When parents live apart, the combination of the mother's earnings (contributed directly to the household) and the father's earnings (paid through child support) help support children. The child support program is the first line of defense against poverty and public assistance costs. It is unique among other children's programs because the benefit…

Higher education institutions receiving public financial support are accountable to the governmental bodies providing their funding. The current accountability movement has generated demands for greater effectiveness and efficiency from public higher education institutions. A recent manifestation of this movement is performance-based funding that…

This project examined: states' organizational and financial models of virtual colleges and universities (VCUs); statewide goals for which VCUs were created; and policies, programs, and student participation in VCUs. Data came from a survey of all known statewide and systemwide VCUs and interviews with VCU leaders. Overall, VCUs are gravitating…

This document comprises three issues of a newsletter highlighting the MOST Initiative (Making the Most of Out-of-School Time) published by the National Institute on Out-of-School Time. Appearing regularly in the newsletter are updates of after-school programs in Chicago, Seattle, and Boston. The January, 2000 issue features an interview with…

A number of trends are pushing states and communities to bring together traditionally separate services and programs and to create more integrated and responsive initiatives for young children and their families. Program directors and policymakers are devising new strategies for coordinating the funding for these initiatives. This strategy brief…

This paper suggests that Congress could increase funding for special education to the full funding recommended in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act by transferring funds from ineffective and low-priority programs in the labor, health, and education appropriations legislation. More than 30 programs are specifically listed as ones that…

Discussion of the dynamics of individualized funding for providing services to people with developmental disabilities focuses on how individual funding may drive the changes necessary to develop services that offer highly customized assistance. This discussion considers why the concept of paying customers is powerful but misleading in light of…

This study was conducted to map the range of research-related links between charities and higher education institutions (HEIs) and to make recommendations on how these links could be developed to the mutual advantage of both sectors. The research methods used for the review are described in an associated mapping report, published separately.…

This document contains information about selected trends in higher education enrollment and finance in Connecticut. It opens with a summary of the state's higher education budget for fiscal year 2002-2003, and then discusses higher education in a statewide context. Trends are noted for general fund and operating budget expenditures, and…

Approximately 200 organizational resources concerned with postsecondary education and disability are listed and described in this directory. Resources are listed under six broad categories: (1) advocacy, access, and awareness; (2) community integration (in the arts, employment, independent living, recreation, and rehabilitation); (3)…

Noting that families need access to high quality care so that their children can start school ready to learn and so that parents can work, this report examines state child care subsidy policy choices. Following an executive summary, chapter 1 of the report discusses state policy regarding eligibility criteria related to families receiving welfare,…

School finance has traditionally concentrated on the distribution of resources to school districts, focusing primarily on the equitable distribution of funds within a state. In recent years, more attention has been paid to the issue of productivity--how effectively school districts use the funds they receive to provide education to students. This…

California's Proposition 10, the "Children and Families Act," has targeted three general areas for improvement in support of families and young children: improved family functioning, improved child development, and improved child health. Proposition 10 views parents as critical to the development of young children. Noting that parent…

Utility services (telecommunications, power, water, and gas) throughout the world were traditionally provided by large, usually state-owned, monopolies. However, encouraged by technological change, regulatory innovation, and pressure from international organizations, many developing countries are privatizing state-owned companies and introducing…

Three-quarters of all U.S. state and jurisdictional governments cut their arts budgets in fiscal year 2003, and more than one-half imposed further cuts in fiscal year 2004. In this first of a series of reports commissioned by The Wallace Foundation, the author argues that these state arts budget cuts reflect more than just a one-time response to…