Studies in the News is a very current compilation of items significant to the Legislature and Governor's Office. It is created weekly by the State Library's Research Bureau to supplement the public policy debate in California’s Capitol. To help share the latest information with state policymakers, these reading lists are now being made accessible through the State Library’s website. This week's list of current articles in various public policy areas is presented below.

Service to State Employees:

• When available, the URL for the full text of each item is provided.

• Items in the State Library collection can be checked out to state officials and staff.

• Access to all materials listed will be provided by the State Information Reference Center, either by e-mail to cslsirc@library.ca.gov or by calling 654-0261.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE & LAW ENFORCEMENT

JUVENILE OFFENDERS

Washington State's Implementation of Aggession Replacement Training for Juvenile Offenders: Preliminary Findings. By Washington State Institute for Public Policy. (The Institute, Olympia, Washington) June 2002. 2 p.

Full Text at: www.wsipp.wa.gov/crime/pdf/Aggression%20Replacement%20Training.pdf

["This report summarizes the preliminary outcomes for Aggression Replacement Training (ART). ART is a 10-week, 30-hour intervention administered to groups of 8 to 12 juvenile offenders three times per week.... Using repetitive learning techniques, offenders develop skills to control anger and use more appropriate behaviors. In addition, guided group discussion is used to correct anti-social thinking that can otherwise get a youth into trouble."]

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1997 Revisions to Washington's Juvenile Offender Sentencing Laws: An Evaluation of the Effect of Location Detention on Crime Rates. By Washington State Institute for Public Policy. (The Institute, Olympia, Washington) July 2002. 8 p.

Full Text at: www.wsipp.wa.gov/crime/pdf/JuvLaw1997.pdf

["The Washington Legislature directed the Institute to evaluate the changes made during the 1997 session to the state's juvenile sentencing laws. One policy change in 1997 gave juvenile court judges more discretion to use county detention facilities for juvenile offenders not sentenced to the state. This report examines whether the use of detention facilities affects juvenile crime rates. Cost-benefit estimates are also provided."]

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EDUCATION

ACCOUNTABILITY

Benefits of a Statewide Student Identifier System for California (Testimony). By Laura S. Hamilton, RAND Education. (RAND, Santa Monica, California) 2002. 6 p.

Full Text at: www.rand.org/publications/CT/CT197/CT197.pdf

["The author reported that a unique student identifier linked to students' STAR test scores and demographic data would offer the opportunity to improve the quality of information California uses to evaluate both schools and programs and would facilitate better service provision to students. An identifier would be important for several reasons, but the primary benefit would be the ability to link students' records over time, regardless of whether students remain in the same school or district."]

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"Monster Hype." by Joel Best. IN: Education Next. (Summer 2002) 5 p.

Full Text at: www.educationnext.org/20022/pdf/51.pdf

["Both school shootings and bullying have become subjects of extensive media coverage. Typically, the process by which Americans create new social problems involves a three-part recipe: 1) Illustrate the problem with an awful example (e.g., Columbine High School); 2) Give the problem a name (“school shootings”); and 3) Use statistics to suggest the problem’s size and importance. Statistics play a crucial role because of the assumption that numbers are factual--that the problem has been measured and therefore is as big as the claims suggest."]

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Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 1999-2000. By Nancy Carey, Mathematica, and others. Prepared for the National Center For Education Statistics. Statistical Analysis Report, NCES 2002-131. (The Center, Washington, DC) June 2002. 230 p.; appendices.

Full Text at: nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/2002131.pdf

["The 1999-2000 arts education survey provides some indication of the extent to which arts education has established its 'solid place' in the nation's elementary and secondary schools. Music instruction and visual arts instruction were available in most of the nation's public elementary and secondary schools. Ninety-two percent of classroom teachers indicated that they included arts instruction in some aspects of their instructional program."]

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The Impact of Arts Education on Workplace Preparation. By Economic and Technology Policy Studies. Issue Brief. (Policy Studies, Washington, DC) 2002. 14 p.

Full Text at: www.nga.org/cda/files/050102ARTSED.pdf

["This Brief provides examples of arts-based education as a money and time-saving option for states looking to build skills, increase academic success, heighten standardized test scores, and lower the incidence of crime among general and at-risk populations. It provides policy recommendations for states looking to initiate or strengthen arts education programs that improve productivity and foster workforce development."]

