This report examines trends in voluntary support for higher education between 1980 and 1994 based on analysis of the Council for Aid to Education's annual survey on voluntary support of education. It reviews how philanthropic support for higher education compared with support for other charities and how this level of support changed over time. It…

This report presents information on how the United States compares with a selected group (N=34) of both industrialized and less developed nations in its spending on higher education and college participation rates. Highlights of the report include: in 1985 the United States spent the highest percentage (2.4%) of gross national product (GNP) on…

The mental health policies of the past 20 years and the evidence of unserved populations suffering from serious mental illness constitute a public health crisis. Currently there are at least 3,000,000 people in the United States suffering from mental disorders. A fully developed continuum of care is needed to respond effectively to the diverse…

Many mentally ill children, especially those who are seriously disturbed, are not receiving the mental health care they need. Although the federal government offers financing to the states for child and adolescent mental health programming, the primary responsibility for financing mental health services has been assumed by state governments. At…

This policy research brief summarizes changes in out-of-home placements of children and youth with mental retardation since the implementation of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) entitlements. Statistics are reported for 1977, 1987, and 1997 to show trends. Statistics were obtained from…

This theme issue addresses current trends and new developments in ensuring that individuals with disabilities have meaningful employment opportunities, especially in the context of recent federal legislation. Stressed throughout is the importance of collaboration among professionals, individuals with disabilities, and family members in achieving…

Presented is a report of findings of a 1990 National Health Interview Survey on Assistive Devices which indicated that about 5.3 percent of the American population are using assistive technology to accommodate physical impairments. Background information defines "assistive technology," describe uses, and reviews recent federal legislative and…

This essay is derived from a special round table on the public and private financing of higher education, jointly convened by the California Higher Education Policy Center and the Pew Higher Education Roundtable. Discussions were informed by two sets of commissioned papers. One set of papers was a group of case studies that examined the political…

For certain groups of the mentally ill, most notably individuals with serious mental disabilities, the community-based mental health system can be more of a "non-system." Unforeseen problems have plagued both the dream of deinstitutionalization and the effectiveness of community mental health centers during the last 20 years. Uncoordinated…

This report presents two large tables showing trends in the financing of public higher education since 1977-78. Introductory information explains how to use the tables, the data-time relationship (whether fiscal year, academic year, or calendar year), and includes a sample chart constructed from one state's data. The raw data used for these…

Changes within Offices of Research in Medical Education are reported, based on surveys conducted in 1979 and 1983. Thirty-nine of 53 offices responded. Most were state-supported institutions: 32 were U.S. medical schools, and 7 were Canadian schools. Office directors provided information on goals, organizational relationships, funding, effort…

This bulletin details the findings of a 1995 study involving 891 school districts in all 50 states that examined key factors of inclusive education practices. Findings indicate: (1) there is no single or even general pattern of initiation of inclusive education programs in local school districts; (2) as states and school districts engage in broad…

This report presents comparative data governing the financing of public higher education in each state and the District of Columbia. The model used in data analysis involves the following nine data elements: population, number of high school graduates, public full-time equivalent enrollment, taxable resources, tax revenue collected, state and…

Historically, the financial responsibility for caring for those with mental illness has shifted back and forth from the local community, to the state, to the federal government. Today states provide the vast majority of the funds to the state mental health agencies and oversee local governments and most private resources for mental health funding.…

A panel of four education experts selected the 15 most important court cases of 1990 in the field of special education, based on review of approximately 100 reported decisions. The cases deal with attorney's fees, the need to exhaust administrative remedies before taking discipline cases to court, least restrictive environment, reimbursement for…