This report describes the status of the federal child support program before the 1975 legislation was enacted. Also discussed are actions taken by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) to implement the legislation; means to clarify and improve the new legislation and some problems affected by the new legislation. Included are…

Describes a study which found that financial aid promotes institutional choice when academic achievement and school costs are held constant. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the independent effects of race and sex are not significant determinants of whether aid recipients can afford their college choice: parental income is of far greater…

National Merit scholars from Indiana were surveyed to determine where they went to college and how they paid for their education. Many respondents expressed bitterness because, although among the best and the brightest, they had received no financial aid due to family income. Corporations should provide scholarships for this group. (RM)

Results of a survey of Utica College financial aid applicants revealed that the families of 67 percent have verified pension plans, with coverage varying by income level, type of employer, and occupation. A review of the Uniform Methodology, unchanged despite recent changes in laws governing accumulation of assets for retirement, is recommended.…

Since the 1996 passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (welfare reform), impoverished children in single-parent families receive less aid than under the previous system, and the most disadvantaged of these children have slipped deeper into poverty. This research brief summarizes a study that explored the economic well-being…

Connecticut's Jobs First program was subjected to a rigorous, large-scale evaluation. During the evaluation, nearly 5,000 single-parent welfare applicants and recipients in 2 cities were randomly assigned to Jobs First or to the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) group. Each group's progress was compared over a 4-year period. The…

This study used regression analysis techniques to examine the current positions of women whose first child was born when they were teenagers, across countries in the European Union, based on the European Community Household Panel survey. Outcomes considered include educational attainment, family structure, family employment, and household income.…

Computers have become an essential tool in society. Early exposure to computers may help students gain the computer literacy that will be crucial for future success in the workplace. Access to computers at school and at home allows students to retrieve information, manipulate data, and produce results efficiently and in innovative ways. Examining…

One of the most complex aspects of the achievement gap--one that, by and large, is out of the direct control of educational leaders--is the income gap. Broadly defined, the income gap is the standard of living difference between rich and poor, but in the education system, the gap permeates deeply into many dimensions of a student's progression…

In 2003, the Department of Education proposed an update to the state and other tax allowance, a part of the federal need analysis for student financial aid. Most federal aid as well as some state and institutional aid is awarded based on the student's cost of attendance less the student's and/or family's ability to pay these costs--known as the…

This review of child poverty in rich countries finds that the proportion of children living in poverty in the developed world has risen in 17 out of the 24 OECD nations for which data are available. No matter which of the commonly-used poverty measures is applied, the situation of children is seen to have deteriorated over the last decade. UNICEF…

Educational policy has been directed toward assuring students access to some form of postsecondary education regardless of their financial or socioeconomic circumstances. Trends in enrollments of low-income freshman students are examined. Evidence indicates that college access by low-income students may have reached a plateau. (MLW)

The findings of a national survey intended to determine the extent to which income maintenance studies are available in graduate or undergraduate social work programs are reviewed. The legitimization of income maintenance as a field of study is advocated and an educational model for the curriculum is presented. (Author/MLW)

The findings of an analysis of first- through fourth-year students enrolled in the schools and colleges of optometry in 1975-76, conducted by the American Optometric Association, are discussed. Demographic, racial/ethnic background, sex distribution, socioeconomic, and financial resource characteristics of optometric students are described.…

Although a casual analysis might suggest that a faculty member cannot afford a two-term sabbatical leave, factors affecting income loss from sabbaticals have changed. These include an increase in the number of two-income households, general increases in salary levels, and substantial revisions in federal tax law. Income loss from sabbaticals,…