The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 gives states the opportunity to devise unique welfare programs that include client participation in educational activities. States receive block grants rather than funds earmarked for certain kinds of programs. Pennsylvania's welfare reform plan permits welfare clients to…

This report is a summary of discussions at a roundtable meeting conducted in April 2000 by the National Governors' Association Center for Best Practices and Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation to discuss expanding postsecondary opportunities for low-income, working parents and welfare recipients. Section I offers background. Sections II-IX…

There has developed in recent years a growing realization among educators, social scientists, and others that culturally deprived school-children cannot develop their potential unless they are provided with more educational and cultural opportunities than they typically receive. The educational handicaps stem, in large part, from their culturally…

Examines the effect of a four-year program of prenatal and postnatal nurse home visitation on the life-course development of women who were either teenaged, unmarried, or poor. (FMW)

The author documents pervasive racial disparities in the health of American children and analyzes how and how much those disparities contribute to racial gaps in school readiness. She explores a broad sample of health problems common to U.S. children, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, asthma, and lead poisoning, as well as maternal…

This White Paper summarizes findings from an extensive literature review that was conducted to identify the most promising models and approaches for meeting the needs of low-income children, youth, and families during the summer months. Special attention is paid to summer learning programs that serve diverse, urban low-income children and youth.…

In the 1990s, the nation's educational focus turned to troubled schools in the nation's poorest cities. Under the leadership of Luther Williams, then Assistant Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Urban Systemic Initiative was created to improve the teaching and learning of science and mathematics. Recognizing that high-needs…

School districts receiving Chapter 1 funds are to conduct a study of sustained effects once every 3 years and to use the results for planning future Chapter 1 programs. As part of this effort, the Columbus (Ohio) public schools conducted pretest-to-posttest, posttest-to-sustained effect, and pretest-to-sustained effect studies of 4,031 students in…

Over the past 2 decades, the inflation-adjusted median weekly earnings of full-time employed males and females decreased by 31% and 13%, respectively, and the deterioration in the real weekly earnings of young adults (ages 18-24) shows no signs of abatement. Male high school dropouts and graduates with no postsecondary schooling experienced the…

The report describes the Center for Education, Diversity, & Excellence (CREDE), a national research and development center operated cooperatively by the University of California, Santa Cruz and the Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Institute on the Education of At-Risk Students. CREDE's…

This KIDS COUNT data book examines statewide trends in the well-being of New Jersey's children. The report begins with general state facts, state trends in child well-being for the years 1993 through 1995, county quartile rankings for 1995, and county composite rankings for the years 1993 through 1995. The bulk of the report provides data in two…

Midlife and older women are at an economic disadvantage relative to their male counterparts and younger women. Older women should be served by the nation's employment, training, and vocational programs. Interviews with participants and operators of employment and training programs identified six program components needed to serve older women: (1)…

The Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects (YIEPP) demonstration was a large-scale test of a school-conditioning guaranteed jobs program for teenagers from low-income families. Unlike previous youth employment programs, the YIEPP linked school and work by offering jobs to all youth who met the eligibility criteria and who also agreed to remain…

This report examines preschool and early primary education in the Chicago (Illinois) public schools, and its impact on disadvantaged minority children. Statistical data were gathered by a survey of 196 kindergarten teachers. For comparison, the survey was also sent to kindergarten teachers in Wilmette (Illinois), a Chicago suburb. Part 1,…

This guide is designed to help elementary teachers to incorporate career education into their classrooms. It contains background information about career education as well as suggested activities to use with the children. The guide is organized into five chapters. Each chapter contains information about career education topics, a summary, and…