Many social policy and education programs start from the assumption that people act in their best interest. But behavioral science shows that people often weigh intuition over reason, make inconsistent choices, and put off big decisions. The individuals and families who need services and the staff who provide them are no exception. From city…

The demand for workers (employers, self-employed people and employees) having research training extends beyond the researcher workforce itself and is increasing. The research workforce is not uniform but segmented according to disciplines and the economic and sectoral contexts in which researchers work. The growth of cross-disciplinary and…

This report is one of a series by the General Accounting Office that summarizes major policy, management, and program issues facing agency heads in the Bush administration. Many concerns have been identified, some new, others long-standing. This report on the Department of Agriculture describes concerns about the following six issues: (1)…

The Targeted Jobs Tax Credit (TJTC), which was enacted in 1978, provided an incentive to employers to hire impoverished youth and other individuals from designated groups. In line with classical economic theory, advocates of TJTC anticipated that the legislation would boost total employment by reducing the cost of employing targeted workers. The…

For America to sustain a high standard of living and set aside the resources needed for national security, at least a decade of shoring up productive capacity is required--a period of reindustrialization. The United States has been underdeveloping, with too much consumption of goods and resources and too little investment in the national economic…

This document records the oral and written testimony of persons testifying at Congressional hearings about proposed amendments to change and improve the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) of 1982. Witnesses testifying and/or presenting written testimony at the hearings included several Representatives, the Secretary of Labor (Lynn Martin), and…

In a few years, the United States is going to have the largest number of teenagers it has ever had; at the same time, crime among teenagers is rising, and the recreational and learning activities and jobs that teenagers need for positive development are becoming scarcer in inner city and rural areas. Efforts in youth programs during the past 25…

The Youth Employment Program Assistance Project was a New York City initiative to demonstrate how employment training for out-of-school, economically disadvantaged youth can be made educationally vigorous. It involved four training programs with a few hundred students. The project focused on the following principles and goals: all learning…

An important first step in addressing the issue of obtaining a better fit between unemployment insurance (UI) and retraining was taken in 1970 when the federal government enacted a provision permitting workers to enroll in training without denial of benefits due to application of the work test. Little was done, however, to pursue state compliance…

The Federal Government has been funding state- and locally operated adult literacy programs for nearly 25 years. Unfortunately, despite the best intentions and efforts, the federal initiative in adult literacy has been minimal, inefficient, and ineffective. There has been no consistent federal policy guiding the growth of programs since 1965.…

A nationwide task force was formed to assess the effectiveness of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act since its passage in 1984 and to determine how it could be improved. After examining the past and present role of the Federal Government in vocational-technical education (VTE) in the context of current and future needs for VTE, the task…

A study examined implementation of the accountability and program provisions of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990 (Perkins II) in four unnamed states that were "early adopters" of the Perkins II measures and standards. In each state, staff in the state agencies administering secondary and…

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 plan for implementing the redesign and refocus of vocational education in West Virginia includes a mission statement and five other major sections covering career orientation, secondary vocational education, adult education, modernization, and personnel development. The career orientation program includes developmental guidance, student…