Amid rising college tuition, low college-completion rates, and ever-changing employer demands for specialized skills, new forms of postsecondary education are gaining prominence. These "nontraditional" programs (such as coding boot camps) are typically short in duration and designed to prepare students for a particular occupation or…

Solid, well-grounded teachers can be instrumental in solving the problems facing our schools and students because it is successful teachers who are the most valuable, in-school contributors to our students' success. The importance of teacher preparation programs (TPPs) in developing quality teachers has been reinforced by researchers who have…

Policymakers, child care providers, and parents face tradeoffs in determining how much to spend on child care, including how many hours to purchase, and the features of programs that might influence quality. Given these tradeoffs, it is useful to understand what constitutes quality, the cost of care features associated with quality, the effects of…

Enacted in 2014, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) was designed to increase collaboration among workforce systems at the federal, state, and local levels to integrate the array of programs and services available to job seekers and businesses through American Job Centers (AJCs). WIOA requires the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to…

Federal social programs are rarely evaluated to determine whether they are actually accomplishing their intended purposes. As part of its obligation to spend taxpayers' dollars wisely, Congress should mandate that experimental evaluations of every federal social program be conducted. The evaluations should be large-scale, multisite studies to…

Impact evaluation plays a critical role in determining whether federally funded research programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are wise investments. This paper develops quantitative methods for program evaluation and applies this approach to a flagship National Science Foundation-funded education research program, Research…

This hearing is the third in a series examining critical issues in postsecondary education as the committee looks to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. The topic discussed is of paramount importance and is arguably the bedrock of Federal higher education policy, that is, the Federal financial aid programs and their effectiveness in providing…

In 1981, the first grants for what later came to be called "abstinence-only" programs were authorized under the Adolescent Family Life Act (AFLA). Sponsored by congressional family planning opponents, AFLA was promoted as a "family-centered" alternative to contraceptive counseling and services to teenagers; instead, this…

Over the past several years, a number of new programs, policies, and initiatives designed to promote the employment of people with disabilities have been implemented by state and federal agencies, and are being evaluated to greater and lesser degrees. The purpose of this report is to provide a review of the recent evaluation activities being…

Authors examined social policy issues related to government funding and raised some serious questions about the nature and future of policy. (Editor/RK)

These hearings before the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs are organized in three parts: Part I: "Overview--Consultants' Recommendations," with opening statements by Senators Schweiker and McGovern, followed by the presentations of other witnesses. This section focuses on important nutrition education issues that the committee…

There have been numerous attempts over the past seven years to replace the federally-funded Work Incentive Program (WIN) with another type of work program. As a result of increased flexibility, decreased federal funds, and continuing debate about welfare reform, there is now considerable variability among states in the types of employment and…

Congress has earmarked $440 million for projects involving specific universities for fiscal 1997, a 49% increase from the previous year but far from the $763 million earmarked in fiscal 1993. The funds are not subject to the competitive review typically used for distributing federal money. Critics say absence of review makes the awards a poor…

These hearings before the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs are organized in four parts, the contents of which are as follows. The first part concerns "Unused food assistance funds and food stamps," with opening statements by Senators Percy and McGovern, followed by the presentations of other witnesses. The focus of…

This document provides 11 extracts from Alabama state law and federal law concerning state implementation of federal public library programs under the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA). These extracts are titled: (1) "Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) State-Administered Program (34 CFR Part 770)"; (2)…