Many welfare programs give greater benefits to unmarried individuals than to a married couple of otherwise identical income. The resulting marriage penalty discourages marriage and rewards single parenthood. Combined marriage penalties across federal and state welfare programs can reach tens of thousands of dollars per year for a given family. One…

State-level postsecondary policymaking is daunting. Policymakers navigate through myriad fiscal, political, and ideological constraints and opportunities as they strive to address pressing state concerns or goals. While researchers and advocates may point to "perfect" policy models, in reality perfect policy does not exist. All…

Access to financial aid is dependent on a variety of factors, including the time of application; the earlier students apply for financial aid, the greater their access to institutional and often state resources. We use the Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP) as a case for investigating the economic, social, and academic factors that affect…

In 2006, Michigan changed their traditional merit award to a credit contingent program based upon successful completion of 60 college credits. The Michigan Promise Scholarship was crafted by state policymakers without input from the financial aid community. This case study suggests that the change in policy resulted in two unintended consequences:…

This report provides six mini-case studies of higher education policy reforms enacted in other states, exploring the important role that state policy leadership played in developing, promoting, and implementing these policies aimed at improving higher education outcomes, and discussing the relevance of each reform effort for California. This…

A report of the Illinois Gifted Program Evaluation, the document first presents origins, policies, and scope of the reimbursement section of the Illinois Plan for Program Development for Gifted Children. Outlined is the evaluation design, in which subjects were 34 school districts representing a 10% stratified random sample of 340 districts. Each…

Summaries of the design, planning, and implementation of performance funding programs in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington reveal the challenges and opportunities of this reform approach. Performance measures and objectives and the history of the program in each…

The second phase of a two-phase study evaluated (through 24 care studies in California, Missouri, Illinois, and New York) the feasibility of implementing an evaluation model of workplace-based retraining programs developed during the first phase of the project in California. The feasibility study addressed two components of an evaluation system:…

Merit aid, a discount to college costs contingent upon academic performance, is nothing new. Colleges and private organizations have long rewarded high-achieving, college-bound high school students with scholarships. While merit aid has a long history in the private sector, it has not played a major role in the public sector. At the state level,…

Youth violence and delinquency are problems that continue to challenge many communities across the U.S. For over a decade, Pennsylvania has been a national leader in confronting youth problem behaviors in a progressive and proactive fashion, investing heavily in supporting local community prevention coalitions and the use of proven-effective…

The first objective of a two-phase project was to clarify the policy rationale and intervention model for state-financed workplace-based retraining programs in terms of their two objectives of retaining jobs and preventing unemployment. The second objective was to develop: (1) an evaluation system for these programs that was composed of business…

This paper traces the historical context of the passage and implementation of Vermont's Act 230 in 1990, which initiated a new special education funding system to increase equity, predictability, and flexibility in program design as well as to ensure placement neutrality. Specific objectives of the funding system included increasing the use of…

A study explored the policy process that led to the development and implementation of the Virginia Student Retention Program (VSRP--a program to facilite minority student recruitment and retention projects at Virginia colleges and universities), and examined perceived institutional impacts. The study attempted to determine whether the VSRP and the…

Reported are the execution and outcomes of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) Performance Funding Project at Tennessee Technological University, a pilot project seeking to explore the question of whether it is desirable and possible to allocate state funds to community colleges and universities on a performance effectiveness…

This report focuses on the new intergovernmental relationships developing between cities, States and the Federal government as funds are "block granted." The first chapter discusses the historical background of federalism and the redistributive role of government, and puts the "new federalism" in perspective. The following…