The "new federalism" paradigm offers an explanation why the federal government has devolved much of its administration of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, formerly AFDC) and Medicaid (through managed care) programs. A review of child and family outcomes data resulting from these devolutionary changes in TANF and…

This report presents conclusions and recommendations of a study of possible criteria to define educationally underserved populations in Texas in light of the 1994 Court decision (Hopwood v. Texas) ending the use of racial quotas. The study identified qualitative variables related to social and cultural factors and 10 quantitative criteria (such as…

A survey of officials in 52 cities in the United States gathered information on the conditions and issues relating to urban children, on how city governments are structured to respond to those needs, and on city programs and initiatives which benefit children. Information provided by the cities was supplemented by data from the Bureau of the…

The undereducation of at-risk youth is a critical issue overlooked by the education reform movement of the 1980s, as represented by the report, "A Nation At Risk." This group, whose members are predominantly economically, culturally, racially, and ethnically disadvantaged, is leaving school unprepared for further education or available…

This review attempts to summarize the major findings concerning the impact of Head Start that have been reported in the literature published since 1970, and to communicate these results to policymakers, researchers, Head Start program staff, and others. The review constitutes an update of "A Review of Head Start Research since 1969 and an…

The New York City Board of Education formed the Latino Commission on Educational Reform to examine issues of concern to Latino children who comprise an increasing segment of the students in the public school system. An interim report was submitted on the dropout rate, curriculum and instruction, support services, parent and community empowerment,…

This summary of the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1990, Public Law 101-476, identifies how these Amendments extend and expand special education research, demonstration, and training programs of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA authorizes three state formula grant programs and several discretionary grant…

This policy analysis focuses on identifying optimal federal fiscal policies for achieving desired programmatic and student outcomes on behalf of special populations in vocational education (i.e., disadvantaged, limited-English-proficient, and handicapped persons, and students interested in nontraditional careers). The present status of unserved…

Unemployment among young people is a serious and persistent problem in this country. Unemployment rates are especially high among members of minority groups, for high school dropouts, and in economically depressed areas. Vocational education can help to alleviate the problem of unemployment, and a close link between schools and employers can help…

This document records the oral and written testimony from a 1999 Senate Committee hearing on "the forgotten half"--young people who do not continue their education past high school and, in many cases, do not finish high school. Witnesses testified that there is a great need for persons with technical skills to fill existing and projected…

This document summarizes major postsecondary education issues and school-to-work and youth employment programs for the Education Task Force of the U.S. Senates's Committee on the Budget, and is based on General Accounting Office (GAO) studies completed during 1990-1997. The discussion of postsecondary education issues centers around five themes:…

In 1992, the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Education jointly developed the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) Career Academy model, which provides a framework for implementation of an innovative vocational education program designed to keep dropout-prone students in school. The program, which combines military…

A project used a mixed quantitative-qualitative approach, drawing from the Job Corps database and site visits at five sites, to generate knowledge that can guide policymakers and program planners as they act to increase retention in the Job Corps or similar programs. Quantitative data on 343,097 students who enrolled in Job Corps between July 1993…

The value of the output and services produced by students while enrolled in the Job Corps was estimated by analyzing data from a sample of 2 projects from each of 23 Job Corps centers. The projects were subjected to in-depth analysis based on independent-estimate and relative-productivity approaches. The following were among the key findings: (1)…

The National Job Corps Study was undertaken to obtain the information needed to assess the Job Corps' success in providing employment assistance to disadvantaged youths aged 16 to 24 years. The study's findings related to outreach and admissions (OA) and center characteristics and practices that appear to promote positive programmatic experiences…