The evaluation plan described in this article provides a means of obtaining information which can be used as the basis for statewide improvement of secondary occupational home economics education programs. The procedures used in the plan's formulation and implementation in Wisconsin should also be appropriate for use in other states. (Author/CT)

The new quality assurance system for nursing homes implemented by the New York State Department of Health in 1981 was compared to the previous system. The new system devoted more resources to on-site activities and identified more patient-care deficiencies and more repeat deficiencies. (SLD)

This article examines the definition of preschool gifted education in Louisiana, describes a publicly funded preschool gifted program, and discusses issues pertaining to a parent evaluation of the program. The evaluation covered: certification and teacher effectiveness, instruction, inservice education, special education paperwork and program…

Assesses the effectiveness of a local antismoking contest in Bloomington (Minnesota) that was coordinated with a statewide campaign. Interviews were conducted with 218 local and 198 statewide participants. Finds that the local contest had a higher impact than the statewide contest. (FMW)

Evaluated the effect of the League of Professional Schools, a democratic reform in Georgia, using performance measures from the state's educational performance measurement system. Performance of League schools was positive relative to several performance standards, but it was not possible to demonstrate that the League was a necessary component of…

Examines how states are handling aged, overcrowded, and obsolete school facilities. Includes interviews with the directors of facility programs in Arizona, Ohio, and West Virginia to see what works and what doesn't work in state-run programs that seek to strike a balance between state money and local control. (GR)

To develop a statewide evaluation tool for parenting education programs, domains of successful parenting were identified using a nominal group process involving county extension faculty. Indicators for five domains were developed and pilot tested with nearly 400 parents. The resulting instrument was easy to use and produced reliable results that…

This article presents a conceptual framework that was developed to guide a national evaluation of the American Legacy Foundation's (Legacy) Statewide Youth Movement Against Tobacco Use (SYMATU) program. This program was designed to develop youth-led, youth-directed initiatives within local communities. Two evaluation studies were designed and…

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…

"Collaboration" is a ubiquitously championed concept and widely recognized across the public and private sectors as the foundation on which the capacity for addressing complex issues is predicated. For those invested in organizational improvement, high-quality collaboration has become no less than an imperative. However, evaluators and program…

In 1991, the Florida State Legislature established an accountability process for the state's community college system to foster institutional self-examination and improvement. In 1995, the Legislature undertook a review of the process to determine the extent that it had been implemented, the usefulness of specific documents, and the level of…

This document summarizes the progress and outcomes of the implementation of the Colorado Preschool Program in 36 school districts from June, 1989, to May, 1990. First, the strength of community collaboration in supporting this early childhood effort is described. Second, the needs and accomplishments for the children and families served in the…

Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) of 1981 consolidated 29 federally funded categorical programs into an education block grant available to all state education agencies and, through them, to school districts. Chapter 2's legislative purpose was to transfer authority and responsibility to state and local education…

One of six projects funded by P.L. 93-247 state grant money, the Foster Child Advocate Services (FOCAS) Project established a guardian "ad litem" program in which court-approved members of the community volunteered to visit children in Texas State Department of Human Resources Conservatorships. Part I of the report, describing the…

Because increased need for child protective services exceeded the Texas Department of Human Services' capacity for timely response, a 2-year Case Decision Project was implemented with the aim of applying automation to parts of the case investigation process. The project produced a Case Investigation Decision Support System with two sections: a…