In 1998, California voters passed Proposition 10, the California Children and Families First Act, which provides for an excise tax on tobacco products to fund parent education, health and child care programs that promote early childhood development for 0-5s. Since the adoption of its first Strategic Plan (2000), the Orange County First 5…

The purpose of this report is to provide the Center for Excellence (CfE) in Early Childhood Development with a set of recommendations regarding how to measure school readiness in Ventura County. This report defines school readiness according to the National Education Goals Panel (NEGP) which identified the following three important components of…

This paper describes each of eight current interrelated federally funded research projects conducted by the Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health at the University of South Florida. For each project, information is provided on the project's background, purpose, methodology, and anticipated results. Project titles and principal…

This report documents the problem of educating students with serious emotional disturbance, reviews the legislative and administrative background, and identifies seven strategic targets in a national agenda for these children. Data for these students on academic outcomes, graduation rates, school placement, school absenteeism, dropout rates,…

The success of work-centered welfare programs depends on clients connecting to the workforce and sustaining employment. Engaging employers in welfare and workforce development policies and programs is critical to achieving positive labor market outcomes for clients. Employer involvement in welfare-to-work activities can benefit public agencies,…

Part of a series designed to provide guidance for communities interested in building systems of care for children with emotional disturbances, this volume addresses mental health services for very young children and their families. A literature review was conducted, and four Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program…

Community-based learning (CBL) is a structured approach to learning and teaching that connects meaningful community experience with intellectual development, personal growth, and active citizenship. Enthusiasm for CBL is emerging in Australia and elsewhere because it is seen as the following: strategy for whole-school reform, especially in…

The Clinton administration's Partnerships for Stronger Families initiative, through working meetings, site visits, and outreach efforts, aimed to promote an ongoing conversation between those working on the front lines of services for children and families and those crafting federal policy and legislation in Washington. The initiative was guided…

This handbook, which was developed for federal managers, explains how low-cost and no-cost training methods developed in the private sector and the services and support available from federal human resource development (HRD) offices can be used to build a smarter and more productive work force. Presented in part 1 are the following: seven…

The project AXIS: Adult education eXpress Intercommunication Support was designed to provide systematic communication and coordination between Pennsylvania's Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education and professional service providers and adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) providers, including support for online and World Wide Web…

This final report discusses the outcomes of a 4-year federally funded project designed to identify children in Montana who are deaf-blind and to provide training and technical assistance to improve the quality of special education and related services in Montana for children ages birth through 21 who are deaf-blind. The project was devised to meet…

A study examined how technology is being used in "youth at risk" programs through a survey sent to programs in the technical and further education and adult and community sector in New South Wales. About 214 surveys were sent with a response rate of 18 percent. Findings and issues arising from a literature review and the survey may be summarized…

Despite the conventional wisdom that comprehensive services are an essential element in the support of children and families, over the past several decades programs and services have continued to be disconnected, separately funded, and provided by these multiple agencies. The need for local intermediaries has emerged through the devolution of…

Florida's Workforce Development Education (WDE) Program was subjected to an evaluation and justification review to determine its benefit to the state and evaluate its systemwide performance. The following components of Florida's WDE program were evaluated: career and technical education (CTE); adult education programs; and continuing education…

This document examines selected issues related to collaboration between the welfare and work force development systems under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, Welfare-to-Work grant program, and Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). The document begins with a brief overview of how recent policy developments have created…