This report is prepared in compliance with HB 1661 Sec 104(2)(k), which requires the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF, or the Department) Office of Innovation, Alignment, and Accountability (OIAA) to submit to the Governor and the appropriate policy and appropriation committees of the Legislature: (1) A review of the current…

This technical report presents the results of a case study into the role of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the implementation of Smart Specialisation in North Central Bulgaria. It is one of a series of case studies within the project on Higher Education for Smart Specialisation (HESS), managed by the European Commission's Joint Research…

Low health literacy disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minority communities and lower-income socioeconomic groups. To address this critical determinant of health inequity, two nonprofit organizations, Repairers of the Breach, a day shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness, and Bread of Healing a neighborhood-based clinic serving…

In this paper, we examined students' engagement in an implementation of a Workplace Simulation Project (WSP). The WSP was designed to actively engage students in learning disciplinary content by inviting engineers from industry to have a physical presence within the school building to collaborate with teachers and students to complete projects…

We investigated the effectiveness of an Extension-led training for human services providers on Your Money, Your Goals: A Financial Empowerment Toolkit, a resource developed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Results from pretests, posttests, and focus group research indicate that participants significantly increased confidence in their…

This report details the Network for Public Education's two month examination of the U.S. Department of Education's Charter Schools Program (CSP). Our investigation found a troubling pattern of insufficient applicant review, contradictions between information provided by applicants and available public data, the gifting of funds to schools with…

This practitioner brief is one of a series highlighting concrete strategies that education leaders can use to increase equity in education by building learning environments that meet all students' social and emotional needs. This brief discusses how school districts can use partnerships with outside organizations and agencies to help provide…

At a time when student loan debt continues to mount for many, the Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program--established in 2007 and administered by Education--is intended to encourage individuals to pursue careers in public service. Senate Report 116-48 included a provision for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the…

The ability to think in terms of a system is critical to achieving common direction, alignment, and commitment in highly distributed health systems. In Canada, provincial and territorial ministries of health provide leadership on the direction of health reform while leadership to align system levels is determined by a far more distributed group of…

Specialty courts, such as mental health courts, drug courts, and veterans treatment courts, were developed with the intention of reducing recidivism and obtaining better outcomes for participants selected from the particular populations served by each court. Efforts to improve the public good have produced a reimagining of the justice system with…

Community Health Workers (CHWs) serve an indispensable but oftten misunderstood and unrecognized role in public health. These individuals constitute the frontline of health care in many communities and are relied upon to provide an assortment of services. Unfortunately, the full extent to which CHWs are utilized is unknown and there is little…

Background: Adults with intellectual disability are affected by dementia at equivalent and elevated rates, many surviving into advanced age. End of life care and support considerations come into play among these individuals when most are in the advanced stage of dementia. Methods: A preliminary report summarizing available literature and making…

Background: The nature and quality of end-of-life care received by adults with intellectual disabilities in out-of-home, non-institutional community agency residences in Western nations is not well understood. Method: A range of databases and search engines were used to locate conceptual, clinical and research articles from relevant peer-reviewed…

Background: The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 authorizes the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish nutritional standards for all foods sold in schools participating in federally funded meal programs. These foods, known as competitive foods, are commonly found in school cafeterias, vending machines, fundraisers, and snack bars…

Advanced Technological Education is distinct from typical National Science Foundation programs in that it is essentially a training--not research--program, and most grantees are located at technical and two-year colleges. This article presents empirical data on the status of research in the program, discusses the program's role in supporting NSF's…