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Effects of the Implementation of Proposition 227 on the Education of English Learners, K-12: Year 2 Report. By Thomas B. Parrish and others, American Institutes for Research and WestEd. Prepared for the Language Policy and Leadership Office, California Department of Education. (WestEd, San Francisco, California) June 28, 2002. 179 p.; appendices.

Full Text at: www.wested.org/online_pubs/year2finalrpt.pdf

["This report summarizes the first two years of the legislatively mandated, five-year evaluation of the effects of Proposition 227 implementation on the education of English learners (ELs) in California K-12 public schools.... It focuses primarily on extensive findings derived from second year activities."]

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Do Charter Schools Measure Up? The Charter School Experiment After Ten Years. By The American Federation of Teachers. (The Federation, Washington, DC) July 2002. 57 p.

Full Text at: www.aft.org/edissues/downloads/charterreport02.pdf

["This report found that the vast majority of existing charter schools have failed to fulfill their promise to bring greater achievement and innovation into the classroom. It suggests that policymakers should not expand charter school activities until more convincing evidence of their effectiveness or viability is presented and calls for greater accountability for charter schools." HandsNet (July 19, 2002).]

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What's Hot In School Governance: Takeovers, Charter Schools and P-16 Systems. By the Education Commission of the States. (The Commission, Denver, Colorado) June 2002. 16 p.

Full Text at: www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/37/54/3754.pdf

["The Center has been tracking a number of school governance issues. Three of the issues that have recently received a great deal of attention from state and district leaders are takeovers, charter schools, and P-16 systems. For each of these issues, the report examines state activity, explores recent research findings, and provides key questions for state policymakers to consider."]

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A Handbook for State Policy Leaders; Community Schools: Improving Student Learning/Strengthening Schools, Families, and Communities. By Coalition for Community Schools. (The Coalition, Washington, DC) 2002. 52 p.

Full Text at: communityschools.org/handbook.pdf

["At a time when choice and testing dominate the education agenda, there is an increased need to consider the critical role that community and family play in educating children. This handbook is designed to help state leaders form vital connections between schools and communities to improve student learning."]

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Are We There Yet? Schools Still Face Challenges in Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement. By National School Board Foundation. (The Foundation, Alexandria, Virginia) 2002. Various pagings.

Full Text at: www.nsbf.org/thereyet/fulltext.htm

[“A new survey of public school leaders across the county finds remarkable changes taking place in schools’ use of the Internet. However, there are still gaps between the possibilities and realities of technology use in schools. The survey reveals more than half (54 percent) of districts relying on students for technical support. School leaders project that students will receive considerably more instruction online in the next three years.” U.S. Newswire (June 5, 2002) 1.]

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Education and Smart Growth: Reversing School Sprawl for Better Schools and Communities. By Sam Passmore, Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities. Translation Paper #8. (The Network, Miami, Florida) 2002. 12 p.

Full Text at: www.fundersnetwork.org/usr_doc/education_paper.pdf

["This report examines the trend of building new schools on large sites far from existing development centers, also known as 'school sprawl' or 'school giantism.' The author finds that this practice can have far-reaching impacts on school children, school districts and the community at large. In order to reverse this trend, smart growth advocates are calling for either the continued use of existing schools or the construction of new schools on infill sites within existing neighborhoods." California Policy Forum NewsWire (April 25, 2002) 1.]

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Ready to Enter: What Research Tells Policymakers About Strategies to Promote Social and Emotional School Readiness Among Three-and Four-Year-Old Children. By C. Cybele Raver and Jane Knitzer. National Center for Children in Poverty. (The Center, New York, New York) July 2002.

["This policy paper makes it clear that although there is still much more to learn about the effectiveness of pre-school aged interventions, the scientific evidence of the need for early intervention is compelling. Further, the intervention research that does exist is beginning to tell a sufficiently coherent story to enable policymakers to respond."]

Executive Summary, 4 p.:
http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/nccp/PP3sum.pdf

Full Report, 24 p.:

http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/nccp/ProEmoPP3.pdf

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The Growth of Special Education in Wisconsin: Wisconsin Policy Research Institute Report. By Thomas Hruz. (The Institute, Thiensville, Wisconsin) vol. 15, no. 5, July 2002. 80 p.

