Over the past decade, the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (hereinafter referred to as "the Committee") has examined a number of rural issues that touch upon the social determinants of health. The Committee's past work has focused on understanding how conditions and outcomes such as homelessness, childhood…

Since its inception, Head Start has used a varied and comprehensive approach to meet the needs of children in poverty. This position paper of the National Head Start Association asserts that the programs current federal-to-local guidance and funding structure under the Department of Health and Human Services is effective and argues that valuable…

Families undergo difficulties in trying to negotiate the labyrinth of early childhood services offered in Illinois. Because of the multiplicity of programs and scarce funding, many children and families do not receive the services they need. Coordination among programs and services is also limited. This paper offers background on how the…

Political changes underway at both the federal and state levels will dramatically affect public policies for children and their families in the years ahead. Drawing from over 550 budget line items in 10 state departments from 1990 to 1995, this report looks at spending on Illinois' children and families by program areas, with some specific…