Head Start is an essential part of the programs and funding streams that provide early care and education (ECE) services to young children in the U.S. Head Start focuses on supporting children and families with low incomes, but also contributes to the broader effort to expand access to high quality ECE for all young children. Programs and…

The state of Kansas created the Child Support Savings Initiative (CSSI) in 2013 to help parents who owe child support pay off debt that is owed to the state while also saving for their children's future higher education. The program aims to encourage parents to make qualifying deposits into tax-advantaged college savings plans--529…

This brief explores the lessons learned from the 2016 Parents and Children Thriving Together: Two-Generation State Policy Network (PACTT Network), a collaboration between the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). Through this initiative, five states explored how to use the two-generation approach to…

Enacted in 1997, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) represented the largest expansion of U.S. public health care coverage since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid 32 years earlier. Although the program has recently been reauthorized, there remains a considerable lack of thorough and well-designed evaluations of the program. In…

We evaluate the effects of state policy design features on SCHIP take-up rates and on the degree to which SCHIP benefits crowd out private benefits. The results indicate overall program take-up rates of approximately 10 percent. However, there is considerable heterogeneity across states, suggesting a potential role of inter-state variation in…

The State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was designed in 1997 to support working families by providing affordable, quality health coverage for their children in an efficient, effective, and coordinated way. This report examines the progress made in implementing CHIP nationwide. Information sources included the following: (1) federal…

Under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Congress established the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to expand health insurance coverage to uninsured low-income children. This report summarizes the major findings of the first year of a national evaluation of SCHIP. Following a summary of major findings, the report examines state…

Children of Drug Court clients are at high-risk for substance abuse and other risk factors. This paper summarizes the results of a program needs assessment, process evaluation, and outcome evaluation from the Kentucky Drug Court Strengthening Families Pilot Program. Results indicated overall positive changes for families in the program.…

This report describes the outcomes of three grant programs administered by the New Jersey Department of Education's drug and alcohol prevention education and intervention: (1) the Substance Awareness Coordinator (SAC) Program II; (2) the Emergency Grant Program; and (3) the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (DFSCA). The impact of core team…

This project report presents findings on the implementation and progress of the On the Right Track program during the second year of a four-year grant period. The project, which began in July of 1997, is designed to assess and document the magnitude, severity, and secondary conditions of disabilities for persons with disabilities in Texas, to…

After 10 years of development, the California Statewide Automated Child Support System, run by the Department of Social Services (DSS), has been scrapped and the state has begun developing a new child support collection computer. This report evaluates the performance of publicly-funded child support collection programs in California, examining the…

The evaluation plan for New York State's Children and Youth Intensive Case Management (CYICM) Program is described, which was introduced in July 1988. The CYICM Program is a statewide intervention focusing on keeping children with serious emotional disturbances in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their needs. It is a…

Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act provides basic grants to local school districts to provide supplemental services for disadvantaged students. Additionally, Chapter 1 authorizes smaller programs which provide services for students from migrant families, students in state facilities for the handicapped, and students in…

Based primarily on the experience of three childhood injury prevention demonstration projects, this manual provides state Title V program directors with an action guide for developing targeted childhood injury prevention programs. The manual is divided into four sections: background; program planning; program design; and program implementation and…

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) was created to ensure that children in low-income areas could have access to nutritious meals during the summer months when school is not in session. During the school year about 15 million low-income children depend on the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and/or School Breakfast Program (SBP) for…