This article compares state expenditure data to see how the operating budgets of public community colleges specifically, and public higher education institutions generally, have fared over the past 30 years. Data from the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) have long tracked major state expenditure categories, including the…

U.S. educators and policymakers are concerned about the poor performance of the public schools, particularly schools that serve students from low-income families. Although education is primarily a state function, the federal government also has a longstanding interest in improving education for disadvantaged students, and it targets funding to…

The paper reviews the Reagan administration's efforts to convert human services financing to a block grant approach and describes the response of the United Cerebral Palsy Association (UCPA). The Budget Reconciliation Act and its impact on funding for such services as developmental disabilities, vocational rehabilitation, and Title XX Social…

Recommendations of the President's Committee on Mental Retardation to encourage collaboration among government, voluntary, individual, community, and private sector efforts are reported in this publication which presents a historical review of the Committee from 1966 through 1986. The background and establishment of the Committee are discussed in…

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…

This policy update presents key aspects of the statutory language of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-239), which provides states and localities with federal funds to be used as venture capital to underwrite the initial costs of planning and establishing statewide School-to-Work Opportunities systems. The paper focuses…

This report provides a national overview of programs and practices relating to vocational education opportunities for older persons as reflected in current literature, a review of state plans, and a survey of state programmatic efforts. In addition to providing a basis for further project development efforts, the report is intended as a resource…

Studies have shown an inextricable link between under-education and chronic, intergenerational welfare dependency. With welfare reform focusing on moving individuals into the workforce more quickly, state welfare reform efforts to assist low-income parents and their children are needed. Incorporating family literacy instruction into…

This volume analyzes government policies for helping students pay for education beyond high school and was developed as a result of an October 1994 gathering of policymakers, analysts, and practitioners convened to review federal student assistance and to consider policy alternatives for the Clinton Administration. Chapter 1, "A Fifty-Year…

President Bush's comprehensive education plan includes major initiatives in areas ranging from accountability to school safety. While breaking new ground in some areas, Bush's plan accelerates the progress states have made in improving quality, performance, and flexibility in public education. This status report reviews the progress of states in…

Vermont, the most rural state in the northeastern United States, can represent that area for consideration of the problems of rural vocational education. Nearly 21% of Vermont's work-aged population has vocational training. More than half of all high school juniors and seniors now enroll in vocational education programs, and new adult education…