How can local education agencies (LEAs), elementary schools, and teachers make sure the kindergarten year deepens and builds on children's previous learning? What are the best ways to keep children and families connected to school and engaged in learning? And how can LEAs, schools, and classroom teachers provide the smoothest transition possible…

Federal funding for early childhood education and care promotes three overarching policy goals: (1) increasing children's access to services; (2) raising the quality of early childhood programs; and (3) fostering greater coordination among the many providers--public schools, center-based child care, home-based child care, Head Start, and more--of…

There is growing unease about suspension and expulsion of children at the preschool level. Preschoolers are expelled at three times the rate of K-12 students (Gilliam, 2005). Boys--particularly African-American boys--comprise a disproportionate number of these cases, a fact that has caused concern among parents, policymakers, and advocates alike.…

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…

This article is concerned with the aged and looks briefly at the history of federal involvement in mental health care, discusses current trends, and examines the future of mental health care in the United States. (CMG)

The senator explains the basic concepts of New Federalism, including a rethinking of responsibilities and intergovernmental relations and a reconsideration of the role of state and local government. (SK)

Reviews progress made toward educating handicapped children in the United States under Public Law 94-142. Describes how proposals by the Reagan Administration to reduce Federal involvement in education would place a heavy burden on individual States and would erode recent gains in educational opportunity for the handicapped. (GC)

The deregulation critique of the federal role in education asserts that education can be as productive with less federal intervention. This critique can be broken down into three groupings of separate criticisms. The first group denies the value or feasibility of federal goals. These criticisms insist either that federal goals are not worthwhile…

Reviews national interests in education and considers the effectiveness of different forms of federal grants in addressing those interests. Concludes that providing equalization aid is the only appropriate purpose for block grants since such grants do not encourage state and local agencies to concern themselves with national priorities. (PGD)

A study solicited perceptions of 60 Illinois Education for Employment (EFE) system directors regarding proposed changes in federal funding for vocational education programs; 88 percent responded. Its more specific focus was the changing role of the federal government in vocational education and the proposed federal block grant financing of…

This hearing sought answers to two questions about child abuse in day care centers: (1) how can the Federal Government help States develop standards and procedures that will minimize the possibility of further incidents of abuse; and (2) how can prompt, coordinated, and effective action be assured when such incidents do occur? Attention is also…

Outlines progress made toward equal education for the disadvantaged under Title I. Warns that in times of economic austerity and with the absence of Federal regulation, local school systems will find it easy to use Federal funds for general educational expenditures, rather than for those who need compensatory services. (GC)

Predicting the federal government's role in education in the 1980s requires being aware of existing patterns and trends, noting their interaction with likely federal policy changes, and assessing the possible outcomes of this interaction. The existing patterns, or "historical givens," include trends in educational economics and…

One of the goals of the America 2000 initiative is that by the year 2000, all children in the United States will start school ready to learn. Child care will play a major role in the achievement of this goal due to the fact that nearly half of all preschool children spend a significant portion of time in child care settings outside of the home.…

Drawing on studies by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) and other federal and state organizations, this document summarizes information and findings on six federal block grant programs involving social services, low-income home energy assistance, mental health, community services, maternal and child health, and preventive health. It also…