Full Text at: www.wpri.org/Reports/Volume15/Vol15no5/Vol15no5.pdf

["Special education study finds racial disparity ... black students are more likely - sometimes more than twice as likely - to be in special education as white students, according to this study that questions how schools identify disabled children. The study recommends limiting schools from placing marginally disabled students in special education and changing special education funding to discourage districts from over-identifying students." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, JSOnline (July 30, 2002) online.]

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California Student Achievement: Multiple Views of K-12 Progress. By Joan Herman and others, National Center for Research on Evaluation Standards and Student Testing. Prepared for EdSource, EdFact. (EdSource, Palo Alto, California) June 2002. 20 p.

Full Text at: cresst96.cse.ucla.edu/CRESST/Files/Achievement.pdf

["This report looked at Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) and other statewide measures to explore the complex question of how well California's schools and students are doing. Along with a review of Academic Performance Index (API) scores, it looks at test results by subject to give a full picture of what is known about student performance in the area of English/language arts, mathematics, science, and history/social science."]

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Title IX at 30: Report Card on Gender Equity. By the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education. (American Association of University Women, Washington D.C.) June, 2002. 74 p.

Full Text at: www.ncwge.org/title9at30-6-11.pdf

["Since 1993, more than 375 collegiate men's teams have been dropped at Division I, II and III universities combined. Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 banned sex discrimination in schools and has helped increase participation opportunities for female athletes. Many assert, however, that male athletes are being discriminated against through the elimination of sports." Sacramento Bee (June 23, 2002) [online].]

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EMPLOYMENT

WELFARE RECIPIENTS

Staying Employed After Welfare: Work Supports and Job Quality Vital to Employment Tenure and Wage Growth. By Heather Boushey, Economic Policy Institute. (The Institute, Washington, DC) 2002. 36 p.

Full Text at: www.epinet.org/briefingpapers/128/bp128.pdf

["Work-first policies that push welfare mothers into poor jobs may in fact decrease their prospects for long-term employment and advancement, according to this analysis. For welfare-to-work families, getting a good starting job is key, along with access to child care, which is critical for women to be able to stay employed and move up the job ladder." Connect for Kids (July 8, 2002).]

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HEALTH

CHILDREN

The North Carolina ABCD Project: A New Approach for Providing Development Services in Primary Care Practice. By Helen Pelletier, National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), and Melinda Abrams, The Commonwealth Fund. (The Fund, New York, New York) July, 2002. 37 p.

Full Text at: www.cmwf.org/programs/child/pelletier_nashpabcd.pdf

["This report details promising efforts being made in North Carolina to coordinate and strengthen the early childhood development services the state provides to low-income children and their families. It describes North Carolina's comprehensive, community-based child development services system, which integrates developmental screening and surveillance into well-child visits and follows up with case management for parents with concerns about their child's development."]

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HUMAN SERVICES

ADOPTION

National Adoption Attitudes Survey. By Harris Interactive Market Research for The David Thomas Foundation for Adoption and The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. (The Institute, New York, New York) June 2002. 48 p.

Full Text at: www.adoptioninstitute.org/survey/Adoption_Attitudes_Survey.pdf

["This survey finds that a large majority of Americans support adoption and a significant minority have considered adopting. The survey also reveals that Americans increasingly view adopted children no differently from children raised by biological parents." Connect for Kids (July 22, 2002).]

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A Stark Plateau - California Families See Little Growth in Child Care Centers. By Bruce Fuller and others, Policy Analysis for California Education, Child Development Projects. Policy Brief 02-2. (PACE, Berkeley, California) July 2002. 12 p.

Full Text at: www.cdpi.net/final.pdf

["This new report is an analysis of change in preschool and center enrollment capacity in California since 1996. Little growth is discernible statewide after adjusting for child population growth. County-level patterns vary significantly with a few major counties showing declines in enrollment slots for every 100 young children, age 0-5. In addition, center enrollment capacity levels remain unequal across counties with relatively low supply of center and preschool programs in the Central Valley, Los Angeles County, and the Inland Empire region of southern California. Policy implications for this stagnation in center capacity -- despite rising child care funding in California --are discussed. Positive effects of state capacity-building efforts are apparent, especially in rural counties." CDPI Report (July 19, 2002).]

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The True Cost of Quality Child Care: Financing Strategies for Silicon Valley. By the Local Child Care Planning Council of Santa Clara County and the Local Investment in Child Care (LINCC) Project. (The Council, San Jose, California) July 2002. 60 p.

