Less than 25 percent of college students who take any developmental education courses earn a credential within eight years. Over the past three years, the six states in the Developmental Education Initiative have developed and enacted unprecedented changes in policy and practice in an effort to reverse these dismal outcomes. "Ahead of the…

Early childhood mental health (ECMH) services are relationship-based since infants and young children depend on parents/family/care-takers to provide for their basic survival needs and their social emotional health. ECMH is defined by ZERO TO THREE as the "social, emotional, and behavioral well-being of children birth through five and their…

The purpose of this study was to understand the consortial approach to distance education at the state level, with a focus on examining the way three state-level virtual universities engaged colleges and universities in participating in distance education initiatives. Specifically, three research questions guided this study: (1) What structure was…

This report describes efforts to provide seamless transitions from early to elementary education. Specifically, it details SPARK (Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids), a five-year initiative funded by the Kellogg Foundation, which has contributed a unique, community-based perspective to the national conversation on what it takes to…

Among the major educational policy shifts in recent years has been the establishment of state-funded prekindergarten programs. This study extends an earlier one of the development of prekindergarten policy in five states by focusing on policy development in two additional states, California and Ohio. Potential informants in each state who were…

Interest is growing in planning and implementing new systems of holding child and family services accountable for results. The Results-Based Accountability (RBA) Project at the Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) has supported and built upon recent state efforts to develop these new accountability systems for child and family services. The RBA…

Summaries of the design, planning, and implementation of performance funding programs in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington reveal the challenges and opportunities of this reform approach. Performance measures and objectives and the history of the program in each…

During the 2000-2001 school year, an 18-month evaluation of Ohio's Phonics Demonstration Program (PDP) was conducted by the same evaluation team that had conducted a similar evaluation in 1997. In addition to evaluating phonics instruction in PDP schools, the evaluation also addressed the preparation of teachers for reading/phonics instruction in…

Explores the cases of two states, Louisiana and Ohio, which found budget problems to be the occasion for concerted statewide efforts to improve academic library services. Both states ultimately established statewide multipurpose resource-sharing academic library consortia, supported by electronic library networks, as the solutions to their very…

In order to achieve the expectations for children's learning stipulated by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, greater attention needs to be given to child care policy and funding. This report details a study examining strategies in seven states that have integrated early education program standards in child care, by directly tying standards to…

To understand more fully what factors lead to successful collaboration at the local level, case studies of five Common Good local linkage teams were conducted. Since 1990, 47 teams have been formed under the auspices of Common Good, a statewide project to facilitate development of local interagency linkage teams throughout Ohio. Local teams…

In their 2004 State of the State speeches, the nation's governors cited many issues competing for their attention and their states' resources, including health care, education, crime, and security (Nodine 2004). Among the most compelling challenges were those related to economic development and the ability of a state's workforce to meet the needs…

The development, organization, and operation of the Vocational-Technical Resource Consortia in Ohio was examined to identify those elements, policies, practices, and procedures that contribute to their effective operation and future growth. Data about individual consortia and general information were gathered by questionnaires completed by…

The Gifted Education Policy Studies Program was designed to address two issues: the status of state and local policies on the identification of gifted students from special populations (culturally diverse, children with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged); and the impact of educational reform movements (cooperative learning and middle…

The impact of one-stop career centers on the U.S. Employment Service (ES) program was examined through case studies of one-stop initiatives in the following states: Georgia; Ohio; California; Iowa; Oregon; Massachusetts; Texas; Utah; and Wisconsin. Of the nine case study states, only Georgia had not begun instituting a one-stop career center…