Smart Start is a comprehensive public-private initiative to help all North Carolina children enter school healthy and ready to succeed, and provides children from birth to age five access to high-quality and affordable child care, health care, and other critical services. This document comprises the first two issues of "Smart Start…

In an effort to discover how Maine schools are operating their Reading Recovery (RR) programs, Maine Reading Recovery teachers provided information related to school-level implementation. Although completion of the Maine data forms was optional, three-fourths of the 346 Maine RR teachers completed the forms. Two types of implementation data were…

The state of Washington implemented the Readiness to Learn program as part of the state's Family Policy Initiative. The primary goal of the program is to serve as a formal link between education and human services by authorizing grants to local school-linked, community-based consortia to develop and implement strategies that ensure children arrive…

Workplace and educational changes related to gender in Louisiana in 1996-97 suggest some progress but a continued need to reduce wide gender gaps in some occupational areas. Workplace data show a closing gender gap, but changes are occurring at different rates for different areas. Women's share of the total labor force continues to rise; wage…

Educational services to adults in New York State are extensive and offered in many settings; credit is also available for learning outside the classroom. Adult learning needs and the services provided by the state, including basic education, external degree programs, occupational education, and correctional education, are summarized. (Author/JMD)

The evolution of the California Assessment Program from its legislative origins in 1961 is discussed. The following topics are included: history; analysis and reporting of results; program impact; program assessment; and future changes in emphasis. (MH)

This Evidence Based Education (EBE) response describes characteristics of graduation coach initiatives in three states (Georgia, Alabama, and California). Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southeast has received over 19 requests for information on various initiatives, programs or research related to improving graduation rates. For example, the…

The Consolidated Child Care Pilot Projects were established by the Colorado General Assembly in 1997, and designed to help local communities to address critical needs for full-day, full-year child care services in partnership with welfare reform. This report describes the context for the project, details the pilot programs, and profiles the 12…

Many college graduates who have not gone through the traditional teacher education process seek to become instructors in the public schools, particularly in areas where there exists a shortage of qualified teachers. This report offers a realistic alternative path of entry into teaching with clearly defined stages of development to attract such…

This directory is designed for use by parents, professionals, and disabled persons interested and concerned about the transition period from high school to adult working life. It lists persons in each state who can be contacted for information on current transition activities as well as future transition services being planned by the state. It…

The manual includes information on resource materials relating to funding for handicapped students, The work is divided into the following sections: federal resources (federal agencies for funding, federal information centers, federal executive boards, and regional and local federal offices); national information sources on handicapping conditions…

The report evaluates how Minnesota plans, regulates, and finances residential services for mentally retarded persons. The first chapter reviews descriptive findings about the mentally retarded population in the state and notes that despite a decline in the number of state hospital residents, the total number of retarded persons in long-term care…

The document reports the process used in Massachusetts to qualify for a waiver of the requirements which restrict the supplanting of state and local funds with federal funds according to P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. The controversy between state and federal officials over interpretation of the waiver is addresssed,…

The document presents Maine's model for providing substance abuse treatment to the client with mental retardation. Introductory information on retardation and substance abuse is followed by a discussion of this population's unique problems. Services offered in the Mental Retardation Alcoholism project are reviewed, and contracts and cooperative…