Reauthorization of welfare reform legislation has focused attention on the effectiveness of short-term training as a means for welfare recipients to attain self-sufficiency. Its effects on employment and earnings have been one focus of recent evaluations of federal programs. Although some Job Opportunities and Basic Skills programs produced…

This is a self-study designed to represent accurately the strengths, challenges, and potential of Mission College (California). The study outlines 10 institutional standards: (1) institutional mission; (2) institutional integrity; (3) institutional effectiveness; (4) educational programs; (5) student support and development; (6) information and…

This report investigated the financial expenditures of states for services for individuals with developmental disabilities and examined the factors that influenced the level of expenditure. Eight multiple-regression models are presented which explain 70 to 88 percent of the variation in states' total expenditures. In addition to the obvious…

The Southeast Center for Teaching Quality (The Center) has conducted a study of the costs of high quality Teacher Preparation on behalf of the Regional Education Laboratory at SERVE and at the request of the Alabama State Department of Education. In light of the recommendations issued by Alabama's Task Force to Improve Educator Preparation and the…

In response to a request from the North Carolina Division of Social Services (DSS), Center for Child and Family Policy at The Terry Sanford Institute at Duke University evaluated the Multiple Response System reform for families reported for child maltreatment. The North Carolina State Legislature has mandated the evaluation of five key aspects of…

Dissatisfied with the performance of government-run schools, more and more American families have begun teaching their children at home. Estimates of the number of homeschooled children vary widely; the best estimate is 500,000 to 750,000, but some estimates range up to 1.23 million. All observers agree that the number has grown rapidly over the…

The National Household Education Survey (NHES) is a telephone survey of the noninstitutionalized civilian population of the United States that collects data on educational issues that are best explored through contact with households rather than with institutions. The NHES has been conducted in 1991, 1993, 1995, and 1996. In the 1996 NHES…

This study examined the role of subcontractors and consultants in California's Employment Training Panel (ETP) program. Methods included interviews, focus groups, a phone survey, and a survey of projects without subcontractors. Results indicated that the market in which administrative and training consultants sell their services to employers is…

The mental health care delivery system is undergoing a metamorphosis of unprecedented proportion as managed care covers more and more patients. This dramatic change has its critics (many mental health professionals) and its enthusiastics (the managed behavioral health care companies). Some of these issues are presented in this paper. There is…

This policy research brief summarizes changes in out-of-home placements of children and youth with mental retardation since the implementation of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) entitlements. Statistics are reported for 1977, 1987, and 1997 to show trends. Statistics were obtained from…

Even Start programs integrate early childhood education, adult literacy or basic education, parenting education and support, and parent and child time to help break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy. This report describes the Even Start program in Colorado, and includes evaluation questions and methods. The report presents evaluation findings…

To establish the prevalence and perceived value of realistic work environments (RWEs) in colleges and their use as learning resources, all further education (FE) sector colleges in Great Britain were surveyed in the summer of 1998. Of 175 colleges that responded to 2 questionnaires for senior college managers and RWE managers, 127 had at least 1…

A study investigated the outcomes of the Acute Children's Extended Services (ACES) program, a Salt Lake City, Utah, program designed to help children with emotional and behavioral disabilities reintegrate into the community from inpatient or residential care. The study examined outcomes of the ACES program within four domains: access, clinical…

A large-scale evaluation was conducted of Jobs-First GAIN, a strongly employment-focused mandatory welfare-to-work program. Its main features were an unusually intensive program orientation; high quality job clubs; job development activities; strong encouragement to take entry-level jobs and combine work and welfare in the short-term; and…

Recent (within the past 6 years) research on returns to Australian enterprises from investment in vocational education and training (VET) was reviewed. Special attention was paid to the following topics: relationship between enterprise size, specialization, and location and investment in formal training; approaches to appraising enterprises'…