This publication addresses the issue of low birthweight and what state legislatures can do to reduce its incidence, particularly in regard to ensuring prenatal care. Other than prevention of unwanted pregnancies, provison of good prenatal care is the most effective strategy for reducing the number of low birthweight babies. This text describes:…

The report presents 10 brief issue papers that focus on improving Illinois state planning and administrative functions for the ultimate purpose of improving conditions for Illinois citizens with disabilities. Common themes include more active involvement of the disabled themselves and their families in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of…

California's Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) program requires that large numbers of welfare recipients receive job training and preparation for employment. Another component of the program addresses the child care needs of program participants. A survey of 626 single-parent program registrants in the first eight counties in which the…

Under the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (P. L. 96-272), Congress outlined a case review system intended to assure that child welfare agencies deal directly with various aspects of child placement. The second of four volumes, this document presents case study descriptions of the hearings within the context of the case review…

Without changes in Michigan's unemployment insurance law, the state's unemployment insurance debt will probably reach $3.8 billion by the end of 1985. Currently, Michigan's employers pay unemployment insurance tax rates that vary from 1 to 9 percent, depending upon the amount of benefits charged against their accounts. Beginning with the federal…

Results are presented of the Connecticut Statewide Basic Skills Proficiency Test, which was administered to Connecticut ninth graders for the fourth time in 1983. The history of the test is summarized; it was designed to identify students who are performing so far below grade level that they require remedial instruction to succeed in the ninth…

Intended to help Arkansas schools implement its 1980 State Basic Skills Improvement Plan, this booklet identifies basic skills to be measured by the state and makes suggestions for incorporating these skills into the curriculum. The first section explains the Educational Assessment Act of 1979 establishing a statewide basic skills assessment…

The goal of the doctoral dissertation summarized here was to develop a set of recommended guidelines to be used in developing standards and procedures for elementary and secondary public school facility construction in Arizona. The study focuses on determining the essential elements of these guidelines and on determining which of these elements…

The goals of this position paper are: (1) to describe some specific roles the federal state and local governments can play in regard to child care standards and regulations and (2) to make some straightforward and down-to-earth suggestions, which should undergird national child care standards and regulations, as these relate to day care. Some of…

Michigan's 9-member Task Force on Migrant Labor, established in 1969, was charged by the governor (1) to develop and provide for carrying out more effective ways to coordinate the functions of state government, to better utilize available resources, and to enforce existing laws; (2) to determine whether existing law in this field is adequate or…

The workshop concentrated on Hawaii, the first State to establish an ombudsman office. This paper discusses the selection of ombudsmen, the relationship of the Hawaiian Ombudsman Office to other agencies of appeal available to the people of Hawaii, the steps to be taken in setting up an office, and relationships with complementary grievance…

The implications of the "Serrano-type" court cases are slowly making an impact on State school finance structures. Nearly every State has just completed or is undertaking a study of public school finance problems. Although the impetus for change is coming from the courts, the real work is being accomplished by the governors, legislators, and staff…

This paper outlines the historical background leading to the California Serrano vs Priest decision, discusses the implications of that decision, and suggests what might be done to fashion the elements of a State aid formula to meet the tests of equity and fairness demanded by Serrano. The author presents the various equalizing formulas and…

This study of evaluation utilization identified organizational, political, and practical arrangements facilitating the wide use of "The Interim Report Evaluation" in policymaking for California's Early Childhood Education Program. In a program fraught by tensions, where evaluations had been political tools, this evaluation was special.…

The public school funding lawsuits that have been filed over the last two decades indicate that many people are not satisfied with the existing levels of school funding. After several years of trying to bring about changes through different avenues, a group called Tennessee Small School Systems filed suit in 1988 to have the system of financing…