Vocational education is a must if the United States wishes to compete with the Europeans and Japanese. It cannot be relegated to secondary status in schools. The federal government must play a major role in seeing to a balanced approach to the economic and social goals of vocational education. (CT)

Reviews various youth employment programs and demonstration projects authorized by federal legislation. (MF)

The authors trace the development of federal laws leading to the passage of PL 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. They place it in perspective and then illustrate how planning and funding of programs have evolved to provide the professional personnel to implement it. (Editor/SJL)

The Office of Technology Assessment, developed to deal with the second-order consequences of the application of new scientific discoveries or innovative technology in the United States, is described. Included are lists of current assessment priorities, assessments in progress, and completed assessments. (BT)

An annotated listing of women's organizations and services describes how they are improving women's opportunities in education. Among those reported are: the Project on the Status and Education of Women (AAC); Women's College Coalition; Women's Equity Action League; the Women's Caucus (AAHE); and the Office of Women in Higher Education (ACE). (LBH)

As the Guaranteed Student Loan Program became a necessity for a substantial portion of students at many schools, statutory provisions were revised authorizing the Office of Education (OE) to regulate institutions participating in the program. Implications of this regulatory responsibility are discussed. (LBH)

Question: What do you do when your parish grade school becomes too expensive to operate? Answer: Turn actual control of the school over to the local community and seek federal financing for the new school. Sound impossible? St. Stephens Indian School on the Wind River Reservation in northcentral Wyoming has done just that. (Author/RK)

Reviews six federally funded in-kind public assistance programs designed to mitigate effects of poverty on children: (1) food stamps; (2) the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children; (3) school nutrition programs; (4) Medicaid; (5) Head Start; and (6) housing assistance. Evidence indicates these programs achieve their…

The University of Oregon's financial aid director describes the success of the Federal Direct Student Loan program in its first year at the institution. No significant program disadvantages were experienced, and its advantages included flexibility of administration, ease of data management with the servicer, decrease in office workload, and…

This article traces the history of Federal funding for child care and early educational programs in the United States, and examines how the values of American society have shaped governmental financial support for child care. The current child care financing system is merely a collection of funding streams. (SLD)

A recent Department of Education study, developed with the assistance of the Internal Revenue Service, found that of 2.3 million Pell Grants in 1995-96, 102,000 went to students who failed to report or underreported family income. More than 300 recipients had each underreported income by over $100,000. The report comes when the Clinton…

A study investigated the implementation costs of direct lending in 77 diverse colleges and universities, including both increases and decreases in institutional expenditures. Results indicate that start-up costs varied greatly, that the institution's loan volume was related to the cost and savings experienced, and that costs and savings were…

Describes HOPE VI, a federal housing program that finances new public housing development, examining the spatial organization of one site that has played an integral role in housing the poor. Demonstrates the layers of interactions involved in implementation of the housing program, noting limitations of the program to provide suitable housing for…

This article summarizes the special issue's reports (EC 232 346-353) on federally sponsored research on special needs students, with emphasis on the relationship of policy to educational change. The summary is organized into the following categories: what has been learned?, what has not been learned?, and what do we need to know?. (DB)

It is argued that public investment in student financial aid should be evaluated based on tax revenue returns resulting from the expenditure. A model for estimating tax revenue returns from gains in educational attainment attributable to student aid is developed, and impact of aid on access and persistence is examined. (Author/MSE)