Since the first child care Quality Rating System (QRS) was implemented in Oklahoma 11 years ago (in 1998), 16 additional statewide systems have been launched and numerous states are piloting or developing a QRS (Zaslow, Tout, & Martinez-Beck, forthcoming). As QRS stakeholders across the nation look ahead to the next decade, it is important to take…

This study was designed to determine the degree of use, level of client satisfaction of professional development and educational services, and to identify suggestions for improving services. Results from a mixed methodology approach indicated moderate to high levels of satisfaction in two program areas and moderate to high levels of…

This technical assistance guide was developed to consolidate a statewide understanding of the effort to systematize the delivery of employment and training programs through the local formation of job centers in Wisconsin, and to provide a compilation, drawn from 20 local models, that explains how the programs are delivered. The guide is organized…

Preliminary information about a model system by which state vocational education agencies may conduct periodic program evaluations is presented. Another facet of the system is the facilitation of programmatic decision making through the incorporation of information about national and state interests, student benefits, and manpower requirements.…

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 technical assistance guide was developed to help state policy makers develop performance-standard incentive policies that are effective tools in accomplishing state and federal goals for Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) programs. The guide is organized in three sections. The first section introduces incentive policies as tools to further…

As part of a series of reports designed to support the implementation of Proposition 10: The California Children and Families Act and to provide comprehensive and authoritative information on critical issues concerning young children and families in California, this report examines home visiting as a service delivery strategy for early…

Reviewing the history and status of accountability efforts in the California Community Colleges (CCC), this document describes three accountability models. Following a brief history of accountability in the state, the accountability model established by 1988's Assembly Bill 1725 is discussed, indicating that colleges are required to report data on…

These proceedings contain reports and outlines of presentations given at a national conference that focused on organizing for dissemination collaboration in the field of vocational education. The text of a report on organizing for dissemination collaboration and the presentation outline of an address on collaboration for program improvement in the…

As part of a series of reports designed to support the implementation of Proposition 10: The California Children and Families Act and to provide comprehensive and authoritative information on critical issues concerning young children and families in California, this report examines how child health services can be improved to support two related…

This workshop manual focuses on validation procedures designed to foster program improvement rather than compliance monitoring. The manual is in eight chapters. Chapter 1 looks at the elements to be evaluated--organization and management, training, student assessment, design and implementation of classroom interventions, team work, screening a…

A study was conducted to identify and analyze the involvement of secondary vocational education and business and industry in joint partnership agreements in Tennessee. Vocational administrators (n=94), teachers (n=53), and business and industry persons (n=22) responded to questionnaires, representing response rates of 81%, 77%, and 39%…

This document is one of a series of reports which describe the experiences of six state agencies that are developing systems to affect the development and implementation of policy in the federal/state program for vocational rehabilitation. The state programs are developing model program evaluation/management information support units. This second…

Providing a comprehensive overview, this guide to kindergarten screening was produced to aid Maine's school districts as they work to increase the effectiveness of their screening programs. Part 1, providing materials related to meeting the requirements of Maine's Education Reform Act of 1984, includes regulations pertaining to screening, a…

The Community Transition Team Model guides the process of systematic program change in secondary special education and transition programs in Oregon. The model uses a management-by-objectives paradigm for implementing its principles, which include local control, a developmental perspective on change, a focus on program capacity, and networking…