This report presents the results of a conducted by the authors in collaboration with the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), the second-largest district in California. For this study, the authors compiled a highly detailed, student-level database that enabled them to link factors influencing student achievement in ways that have not been…

This Kids Count data book examines trends in the well-being of California's children, focusing on factors influencing young children. The statistical portrait is based on trends in 54 indicators of well-being in 4 areas: (1) education, including preschool participation, licensed child care spaces, percentage of income spent on child care, reading…

This report presents the testimony and submissions presented at one of a series of hearings on welfare reform and reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The statement by Cynthia M. Fagnoni, managing director of education, workforce, and income security issues at the U.S. General Accounting Office, assesses…

Data from interviews with 750 employers in Chicago, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Los Angeles were used to analyze the job performance and retention rates of recently hired welfare recipients. The 20-minute interviews focused on employers' subjective ratings of recently hired welfare recipients' job performance and whether employers experienced the…

This document, which is designed to help state administrators and legislators formulate policies enhancing family economic security, summarizes research findings regarding barriers to economic self-sufficiency and policies used by various states to improve poor family's available work opportunities and economic security. Discussed in the…

Past research on African American single mothers and their families has been conducted using conventional paradigms based upon models of the dominant culture. This practice has resulted in the creation of stereotypes and misconceptions about "the Black family." In this collection of original work by an interdisciplinary group of…

In a plan to increase funding for California community colleges, Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis announced in February 1998 his intention to continue lowering fees, provide better teacher compensation, and strengthen relations between community colleges and the private sector. Davis intends to diminish student financial barriers to college by…

This Kids Count data book examines trends in the well-being of Kentucky's children on a statewide and county basis. An introduction summarizes some of the trends for Kentucky's children in the 1990s. The bulk of the report presents statewide and county data grouped into five categories: (1) poverty rates and programs (persons in poverty; median…

This guide suggests ways that states may expend their federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and State Maintenance-of-Effort (MOE) funds. The guide is organized into these seven sections: (1) "Introduction" provides background information, explaining the progress that has been made on welfare reform, what the funding…

This report examines effects of the Self-Sufficiency Project (SSP) for three age groups of children (younger cohort aged 3-5, middle cohort aged 6-11, and older cohort aged 12-18) at the 36-month interview. A companion report on effects of the SSP on adults is available separately. Chapter 1 describes the SSP incentive, project design, and SSP…

This Kids Count fact book examines statewide trends in well-being for South Dakota's children. The statistical portrait is based on 26 indicators in the areas of demographics, health, education, economic status, and safety. The indicators are: (1) population; (2) family profile; (3) poverty thresholds; (4) infant mortality; (5) low birth weight…

This report is a summary of discussions at a roundtable meeting conducted in April 2000 by the National Governors' Association Center for Best Practices and Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation to discuss expanding postsecondary opportunities for low-income, working parents and welfare recipients. Section I offers background. Sections II-IX…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of North Carolina's children. The statistical portrait is based on 22 selected key indicators representing background demographics, economic, educational, health, and social well-being: (1) children poverty rate; (2) TANF recipients; (3) children in families receiving food stamps;…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of Pennsylvanias children. The statistical portrait is based on trends in 19 indicators of child well being: (1) early prenatal care; (2) low birth weight; (3) infant mortality; (4) child deaths; (5) child violent deaths; (6) births to single mothers under age 20; (7) mothers with…

This Kids Count report presents statewide trends in the well-being of New Hampshire's children. The statistical report is based on 22 indicators of child well-being in 5 interrelated areas: (1) children and families (including child population, births, children living with single parent, and children experiencing parental divorce); (2) economic…