The Commonwealth Education Continuum (CEC) was formed out of the moral imperative to strengthen the education pipeline in Kentucky. To further understand the diverse needs of the state and seek actions to improve the education system, the CEC created three workgroups with distinct focus areas at its April meeting. The workgroups include: (1) Early…

This brief explores the lessons learned from the 2016 Parents and Children Thriving Together: Two-Generation State Policy Network (PACTT Network), a collaboration between the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). Through this initiative, five states explored how to use the two-generation approach to…

While college costs have risen significantly in the past few decades, some of those cost increases can be partially mitigated by financial aid for low-income families. But many low- and moderate-income families vastly overestimate the cost of college, leading them to assume that enrolling their children in college, particularly a four-year school,…

Between 2014 and 2016, California policymakers invested a half-billion dollars in the California Career Pathways Trust (CCPT). The initiative funded regional and local partnerships to establish career pathways designed to lead secondary school students to postsecondary degrees or certifications aligned with regional workforce needs. This brief…

This report addresses two key questions about postsecondary student unit record data systems (PSURSs): (1) What data are collected by various parties; and (2) how do these entities use the data to inform policy decisions? This 2016 report is both a follow-up and a redesign of two previous "Strong Foundations" reports by SHEEO (2010 and…

This letter is submitted to comment on the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) proposed revisions to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's (ARRA) State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF), as published in the September 23, 2011, Federal Register. Overall, the Data Quality Campaign believes the proposed changes strike a sensible balance: they…

Since Congress enacted the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965, the federal government has emphasized states' shared responsibility for improving student achievement. When Congress reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 2001 as the No Child Left Behind Act, it called upon states to provide technical support to…

Extension faculty and agents/educators are increasingly collaborating with local and state agencies to provide and evaluate multiple, distinct programs, yet there is limited information about measuring outcomes and combining results across similar program types. This article explicates the methods and outcomes of a state-level evaluation of…

Background: Health insurance coverage increases access to health care. There has been an erosion of employer-based health insurance and a concomitant rise in children covered by public health insurance programs, yet more than 8 million children are still without health insurance coverage. Methods: This study was a national survey to assess the…

This paper serves as the introduction to the State Children's Cabinets and Councils Series, a set of reports intended to capture and organize the decisions and experiences of more than 20 children's cabinets and councils and present them against an emerging set of expectations about what the public and policy makers could and should expect from…

A product of the Project on Vocational Education Models for Linking Agencies Serving the Handicapped, this status report consists of group consenses and individual response worksheets pertaining to the status of linkages among agencies serving handicapped vocational students. (The above-mentioned project is designed to help the states meet the…

Reports on a three-year interagency collaborative effort between clinicians and state children's services workers who treat child victims of sexual abuse. Discusses client characteristics, treatment provided, and expectations of state social workers and treatment workers. (NH)

This monograph reports on a study concerning client acceptance and rates of rehabilitation in vocational programs for individuals who are blind. In this study, a national survey of state agencies for the blind examined characteristics of different agencies and developed classification criteria to distinguish agencies into logical groups based on…

The report of the Illinois commission on Children focuses on the need for developing a comprehensive service plan for emotionally disturbed (ED) children (birth through 21). Emphasis was placed on a continuum of services from prevention to treatment. Findings and recommendations are listed on seven topics (sample suptopics in parentheses):…

Discusses the influence that parents have had on state agencies in developing services for children and adolescents with severe emotional problems through the Family Input Program in Kansas. The program provides a forum for parents to meet together and decide what actions to take in advocating for particular issues. (BB)