Full Text at: www.cdpi.net/truecostfinal.pdf

["Recent reports on the economic impact of child care empirically demonstrate that child care generates considerable revenues, creates and supports local jobs, and makes vital contributions to the county's, and to California's overall economic health. The analysis presented is intended to frame the issues to be addressed in a comprehensive policy analysis around generating adequate financing for early childhood care and education."]

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Primary Child Care Arrangements of Employed Parents: Findings From the 1999 National Survey of America's Families. By Freya L. Sonenstein and others, The Urban Institute. Occasional Paper No. 59. (The Institute, Washington, DC). 2002. 29 p.

Full Text at: www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/310487_OP59.pdf

["New research finds that most children whose parents work are in some form of child care during non-school hours, but the type of care varies dramatically, depending on family structure, income, and age of the child. Despite increased investment in child care subsidies, the use of child care centers declined for preschool children in low-income two-parent families from 1997 to 1999. These findings suggest that child care policymakers should address the needs of two-parent families, in addition to single-parent families." HandsNet (July 26, 2002).]

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Marriage From a Child's Perspective: How Does Family Structure Affect Children, and What Can We Do About It? By Kristin Anderson Moore and others, Child Trends. (Child Trends, Washington, DC) June 2002. 8 p.

Full Text at: www.childtrends.org/PDF/MarriageRB602.pdf

["While there is a strong research base indicating that children do best when they grow up with two biological parents in a low-conflict marriage, the research on how to promote and sustain these types of marriages among couples, especially disadvantaged couples, is quite thin. This report examines research evidence on the effects of family structure on children, trends in family structure, and possible policy approaches related to family structure that will improve children’s well-being."]

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Mother's Day: More Than Candy and Flowers, Working Parents Need Paid Time Off. Issue Brief. By The Clearinghouse on International Developments in Child, Youth and Family Policies, Columbia University. (The Clearinghouse, New York, New York) Spring 2002 8 p.

Full Text at: www.childpolicyintl.org/issuebrief/issuebrief5.pdf

["Paid family leave is gaining in states ... a new vision of the American workplace is emerging in state legislatures from Hawaii to Vermont. With a momentum that began to build almost two years ago, 23 states are considering dramatically expanding paid leave." [This Brief explores the issue from an international perspective]. Christian Science Monitor (August 6, 2002) online.]

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Paid Family Leave in California: An Analysis of Costs and Benefits. By Arindrajit Dube, University of Chicago, and Ethan Kaplan, Labor Project for Working Families, University of California, Berkeley. (The Project, Berkeley, California) June 19, 2002. 46 p.

Full Text at: socrates.berkeley.edu/~iir/workfam/publications/research/dube.pdf

["Using data from the U.S. Department of Labor, researchers begin by providing three different cost scenarios for a California bill, SB 1661 (2002.) They then examine cost savings for employers using data that indicate that employees who receive some form of paid benefits are more likely to return to their employer. They also analyze data concerning the percentage of unpaid leave takers that currently end up on public assistance."]

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Parent Work and Child Well-Being in Low-Income Families. By Katherin Ross Phillips, The Urban Institute. Occasional Paper No. 56. (The Institute, Washington, DC). 2002. 46 p.

Full Text at: www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/310509_OP56.pdf

["This paper examines contemporaneous relationships between patterns of parent work and positive child outcomes among low-income families by asking three questions: how do parents organize their work schedules?; are there relationships between patterns of parent work and child well-being?; and are the relationships the same for children of single parents and children of married parents?"]

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"Poverty in America: Beyond Welfare Reform." By Daniel T. Lichter and Martha L. Crowley. IN: Population Bulletin, vol. 57 no. 2 (June 2002) pp. 1-39.

Full Text at: www.prb.org/pdf/PovertyInAmerica.pdf

["During the robust economic growth of the late 1990s, poverty rates declined even among historically disadvantaged groups. At the same time, however, the income gap between rich and poor has widened. In many cases, the welfare poor have become the working poor. The authors predict that poverty will remain a distinctive part of the American landscape and will continue to be a policy concern for the foreseeable future, especially during an economic downturn."]

