Government programs and initiatives have inadequately addressed education's importance in juvenile detention facilities. Detained juveniles are not "throw-aways." Congress has inadvertently recognized this population through the Urban Education Program; such minors are "at-risk" but not hopeless. Adoption of program guidelines at juvenile…

The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1998 (Perkins III), with increased emphasis on curriculum flexibility and academic/vocational collaboration, has formalized commitment to the school-to-work concept. However, STW implementation issues (whole-school reform, logistics, cost effectiveness, liability, and…

Describes 1999 federal funding to large general-assistance programs affecting small towns and rural areas (including Housing and Urban Development, federal disaster relief, rural extension activities, and Bureau of Indian Affairs assistance programs); increased funding for Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities; reauthorization of the Economic…

Title I of the Workforce Investment Act (1998) overhauled the Job Training Partnership Act programs, creating new methods that allow local providers to meet the education, training, and employment needs of low-income adults, dislocated workers, and youth. Separate legislation revised federal vocational and technical-education assistance.…

Examines the prevalence, developmental course, and predictive power of child mental health problems for young children in general and low-income, diverse populations in particular. Notes discrepancies between Head Start agency-level data, national estimates, and intensive studies of similar populations. Describes new collaborative federal…

The startup of 465 federal 21st Century Community Learning Center Programs has propelled the idea of school/community collaboration onto national and local agendas. Collaborative action teams in the Southwest have identified three factors that encourage collaboration: the organizing group's commitment and diversity, administrative and campus…

Despite Democrats' and educators' concern over the first Republican-led reauthorization of the Higher Education Act this year, Republicans supported the bill. Some observers feel the support is a G.O.P. survival strategy, and will not continue; some conservatives feel the party is caving in to higher education interest groups' demands. (MSE)

Describes U.S. Department of Agriculture programs and services authorized by Title VII (Rural Development) of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996. Four agencies within the Rural Development Mission Area provide funding, technical assistance, and training to rural communities to develop utilities, housing, businesses, new…

Provides a comprehensive picture of federal financial support for education, including both Department of Education programs and programs of other federal agencies. Categorizes support as on-budget support, off-budget support, and non-federal funds generated by federal programs. (SLD)

There's a wide discrepancy between the "state of the art" and the "state of practice" in education everywhere. Inadequate but continuing federal categorical programs are one example of this knowledge/practice gap. Recent Chapter 1 program revisions geared toward involving community agencies and making the total school program a…

The student loan default rate was 9.6% in 1996, a decline of 12.8% since the 1990 peak, saving the federal government $3 billion over six years. Since 1993 the Department of Education has barred 1065 institutions, mostly for-profit trade schools, from participating in federal student loan programs; institutions with a 40% default rate can lose…

A British government project funded open learning in public libraries. Early provision of open learning packs expanded into uses of information technology. The project demonstrated that supporting adult learning is a core service of the public library. (SK)

Two reports discuss 1998 bills affecting education programs, libraries and publishing. Acts include: Digital Millennium Copyright, Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension; Trademark Law Treaty Implementation; Children's Online Protection/Privacy Protection; Internet Tax Freedom; Next Generation Internet Research; Year 2000 Information/Readiness…

Discusses a controversial benchmark study by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1998 that supported a form of affirmative action for minority-owned small businesses, focusing on some of its questionable methodology and conclusions. Examines program specifics, the benchmark study, data collection and evaluation problems, and who is doing the…

Until the past few years, our nation's approach to designing federal programs for preschool-age children lacked coherence and paid little attention to what had worked (and not worked) in the past. In this article, the authors propose that credible information useful for designing effective programs will require the ongoing, systematic development…