To inform policymakers as they deliberate over the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) reauthorization, this guide reviews what states have done with the flexibility afforded them by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. The first section examines how states have shaped their welfare reform strategies…

This report describes a program for increasing academic growth through motivating students to read. The targeted population includes kindergarten, first, third, and high school special education students. The lack of motivation in reading was documented through data revealed by pre-surveys and post-surveys of students' interest in books. Analysis…

In September 1999, a pilot program of Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) was introduced in 15 local education authorities (LEAs) in England to provide payments to students aged 16-19 who are from low-income families and who are attending full-time courses in schools and colleges. Participants are entitled to 2 years' support and must be…

This report provides an overview of Texas enrollment trends and growth of special instructional programs, and redistribution of the student population geographically and by community type. National enrollment trends are also presented. In the 10 years from 1987-88 to 1997-98, Texas public school enrollment increased at a faster rate than national…

This annual report provides information about dropouts in Texas public schools for the 1996-97 school year. The report includes (1) historical dropout information; (2) a summary of dropout rates based on dropout characteristics and school district characteristics; (3) a listing of dropout rates broken down by county, district, and campus; and (4)…

This report focuses on implementation, impacts, and time limit in Florida's Family Transition Program (FTP), a welfare reform initiative. Chapter 1 describes FTP and evaluation, target population, and data. Chapter 2 describes implementation of FTP in Escambia County: staffing and organizational structure of FTP and traditional Aid to Families…

A Cuyahoga County, Ohio, study focused on two cohorts: pre-Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) leavers who left in the third quarter of 1996 and post-TANF leavers who left in the third quarter of 1998. Outcomes were examined for about 6,151 adult welfare leavers. Findings indicated the rate of leaving welfare increased between 1996-98;…

This brief reports on the Ford Foundation's establishment of the Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI) for selected institutions in economically distressed areas of the Southeast, Deep South, Southwest, Appalachia, and western Indian reservations. This is the fourth report in a series by the RCCI Documentation Team. The RCCI program challenges…

Beginning in the 2002-03 school year, the revised Florida School Code required 3rd grade students to demonstrate reading proficiency by scoring at level 2 or higher on the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). If not, the student must be retained, unless exempted from mandatory retention for special circumstances…

Outlines the "calamitous prospects" facing the poor in America, especially poor Blacks, due to undereducation and the movement of the economy away from industrial production to high technology and communication. Proposes strengthening public school instruction through cooperation of schools and colleges to provide an alternative future. (JBM)

A discussion of the distribution of student financial aid in Australia focuses on these issues: direct vs. indirect payment to students; inequality in living allowances given to secondary and postsecondary students; and distribution of expense allowances by state government and living allowances by the Commonwealth. (MSE)

This history of Lancaster, a nineteenth-century reform school for poor girls, illustrates the change in reform ideology from belief in the efficacy of family-style environment to concern for protecting the social order from "hereditarily deviant" children. The role of institutions as mechanisms for social control of the poor and of women…

Responds to criticisms of the community control approach to public education. Holds that community control was only unsuccessful because it was opposed by those interests who feared the consequences of participation by the poor, and that the idea should be given an opportunity to operate at the local level. (Author/GC)

Discusses how competition for black college students among the nation's most prestigious institutions could become more intense if these universities abandon their agreement to set financial aid based on merit as well as on need. It argues that by enforcing limitations on financial aid, Congress is protecting Ivy League schools and is sanctioning…

Explored relationship between family resources and social competence of 300 adolescents. Found that parental education, occupation, and family income were related to positive peer and teacher-related social competence among advantaged adolescents. Negative responses and outside family support were positively related to disadvantaged adolescents'…