Many college students struggle to make ends meet while enrolled and sometimes must turn to a wide variety of safety net resources, including official government programs, borrowing from family, and selling belongings. This brief examines data from 63,751 undergraduate students who responded to Trellis' Fall 2021 Student Financial Wellness Survey…

Many college students, especially students from low-income backgrounds, face significant structural barriers that make it challenging to persist and complete a degree or certificate. These barriers include substantial financial challenges. Student financial aid at the federal and state levels has not kept up with rising college costs, resulting in…

On May 4, 2017, the United States House of Representatives narrowly passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA) as a repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Independent analyses of the AHCA show that it would leave 23 million more people uninsured by 2026, and make coverage less comprehensive and affordable for millions more. Many…

This paper examines labor market conditions and public employment policies in the United States during what some are calling the Great Recession. We document the dramatic labor market changes that rapidly unfolded when the rate of gross domestic product growth turned negative, from the end of 2007 through early 2009. The paper reviews the…

House Democrats recently unveiled draft legislation for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Widely touted as an economic stimulus package, the $825 billion draft legislation included as much as $142 billion for education. This includes the creation of a $79 billion State Fiscal Stabilization Fund to assist state governments in…

Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act offers no financial assistance to school systems serving disabled children. This article reviews Section 504's main provisions and examines questions arising when school districts confront the financial issues inherent in this law and discusses how added compliance costs can affect operations. (13…

This document is a transcript of hearings on evaluation of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA). Focus of the hearing was on mismanagement and misappropriation of CETA contract funds, especially in the last days of the Carter administration. Testimony was given by various present and former officials of the Department of Labor,…

This study reviews the financial soundness of the Perkins Loan Program, a federal program that provides low-interest loans to financially needy students through postsecondary institutions, and identifies ways to make the Perkins program less financially dependent on additional federal appropriations to cover operating costs and default losses.…

This report presents findings and recommendations resulting from a study on the costs and benefits of a Department of Education policy of encouraging lenders of student loans to grant forbearances to borrowers who experience temporary financial hardship but do not satisfy the specific conditions required for government-prescribed deferments. The…

After 25 years of federal and state voucher systems in higher education, public colleges and universities find themselves financially shortchanged. Higher education vouchers (direct student aid) were developed to expand educational opportunity, give lower income students more choices, and support private colleges. Voucher systems produce greater…

Prepared by the General Accounting Office (GAO), this document is a report to Congress on the major factors inhibiting expansion of the School Breakfast Program. Based on information gathered at federal, state, and local district levels the following were identified by the GAO as the major factors retarding expansion of the program: (1) many…

The administration of the Law Enforcement Education Program was investigated. The program was managed by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration until May 1980, when it was transferred to the new Department of Education. The program provides grants and loans to students enrolled in college programs leading to degrees in law enforcement or…

The impact of supplemental assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on CalWORKs leavers was examined in a study of CalWORKs recipients in Los Angeles County, California, who stopped receiving welfare benefits in the third quarter of 1998. Two groups received federal housing assistance at the time of exit from…

Compares the following four ways of providing additional funds for low-income students: (1) separate programs; (2) districtwide discretionary funding; (3) building-wide funding; and (4) vouchers for low-income families. Disadvantages of each are discussed, and large scale trial of buildingwide funding is recommended. (SLD)

The General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed and evaluated debt collection activities of five programs of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) that provide financial assistance to health professions students and medical facilities. The principal findings include: (1) HRSA changes have improved delinquency rates; however, large…