This article presents a review of "Investing in Kids: Early Childhood Programs and Local Economic Development" by Timothy J. Bartik. Timothy Bartik's timely book contributes to an important conversation about the role of government in promoting investments in children in the years before traditional public schooling typically begins. Until…

Despite a nascent economic recovery, education advocates, policymakers and other leaders continue to sound concerns over U.S. higher education's long-term viability and productivity. Foremost among current worries is the financial stability of colleges and universities, particularly now that federal stimulus support has dried up. Even while…

Discusses 17 years of growth and development at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical Institute in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. (JOW)

Critiques the concept of privatization in public education. Contracting for instructional services with providers who must make a profit does not guarantee instructional success or financial savings. (MD)

Noting that welfare reform offers new opportunities to apply dollars toward several initiatives beyond cash grants, this special report of the Voices for Illinois Children provides a detailed accounting of Illinois welfare expenditures for federal fiscal years (FFY) 1998 and 1999 and is intended to serve as a starting point toward greater clarity…

Traces 20 years of vocational education in New York State and the effect upon the state of the Vocational Education Act of 1963. (JOW)

The author warns that the generic nature of categorically funded programs presents a multitude of problems and risks to the program administrator, and suggests that these managers sharpen up their management skills if they desire professional satisfaction and success. (KC)

Describes one-stop career centers funded with Department of Labor grants in several states. The centers offer help for finding jobs and developing careers, involve several agencies, offer options for getting services, and provide a system for evaluation. (JOW)

The child support program enforces the responsibility of parents to support their children when they live apart. The child support program is jointly funded by federal and state governments under title IV-D of the Social Security Act. The program collects child support for families, establishes the legal relationship between children and their…

The interests of libraries and users are best served when library services are provided without fee. Policy makers must be convinced that library services are a combination of public and merit goods deserving governmental funding. (RAA)

Discusses the accountability requirements of the 1998 Carl Perkins Vocational Technical Education Act: (1) states must develop systems that monitor performance using four core indicators; (2) states must establish, and are accountable for, the indicators and their performance levels; and (3) states will report annual performance to the U.S.…

Discusses whether states and local districts will be able to continue the school-to-work initiative when federal funding ends in 2001. Provides information for obtaining additional funding. (JOW)

Profiles the first eight states, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New jersey, New York, Oregon, Wisconsin, to receive federal school-to-work grants and looks at how they are doing. (JOW)

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…

Discusses the ramifications of privatization (the withdrawal of government as the creator and provider of services) for public education. Includes discussion of vouchers and of privatization of instructional services through the contracting of instructional services from private organizations. (MD)