Using data from 13 years (1983-95) of the March Current Population Survey, a study examined how the types of jobs held by welfare mothers during the preceding year affected their employment and earnings at the time of the March interview. The models estimated were probit, tobit, and selection-bias corrected regressions using data on individuals.…

The federal Universal Service Fund--the E-Rate--helps provide Internet access to schools and libraries. This report analyzes how public schools' participation in the E-Rate program varied by their percentage American Indian enrollment, with a focus on Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools. The analysis covers program Year 1 (January 1998-June…

It is now widely recognized that small schools are more productive and effective than larger schools. Yet, public officials and professional educators in many rural areas continue to believe that small schools are inefficient and ineffective, a way of thinking reflected in closed schools, angry residents, and long bus rides for students. About a…

Fourche Valley School District in central Arkansas has a single K-12 school serving 157 students. Surrounded by the Ouachita National Forest, Fourche Valley is unusually isolated and lacking in economic opportunity, leading to "low aspirations" among students who desire to remain in the area. Nevertheless, the school is thriving in the…

This presentation describes the mission, programs, and organization of Oregon's Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development (CCWD). Together with the State Board of Education, the CCWD distributes state aid to community colleges, approves new programs and courses, and adopts rules for the general governance of community colleges.…

Patterns of low-income student mobility were examined in rural upstate New York, along with impacts on and responses by communities and schools. Analyses of state-level school district data were combined with surveys and interviews with school district administrators. The study focused on 136 persistently poor districts (consistently in the bottom…

Recent research in West Virginia and California has linked school size to both effectiveness and equity, finding that as school size increased, the mean achievement costs for schools with less-advantaged students became more burdensome. An effort was undertaken to replicate this research in four states offering a variety of school settings and…

During 1997, in cooperation with 17 southern states and the District of Columbia, the Southern Institute on Children and Families held site visits to identify ways to uncomplicate the delivery of health coverage, child care and other benefits to assist low wage families. This report presents key findings and recommended actions states can take to…

To assist states in easing the burden of Medicaid application procedures and verification requirements for families, the Southern Institute on Children and Families conducted a regional meeting to discuss child health coverage verification issues in September, 1998. Participating in the dialogue were Medicaid and state child health insurance…

This guide contains lesson plans for teaching consumer and homemaking skills to homeless families to support their transition to more secure and traditional lifestyles. Prioritized and developed based on the needs assessment of homeless families at the Salvation Army Gateway Transitional Housing in San Francisco, the 20 lessons in the guide cover…

This study guide contains lessons on consumer and homemaking skills for homeless families to aid their transition to more secure and traditional lifestyles. Prioritized and developed based on the needs assessment of homeless families at the Salvation Army Gateway Transitional Housing in San Francisco, the 20 lessons in the guide cover topics such…

A combined report of the four Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDCs) and their partners focuses on selected outreach and research activities, projects, and accomplishments in fiscal year 1997. The report is organized around five topics identified as key issues for the mid 1990s: (1) improving economic competitiveness, diversity, and…

This report analyzes changes in the number of distressed counties in Appalachia since 1960, identifies macroeconomic trends associated with distress in Appalachia, and examines socioeconomic factors associated with long-term distress as well as factors that predict whether a county moved out of distress. These data are also compared with similar…

The goal of England's PEERS Early Education Partnership (PEEP) is to support early communication and literacy skills and to support parents as their children's first educators through both home- and group-based programs. The program is offered to children under 5 and their families in a disadvantaged area of Oxford, England. This report describes…

The study of consumer education at J. R. Rightsell Elementary School in Little Rock, Arkansas, was geared to meet the economic levels of poverty-level families and some better-than-average families in a predominantly black, low income area. (Author/NL)