Phase III of the California Cares report aimed to redesign childcare and development policy, with input from the community and representatives from three agencies. Work groups and traditional research projects were conducted to study nine questions deemed critical to policy restructuring. Part II of the report includes working papers for all tasks except state governance, which is included in Phase III.

New curriculum manuals have been created to address the expanding field of school-age childcare, including Kids' Time: A School-Age Care Program Guide. Other widely-recognized materials include Just Kids, Preparing for Mass Disasters, and A Guide for Training and Recruiting Child Care Providers to Serve Young Children with Disabilities. The benefits of childcare include fully-employed parents, self-sufficient families, and children who succeed in school due to the aid of childcare programs. Reducing Exceptional Stress and Trauma, a guide on coping with violence, will be published this year.

The California Cares Project, conducted by PACE for the California Department of Education, Social Services & Office of Child Development & Education, culminates in this report. The project was initiated in response to AB 2184, which sought to consolidate all childcare and development programs to streamline the system. The report is divided into two parts: Part I analyzes current obstacles to a seamless system and Part II presents a conceptual model and decision procedure for program and funding allocation and governance. Phase III will refine recommendations and work towards implementation.

The California Department of Education, Social Services, and Governor's Office of Child Development and Education selected PACE to analyze issues and options for improving California's childcare system. PACE will produce a report with optional approaches for improving access, quality, and funding of childcare services, including alternative systems and policy models. Phase I includes analysis of childcare issues and programs, literature reviews, and experiences of other urban states. This report summarizes Phase I's work.

The concept of school-linked services is to make social services available to children and families through the school acting as an organizational touchpoint. This idea has become increasingly prominent due to the declining life situations of many American children, particularly those in urban areas, who face poverty-related issues like inadequate healthcare, juvenile justice involvement, and abusive homes.

US high school students, especially those who do not attend college, have been found to lack skills and knowledge necessary for the job market. The California Partnership Academies program has been developed to address this issue and has been adopted by over 50 high schools. The program has received support and positive evaluations. Factors contributing to the issue include societal changes, the education system, and changes in the labor market. If these issues are not addressed, the US risks falling behind international competitors and a lower standard of living.

This study compares the post-secondary experiences of graduates from California Partnership Academies with their matched comparison groups. The findings show that Academy graduates are doing equally well as comparison students in the first year or two after graduation, indicating that Academy programs have not achieved higher graduation rates at the expense of lower success rates after high school. However, there may be more subtle differences between the two groups that are not detectable by simple measures.