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.…

This report discusses the impact on elementary and secondary education in New York State and New York City of: (1) a New York Court of Appeals decision to grant State Legislature control over Federal funds received by the State; and (2) passage of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act providing block education grants to States. The report provides…

This paper discusses policies to improve fiscal relations between levels of government to better meet the needs of citizens, an objective of the government's "Roadmap for Decentralisation". Although local government accounts for around half of total government spending, they have little autonomy and fiscal resources vary sharply between…

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…

This series of articles discusses categorical grants, defined as financial assistance by a higher level of government to a lower level for educational services of a specific type or for a particular group of students. In the first article, criticism of such programs is discussed, as well as alternative approaches to better meet the goals of…

Four types of federal grants used to address national concerns of educational equity are examined and evaluated: general aid to education, categorical grants for educational equity, block grants for specific groups of equity programs, and matching grants for educational equity. (CT)

In response to proposed reforms designed to replace many federal child welfare programs with block grants to states, this report describes a study of recent trends foster care, resources for foster care and child welfare services, and state responses to current foster care and child welfare service needs. The study reviewed research on foster care…

The need for a new approach to federal support of education by reducing the number of narrow categorical aid programs is developed through a case study of the 1976 Ford Administration proposal for a consolidated block grant of 24 separate authorities. The merits of block grant funding are examined both in terms of the administration-sponsored bill…

The report of the presidential Advisory Panel on Financing Elementary and Secondary Education presents the panel's philosophy, describes current problems, and recommends (1) returning financial autonomy to state and local levels, (2) dismantling the Department of Education, (3) deregulating public schools, and (4) encouraging school-based…

This statement presented as testimony before the U.S. Senate discusses the importance of preschool education for children of low-income families. The testimony focuses on the federal and state commitment to preschool programs, including funding and collaborative efforts, and what is known about the effectiveness of federal preschool programs.…

The General Accounting Office was asked by the House Committee on Education and Labor to review state implementation of the Child Care and Development Block Grant to determine the problems states encounter as they integrate the block grant and the other federal child care programs for low-income families into their child care delivery programs and…

This report focuses on the new intergovernmental relationships developing between cities, States and the Federal government as funds are "block granted." The first chapter discusses the historical background of federalism and the redistributive role of government, and puts the "new federalism" in perspective. The following…

It is too soon to know the effect of federal block grants on education, but one can speculate on their implications for fiscal management by looking at past block grant programs, examining the statutory provisions, and analyzing data available on states and cities. Past federal block grants have involved health, crime, community development,…

This guide outlines strategies to be used by rural school districts when applying for grants in New York State. The first section addresses the impact of recent federal program reductions and restructuring that have significantly reduced overall federal spending on state education programs. Both federal and state governments are moving away from…

A number of basic questions exist about the nature of the federal system, about the role education plays in that system, and about how that role should be expressed in policy. This paper examines the doctrinal, functional, and strategic meanings of the term "federalism." The author argues, first, that there is no doctrinal support for…