Survey responses of 50 State Directors of Special Education indicated wide discrepancies among states in how extended year services for severely handicapped students are provided. The article presents legal and educational bases in support of extended year programing and stresses the need for empirically based program guidelines. (Author/DB)

The article describes the Utah Community-Based Transition Project, a federally funded project on transition planning for severely disabled youth. The planning process is aimed at facilitating coordination and expansion of community services for each graduate. Barriers facing states as they attempt to implement effective transition planning models…

Describes the evolution of the Maine career information delivery system and the cooperation between state agencies to deliver high quality and timely career information. (JOW)

Asserts that mental health planning has been limited by conceptual and logistical restraints, causing planning to be isolated from management and ineffectual in describing total system of services required by persons experiencing severe mental illness. Describes application of new ideas and information technologies which can yield enhanced…

Factors that have contributed to the sluggish evolution of an adequate planning methodology in environmental health programs at the local level are detailed. Areas of environmental health programs identified by the author as needing change include: management, the administrative model, program evaluation, and community participation. (BT)

In Florida, a legislatively mandated funding program supports statewide staff development efforts, which are primarily school-based. (Author)

Since 1992, Vermont has been pioneering the development of community partnerships for improving social well-being, using indicators to track success. The working definition of a community, for outcome purposes, is the area served by a school supervisory union. Vermont is divided into 60 such supervisory unions (school districts), but…

This paper makes the case that mandated tests, such as those administered through a state's accountability system, can best meet the goal of curricular reform by making their domains of learning targets transparent to users. Test maps are proposed as an effective device to accomplish that goal. A test map describes the content of the test and how…

As part of the Assessing the New Federalism project, this report describes the child care assistance system in place just before the implementation of the Personal Responsibility and Work opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) and provides some early indications of how states will use the increased freedom of the Child Care and…

This article, the second in a continuing series highlighting exemplary information technology (IT) practices, recounts an interview with the project manager of New York State's Child Nutrition Management System (CNMS). CNMS is a Web-based system for claim processing and program management for the Child Nutrition Program administered by the New…

Humanities programs that involve citizens in discovering the relevance of the humanities to contemporary American experience are supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities through its state affiliates. State humanities agencies, catalysts in program design and delivery, and some programs are described. (Author/MLW)

Describes an evaluation of state career education plans funded by the Office of Career Education. The survey covered common planning problems, problems with funding and legislation, and implementation of plans (objectives, involvement of state education boards, and allocation of funds). (CT)

Describing the duties, activities, staff, and budget of the North Carolina Bicycle Program, this article details 11 completed, 9 current, and 9 new Bicycle Program Projects. Journal availability: see RC 503 504. (SB)

This paper describes the Oklahoma Statewide Training and Regional Support (STARS) program, a system of early intervention inservice training developed to comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part H. Major challenges included identification of technical assistance needs, facilitation of training attendance, identification…

The six chapters of this theme issue attempt to define conceptual and methodological issues in the evaluation of integrated services systems and to begin to synthesize some of these issues. An introduction to these evaluation issues is followed by case studies and a discussion of implications for program and policy development. (SLD)