This article first provides an economic framework for understanding how an economic crisis affects children's educational outcomes; this framework shows that there are both negative (harmful) effects and positive (beneficial) effects on educational outcomes. A review of the empirical evidence suggests that the negative effects are typically…

U.S. has slipped into a recession greater and deeper than anyone expected. At least 47 states are grappling with budget shortfalls, and 46 states already anticipate problems into 2010 and 2011. State legislatures have the daunting task of balancing budgets as revenues drop and the need for services increases. Whether one participates in a child…

The federal government's annual budget process was kick-started this year with a bold proposal that has implications for anyone who provides child care. But keeping child care front and center in Washington will take a lot of effort in 2010. On February 1, the Administration released the Budget Proposal for Federal Fiscal Year 2011. It calls for…

Maloney Interdistrict Magnet School (MIMS) is the only elementary school in Waterbury that has a world language program and is one of only two elementary Japanese programs in Connecticut. In the past 15 years, more than 1500 students have participated in its Japanese Language and Culture (JLC) Program in grades Prekindergarten through 5th. The JLC…

This article examines the process of post-disaster recovery and rebuilding in New York City since 9/11 and in New Orleans since the Hurricane Katrina disaster (8/29). As destabilizing events, 9/11 and 8/29 forced a rethinking of the major categories, concepts and theories that long dominated disaster research. We analyze the form, trajectory and…

Amid a recession that's squeezing state budgets and pushing more families into poverty, teams of officials from 39 states gathered near Washington last week to explore ways to better meet the educational and health needs of young children. The Sept. 16-18 meeting, sponsored by the National Governors Association, came as the U.S. House of…

During the past 20 years, afterschool programs have become an increasingly vital part of most American communities. Today, some 6.5 million children across the nation participate in these programs. Another 15 million children would participate if a program were available to them, according to their parents. These numbers tell at least two…

Provides a comprehensive look at the Senate and House bills that call for funding work force education through block grants to the states and how they could affect vocational-technical education programs. (SK)

The proposed 2006 federal budget has been criticized by many in the education and technology communities for zeroing out the primary federal funding source for education technology: the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) state block-grant program. The author believes schools are better off without it. and gives reasons why. For many…

In Mark Greenberg's view, a national child care strategy should pursue four goals. Every parent who needs child care to get or keep work should be able to afford care without having to leave children in unhealthy or dangerous environments; all families should be able to place their children in settings that foster education and healthy…

The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981 provided for the consolidation of federal human service programs into block grants. A set of common issues has been proposed to provide a framework for evaluating the effects of block grant programs. These issues included funding, authority, administration, efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability. (DWH)

The chief state school officer of Colorado looks at the changing federal role in education as it affects the states, especially Colorado. He discusses top priorities of the new administration, how block grants address local priorities, and how to survive the stresses of change. (CT)

Illustrates the similarities between mass production projects in industrial arts and the planning steps involved in writing funding proposals and implementing funded projects. (SK)

Title V of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981 affects the Arts in Education Program by consolidating arts funding into general state-level block grants. The authors discuss some implications of this bill for local music educators. (Part of a theme issue on the crisis in music education.) (Author/SJL)

Evaluates the performance of federal block grants in health, law enforcement, peoplepower training, community development, and Social Security programs, to help forecast the effects of such grants in education. Finds that block grants did not improve local control, accountability, citizen participation, efficiency, targeting of funds, or program…