchange for increased accountability or student performance. This Legislative Office of Education Oversight (LOEO) report examines Ohio's first 15 community schools that began during the 1998-99 school year. All 15 schools were successful about…

This background paper details Head Start, a federally funded program serving preschool age children from low-income families, and focuses on the program's effectiveness and the adequacy of historic federal funding levels. The paper provides an overview of the Head Start Program, describes federal requirements for local programs, and describes Head…

The Head Start program has survived two decades of fiscal and policy challenges because of its multi-faceted character. Head Start sits astride an intellectual divide, contradicting both liberal and conservative social policy dogma. (Author/GC)

A survey was conducted across five educational authorities in Britain concerning the new Code of Practice's influence on special education. It found marked variations in rates of statementing (identification of special needs), proportion of statemented pupils in mainstream schools, and funding arrangements for special needs. Findings have…

Monitoring the progress of teams over 18 months and analyzing the activities of 2 teams revealed financially stable and supportive sponsoring agencies and the community were critical factors in implementing services. Future programs trying to promote development of geriatric services should try to address these issues through community…

Five years' experience with posttenure faculty evaluation at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, suggest that a successful review plan includes identification of specific faculty deficiencies; objectives that address those deficiencies; specific activities to implement the plan; timelines for meeting expectations; annual review of progress; and…