Each year, millions of high school students consider whether to continue their schooling and attend and complete college. Despite strong evidence that a college degree yields far-reaching benefits, some critics of higher education increasingly argue that college "does not pay off" and that some students--namely, disadvantaged prospective…

This work discusses how the complex relationship between welfare policies of equity and market efficiencies/deficiencies of education policies is handled in local practices. It offers contributions from the five Nordic countries - Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland - and pays special attention to questions about access and diversity in…

The series Investing in Youth builds on the expertise of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on youth employment, social support and skills. It covers both OECD countries and countries in the process of accession to the OECD, as well as some emerging economies. The present report on Lithuania is the fourth of a new…

Babies and young children in the child welfare system have a high prevalence for physical, cognitive, and social-emotional delays--and often don't have access to the services and supports that could make all the difference. This is the book that will help professionals go beyond abuse prevention and ensure comprehensive healthy development of…

Professionals who work with young adults will get hard-to-find information on how specific social, behavioral, and cognitive characteristics of people with autism affect the transition to adulthood, exploring potential challenges and traits that can be powerful assets. Compelling stories throughout this book illustrate how successful transition…

This document conveys mandatory policies that have their basis in Federal Law and/or program regulations. It also provides interpretations of Federal Statutes and program regulations initiated by inquiries from State Child Welfare agencies or Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Regional Offices. The manual replaces the Children's…

While the high cost of education draws headlines, the cost of not educating America's children goes largely ignored. "The Price We Pay" remedies this oversight by highlighting the private and public costs of inadequate education. In this volume, leading scholars from a broad range of fields--including economics, education, demography,…

"Childhood Programs and Practices in the First Decade of Life" presents research findings on the effects of early childhood programs and practices in the first decade of life and their implications for policy development and reform. Leading scholars in the multidisciplinary field of human development and in early childhood learning…

The effects of government transfer programs such as unemployment insurance and welfare assistance on strikes were studied by analyzing state-level data on strike frequency from 1960 through 1974. Effects were estimated by using ordinary least squares regression, supplementing traditional models of strike activity with measures of transfer program…

Such factors as a belief in individual freedom of choice, the support of minority groups' rights, and a concern for the psychological effects of mothering on children have tended to mitigate against a clear-cut advocacy of the employment of mothers under Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). Two recent phenomena, however, have emerged…

A three-phase model for decision making at intake for both protective services and voluntary child welfare services is described in this manual. These phases include (1) reception, in which decisions are made as to whether a case seems appropriate for agency services; (2) investigation and problem assessment, which involves assessments regarding…

This study examined the impact of welfare reform on housing owned by community development corporations (CDCs), investigating how early implementation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) affected the financial status of CDCs' affordable housing developments. Five types of financial impacts were…

A longitudinal study of urban (Baltimore) black teenage mothers and their welfare experiences following the birth of their first child was started in the 1960s by Frank Furstenberg and has continued for more than 20 years. Information was gathered from 3 generations of the families of 300 women. Most of the school-aged mothers were not married at…

These 11 reports focus on policy responses to the needs of very young children who are part of a homeless family, and older young people who are homeless but on their own. The following chapters are included: (1) J. M. Molnar's introduction to the relationship between chronic poverty and homelessness; (2) "Beyond the Numbers: Homeless…

This book, directed towards people who will make decisions concerning day care programs, is an overview of the attitudes and social forces affecting day care and the principles involved in establishing a day care center. Among the chapter titles are: Attitudes Toward Working Mothers; Day Care and Poverty (a description of the cultural differences…