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Opportunity Costs of Bad Administrative Data: Lessons from the Field. By Anne Ciemnecki and others. Issue Brief, no. 1. (Mathematica Policy Research, Princeton, New Jersey) July 2002. 2 p.

Full Text at: www.mathematica-mpr.com/pdfs/faultydata.pdf

["This brief examines the importance of good administrative data to Medicaid and SCHIP programs, as well as the cost to states of not improving their administrative files. It also suggests ways that states can improve their data files to make them better tools for guiding policy decisions."]

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Policies to Foster Human Capital. By James J. Heckman, University of Chicago. Joint Center for Poverty Prevention (JCPR) Working Paper no. 154. (The Center, Chicago, Illinois) (August, 2002) 68 p.

Full Text at: www.jcpr.org/wpfiles/Wildavsky.pdf

["Focusing policy-related investments on children rather than adults is likely to result in a higher level of skill development and yield a greater rate of return. This paper recommends several policy interventions and reforms designed to foster early learning and promote skill formation. With higher skill levels, young individuals are better equipped to enter the job market and subsequently reap the benefits of the investments made in earlier years. These early investments include high quality education, early intervention and job training programs." Smart Start Times Online News Update (August 2, 2002).]

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The Importance of Place in Welfare Reform: Common Challenges for Central Cities and Remote-Rural Areas. By Monica G. Fisher, The Brookings Institution, Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, and Bruce A. Weber, Oregon State University. (The Institution, Washington, DC) June 2002. 11 p.

Full Text at: http://www.brookings.edu/dybdocroot/es/urban/publications/weber.pdf

["This paper presents new evidence that single mothers in cities and remote rural areas were more likely to receive public assistance, had higher poverty rates, and had lower earnings than their counterparts in suburban and metro-adjacent rural areas in the 1990s, even as their work effort increased. The authors offer several policy recommendations for federal welfare reauthorization."]

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The Impact of Welfare Sanctions on the Health of Infants and Toddlers. By the Children's Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program. (The Program, Boston, Massachusetts) July 2002. 24 p.

Full Text at: dcc2.bumc.bu.edu/csnappublic/C-SNAP%20Report.pdf

["The study found that infants and toddlers in families who have had welfare sanctions have approximately 50% higher risks of being food insecure than similar children in families who have retained their full welfare benefits. Children in these sanctioned families also have a 30% higher risk of past hospitalization than children in non-sanctioned welfare families .... The researchers also looked at trends in children's health and food security from 1999 to 2001, regardless of the family's participation in welfare programs. Researchers found that in 2001 US born children had a 45% higher risk of food insecurity, a 26% higher risk of being underweight and a 48% higher risk of being hospitalized during an ER visit compared to 1999, just two years previous."]

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[The following studies, reports, and documents have been ordered or requested, but have not yet arrived. Requests may be placed, and copies will be provided when the material arrives.]

EDUCATION

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Making a Difference in the Lives of Infants and Toddlers and Their Families: The Impacts of Early Head Start. By John M. Love and others, Mathematica Policy Research. Prepared for Child Outcomes Research and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (The Department, Washington, DC) June 2002.

["Young children who take part in Early Head Start have stronger cognitive skills, better vocabularies, and more positive attitudes than children who are eligible to participate in the program but do not, according to this seven-year evaluation. The effects were particularly significant among families who had three of the five risk factors that were studied: single parent, welfare recipient, unemployed and out of school, teenage parent, and lacking a high school diploma." Education Week (June 12, 2002) online. NOTE: Making a Difference ... will be available for 3-day loan.]

Volume 1 - Final Technical Report, 470 p.:
http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/PDFs/ehsfinalvol1.pdf

Volume 2 - Appendixes, 394 p.:
http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/PDFs/redirect.asp?strSite=ehsfinalvol2.pdf

Volume 3 - Local Contributions Report, 394 p.:
http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/PDFs/redirect.asp?strSite=ehsfinalvol3.pdf

[Request #S5187]

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STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Using Data to Close the Achievement Gap: How to Measure Equity in Our Schools. By Ruth S. Johnson. (Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, California) 2002. 308 p.

["Statistics show that real disparities exist in academic achievement, which consistently coincide with income level and race. This guide highlights evidence that these inequities can be linked to school practices that inadvertently increase inequities ... and suggests a solution lies in the collection and examination of appropriate data." NOTE: Using Data to Close the Achievement Gap ... will be available for 3-day loan.]

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