This report on San Francisco County’s CARES program (SF CARES) provides guidance for policymakers, program administrators, and childcare advocates planning similar initiatives. PACE collected feedback from program planners, stipend recipients, and other childcare community members on aspects of the planning and implementation process. SF CARES successfully distributed over 400 stipends in the program’s first year, but challenges remain in reaching a broader array of childcare providers and communicating program goals.

This report provides guidance on implementing childcare retention initiatives based on Alameda County’s Child Development Corps program. PACE conducted focus groups with stakeholders to gather feedback on the planning and implementation process. The program saw increased commitment from providers to their profession and seeking training opportunities, but challenges remain with fitting permit requirements to family providers and relevance of courses.

This report evaluates California's Class Size Reduction (CSR) program up to the 2000-01 school year, updating previous findings on teacher qualifications, curriculum, student achievement, and special populations. The report also discusses how districts and schools have allocated resources in support of CSR.

This article discusses the role of childcare in promoting the development and opportunities for low-income children, noting that federal and state funding for childcare has increased dramatically since welfare reform. Despite this, children from poor households are less likely to be enrolled in high-quality programs than children from affluent families. To achieve welfare reform's goal of breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty, welfare-to-work programs should increase access to high-quality childcare in low-income neighborhoods.

This report discusses an initiative by the California Children and Families Commission to expand the availability and quality of early care and education programs. The project includes recruiting and training early care providers, improving professional preparation, and implementing strategies to retain trained providers. The report provides information on existing training programs available to early childhood professionals and students, including accredited/non-accredited opportunities at community colleges, state universities, private colleges, and child care resource and referral agencies.

This paper analyzes the quality of center-based programs in diverse lower-income communities in California. The majority of centers displayed high levels of quality, and community conditions such as poverty levels and ethnic composition did not consistently influence quality. Public subsidies positively affected center quality, while the presence of more programs in a community may slightly lower quality due to increased demand for enrollment.

This report analyzes California's early childhood education programs and finds that attending public preschool programs improves school readiness and academic performance, particularly for low-income children. The study also shows that the economic benefits of preschool programs far outweigh the costs, including increased earnings and decreased need for remedial education and social services. Recommendations include expanding access to high-quality preschool programs for low-income children in California to reduce economic inequality.

California is experiencing a shortage of quality childcare options for families, despite increased funding from the government and parents. Local policymakers in Los Angeles County are conducting research to determine where childcare supply falls short of demand and how to allocate resources to address the issue. Two recent studies provide options for policymakers to consider.

Senior slump is a phenomenon unique to American high schools, where students view senior year as a time for nonacademic pursuits. This report suggests curtailing senior slump to add valuable months to students' education at a critical point in their intellectual development. Policy directives are presented to help American high schools reclaim the senior year.

Many low-income families struggle to afford childcare, even with financial supports. Less than one-fourth of eligible families sign up for subsidies in many communities, leading to disparities in access. The What Works series examines effective programs and policy strategies to increase participation in childcare subsidy programs. The report draws from the Growing Up in Poverty Project, which found highly variable rates of eligible parents using childcare subsidies across CA, CT, and FL. Possible reasons for low utilization and present novel strategies to increase participation are discussed.

The "new" school finance approach investigates how resources are used within schools and classrooms to enhance educational outcomes, rather than focusing solely on spending patterns. The report reviews literature on resource use in education and suggests that additional funding is not sufficient to improve outcomes. Research should analyze how resources are used within classrooms and schools. Policymakers should develop complementary reforms and enact categorical funding. The report warns that education expenditures keep expanding with little to show for them.

Spring 2001 PACE Newsletter, Volume 3, Number 1.

This paper examines the relationship between policy formation in the United States and educational policy researchers. The experience of one independent 'think tank', namely PACE, located within universities, illustrates how research might inform policy and how it might not be victim to the problems, well rehearsed in the literature, of poor dissemination. Fruitful links between policy research and policy formation require close attention to the sources, channels, and format of dissemination, to the nature of the message, and to the characteristics of the policymakers.

