Western Michigan University is building an innovative program to make welcome those students who were raised in foster care and to help them earn their diplomas without having to shoplift or trespass over the holidays. Many of the students have comfortable apartments on the campus, and a hall was kept open over the holiday break for dorm residents…

Adult (age 30) educational, economic, and social-emotional adjustment outcomes were investigated for participants in the Abecedarian Project, a randomized controlled trial of early childhood education for children from low-income families. Of the original 111 infants enrolled (98% African American), 101 took part in the age 30 follow-up. Primary…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility and results of ascertaining Medicare enrollees' priorities for insured medical benefits. Design and Methods: Structured group exercises were conducted with Medicare enrollees from clinical and community settings in central North Carolina. By participating in a decision exercise,…

North Carolina attempted to reform its welfare system to remove disincentives to work and encourage intact families and savings. Issues raised were funding incentives dramatically increase short-term program spending; amount and kinds of jobs available for welfare recipients are uncertain; and limits on long-term support beg the question of what…

Examines the extent to which personal, attitudinal, psychosocial, and human capital characteristics affect welfare-to-work training programs. Assesses these characteristics as predictors of post-program earnings. Results suggest that the personal and social characteristics that participants bring with them to the training program does affect…

Describes the results from a family-based case management demonstration program which served families in North Carolina during the period of 1990 to 1993. The model from the program was based on the family investment initiative strategy developed by the George Washington University Center for Policy Studies. Implications of the results for social…

This report describes the context, design, and findings of an evaluation of a welfare reform initiative, the Recycling Fund Concept, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. The proposed fund would allocate money to parents of preschool children who receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). The concept assumes that lack of child care…

This paper describes preliminary results from a study at the Crisis Control Ministry, a poverty relief organization in Winston-Salem (North Carolina). The intent of the study was to explore the nature of and influences on contemporary urban poverty by having the investigator serve as a volunteer interviewer at the Crisis Control Ministry. Another…

North Carolina's Work First (WF) program, like other welfare reform programs, incorporates personal responsibility contracts; paid work, volunteer work, or school requirements; and time limitations. Using telephone interviews, this study examined perceptions of 31 former welfare recipients who were enrolled in the North Carolina Work First (WF)…

This final report describes and evaluates the Favorable Alternate Sites Project (FASP), developed in response to the oversettlement of refugees (particularly Southeast Asian refugees) in particular areas of the country. The project's goals were to reduce welfare dependency, increase the ability of FASP refugees to be self-supporting, and reduce…

Smart Start is a statewide initiative to ensure that all of North Carolina's children arrive at school healthy and ready to learn. A formative evaluation assessed, from the perspective of local participants in the original twelve Smart Start sites, how well these process goals are being met in the implementation process. Focus group and individual…

Children eligible for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) were found to have substantially higher mortality rates than non-AFDC children, based on data from 3,679 child death certificates. The disparity appears greater for whites than non-whites. Results suggest social class differentials in health care and risks. (SLD)

Smart Start is a broad-based community initiative to ensure that all of North Carolina's children arrive at school healthy and ready to learn. This study examined the effect of Smart Start on the quality of child care from 1994-1996. Data were collected from child care centers in 12 counties implementing the initiative. Data collectors visited 180…

This policy brief of the Southeastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE) provides information for policymakers, educators, parents, and citizens on the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. The brief discusses potential effects of welfare reform on children, describes research on welfare recipients and their children,…

Smart Start is a multi-disciplinary, comprehensive, community-based initiative to serve North Carolina children under age 6 and their families to ensure that all children enter school healthy and prepared to succeed. To achieve this, local county partnerships have focused both their attention and their funds on three major areas of service…