In cities and towns across America, millions of children and youth get out of school by mid-afternoon but have neither a safe, supervised place to go nor a structured or engaging activity in which to participate. Because the hours between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. are when young people are most likely to be affected by crime or to engage in risky…

To promote and assist the development of quality state and local occupational education programs, and to help assure accountability of federal and state funds allocated to local programs, the Illinois Division of Vocational and Technical Education launched a 3-phase evaluation study of its existing system. Visitations were made to 71 Local…

Describes an evaluation of twenty local adult basic education programs for the Illinois Office of Education by Northern Illinois University. Findings are presented for program components evaluated: curriculum and instruction, intra- and extrainstitutional relationships, professionalism, evaluation and follow-up, physical facilities, efficiency and…

Because of the need for a system designed to continuously evaluate State and local programs of occupational education relative to the relevancy of educational training and accountability of funds, the Illinois Three Phase System for Statewide Evaluation of Occupational Programs was formulated to evaluate both program product and program process…

This report synthesizes information from public record documents and comments from Early/Head Start program directors and activities from the Illinois Head Start Collaboration Office. Data were obtained from more than 101 mail survey responses from early childhood providers, 38 phone narrative/anecdotal surveys, more than 50 telephone surveys, and…

This report examines alternatives to state-sponsored child care disregards, which allow working low-income families to offset child care expenses against earned income, thereby receiving higher Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) payments than they might otherwise obtain. It explains the need for continuous, stable child care for…

During the annual convention of the Illinois Vocational Association, a survey was conducted to determine perceptions about progress being made toward implementation of the Education for Employment (EFE) policy. Questions focused on four perceptions held by the EFE community about the needed changes: knowledge and awareness of expected changes;…

Reports on the results of an evaluation of the Illinois Community College Board's recognition process, by which community colleges are judged to be in compliance with state standards. Discusses administrators' perceptions of the effectiveness of the preparation, on-site visit, and reporting phases of the recognition process. Suggests enhancements.…

The Better Care for the Babies (BCTB) Project was initiated in April 1989 to help states improve the quality of infant and toddler child care, especially for low-income children whose parents are in the labor force and/or making the transition from welfare to work. The BCTB Project initiated ongoing, negotiated, goal-directed technical assistance…

The Quality Assistance Plan (QAP) for Vocational Education in Illinois is a state-funded program for locally initiated, developed, implemented, and evaluated projects that was begun in Fiscal Year 1982. Its purpose is to build the capacity, in each educational setting, for the improvement of vocational education programs. That improvement should…

The Illinois Children's Mental Health Task Force was convened in 2002 to assess the status of Illinois' mental health system for children from birth to age 18, and to develop short- and long-term recommendations for assuring that all Illinois children have access to coordinated and comprehensive mental health services and programs. This report is…

Illinois' state-funded preschool program, the Illinois Prekindergarten Program for Children at Risk of Academic Failure, is serving almost 19,000 children in the 1989-90 period on an allocation of 48 million dollars, which was distributed to 184 projects in 353 school districts. The preschool projects serve children of 3-5 years, who are taught…

In 1984, the State Board of Education, Department of Adult, Vocational, and Technical Education (DAVTE), contracted with an outside evaluator to assess the impact of the Illinois Quality Assistance Plan (QAP). (The QAP is a state-funded program for locally initiated, developed, implemented, and evaluated projects that was begun in Fiscal Year…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the on-site evaluation phase of the three-phase system for statewide evaluation of occupational education programs in Illinois. The specific problem was to explore the nature of selected changes in the occupational education programs of comprehensive secondary schools over five years and the extent to…

This paper discusses the nature and availability of early childhood care and education in Illinois and advances recommendations to improve the current system. It argues that current multiple federal, state, and local funding streams, with different eligibility requirements and administrations, divide families and programs into artificial and…