Michigan State University's College of Education has established the nonpartisan Education Policy Center to provide lawmakers and educational leaders with accurate, research-based information to improve the state's educational system. With the support of the university's resources, the center aims to play an important role in deepening the policy debate and bringing about improvements in the system. The center was established due to a lack of systematic communication between researchers and policymakers in Michigan.

The California State Plan for Vocational and Technical Education 2000-2004 was developed with PACE's help, linking vocational education to other aspects of California's education system. The plan aimed to improve academic learning through strong vocational programs and better linkages between the world of schooling and the world of work. The summary covers the plan's context, guiding principles, vocational education, accountability, evaluation, and Tech-Prep Education.

This paper examines how mothers select childcare to meet welfare-to-work requirements. Interviews with seven mothers from different ethnic groups show that trust in childcare providers to keep their children safe is the most important criterion. Structural constraints on their choices are also analyzed. The findings suggest that policymakers should focus on trust and legitimacy of childcare providers in addition to supply and educational quality.

Governments are expanding the availability of portable child-care vouchers to boost working parents' purchasing power, rather than simply building more child-care facilities. Despite this, parents in poor communities still have limited choices due to cost and supply. Many eligible parents are not using subsidies, resulting in high out-of-pocket expenses for child care. Low-income working mothers make tough choices, working more hours or relying on informal providers, resulting in several transitions for children throughout the week, which experts suggest is not good for young children.

A study conducted for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services aimed to determine the supply and demand of licensed childcare in the county, with a focus on low-income communities and special types of care. The survey analyzed data at three levels: county-wide, service planning areas, and supervisorial districts. Results showed disparities in childcare supply across the county, with shortages in special types of care and little information on where childcare is needed.

A four-year study aimed to learn how welfare reform affects children's upbringing and development, showing early warning signals such as low-quality childcare and social isolation among women. The report provides a baseline picture for 948 families across three states and suggests an unfinished agenda for cash assistance and family support programs to lift children out of poverty.

"Crucial Issues in California Education 2000" is a PACE publication that offers an analytical overview of California education through in-depth research projects contributed by experts statewide. It provides the latest data analysis and overall strategic recommendations on a wide variety of issues, from childcare to universities, making it a unique source for policy analysis. The volume is the largest in the history of the series, bringing together numerous reports on components of California education in one source.

The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides an opportunity to reconsider the federal role in teacher professional development. The largest federal professional development fund is the Eisenhower program. Lessons from Eisenhower and contemporary research suggest that federal funds should be focused exclusively on subject matter knowledge and pedagogy and accountability should be based on assessment of student learning. The purpose is to generate discussion on how to more effectively use federal dollars to improve student achievement.

This paper examines high school dropout and turnover rates in the US and tests models to explain the differences using data from the NELS High School Effectiveness Study. Variability was found among high schools, with much of the variation attributed to differences in student characteristics, but factors such as school resources and processes also influenced rates. Dropout and turnover rates are measures of school performance that policymakers and educators can influence.

California’s education system has undergone many reforms, with new mandates from policymakers threatening to overwhelm educators. The new accountability system tracks schools’ effectiveness and allocates carrots or sticks. Schools still struggle with reducing class sizes and finding enough qualified teachers. While California has made significant policy initiatives, the challenge is whether the puzzle pieces of reform fit together into a coherent “theory of action.” The issue of policy coherence must be addressed to energize teachers and bring forth more stimulating classrooms and pedagogy.

Latino children are less likely to be enrolled in preschools, even after considering household income and maternal employment. Social factors such as language, child-rearing beliefs, and practices also impact center selection. African American families participate at higher rates, while lower enrollment for Latinos is linked to Spanish-speaking households and cultural preferences. Center selection is part of a broader parental agenda of acculturation to middle-class Anglo commitments to prepare children for school.

Proposition 38 allows parents in California to obtain a state chit worth $4,000 and move their child from public to private school, which would significantly affect school financing. This policy brief addresses six key questions about the proposal, including its differences from the 1993 voucher initiative, which families would benefit, how it would impact school spending and taxpayers, and the success of voucher experiments in raising achievement.