Congressional Research Service Reports - 299 Matching Results
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- Head Start Issues in the 108th Congress
- This report examines various legislative issues regarding Head Start, which is a federal program that has provided comprehensive early childhood development services to low income children since 1965. The program is administered by the Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
- SCHIP Financing Issues for the 108th Congress
- No Description Available.
- The Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2003: “Separate Offense” Provisions and Penalties
- No Description Available.
- Child Care Issues in the 108th Congress
- This report includes recent developments in federal child care programs and tax provisions. The report discusses several federal programs that support child care or related services, primarily for low-income working families. In addition, the tax code includes provisions specifically targeted to assist families with child care expenses. The report presents the legislative activity in the 108th Congress in regard to child care legislature and provisions.
- Child Care Issues in the 108th Congress
- This report includes recent developments in federal child care programs and tax provisions. The report discusses several federal programs that support child care or related services, primarily for low-income working families. In addition, the tax code includes provisions specifically targeted to assist families with child care expenses. The report presents the legislative activity in the 108th Congress in regard to child care legislature and provisions.
- Juvenile Justice Legislation: Overview and the Legislative Debate
- No Description Available.
- Missing and Exploited Children: Overview and Policy Concerns
- This report presents an overview of two national incidence studies prepared by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to determine annually the number of reported missing and recovered children in the nation. It also discusses the AMBER Alert System created to help recover reported missing children, legislation introduced in the 108th Congresses to address the missing children issue, and questions that remain regarding concerns about missing children.
- Child Pornography: Constitutional Principles and Federal Statutes
- The Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996, P.L. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009- 26, added a definition of “child pornography” that include visual depictions of what appears to be a minor engaging in explicit sexual conduct, even if no actual minor was used in producing the depiction. On April 16, 2002, in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, the Supreme Court held this provision unconstitutional to the extent that it prohibited pictures that were not produced with actual minors. (This case is discussed under “Section 2256,” below.) In response to Ashcroft, bills were introduced in the House and Senate that would continue to ban some child pornography that was produced without an actual minor; on June 25, 2002, the House passed one such bill: H.R. 4623, 107th Congress.
- A Review of Medical Child Support: Background, Policy, and Issues
- Improving the establishment and enforcement of medical child support has been hampered to some extent by factors such as high health care costs, a decline in employer-provided health insurance coverage, an increase in the share of health insurance costs borne by employees, and the large number of uninsured children. This report provides a legislative history of medical support provisions in Child Support Enforcement (CSE) programs, describes current policy with respect to medical child support, examines available data, and discusses some of the issues related to medical child support. This report will not be updated.
- Fatherhood Initiatives: Connecting Fathers to Their Children
- This report briefly examines the role of the CSE agency in fatherhood programs and discusses whether father-child interaction can be promoted and supported outside the framework of the father-mother relationship, and whether fatherhood programs should include the "promotion of marriage."
- Internet: Status Report on Legislative Attempts to Protect Children from Unsuitable Material on the Web
- No Description Available.
- Supplemental Educational Services for Children from Low-Income Families Under ESEA Title I-A
- This report discusses supplemental educational services in the general sense, which include educational activities provided outside of normal school hours that are designed to augment or enhance the educational services provided during regular periods of instruction.
- Internet: Status Report on Legislative Attempts to Protect Children from Unsuitable Material on the Web
- No Description Available.
- Education for the Disadvantaged: Overview of ESEA Title 1-A Amendments Under the No Child Left Behind Act
- This report provides an overview of aspects of ESEA Title I-A which were substantially amended by the NCLBA; elements of the program which are important but which were not substantially revised by the NCLBA (such as parental involvement requirements) are not discussed in this report. Other current and forthcoming reports will provide more detailed discussions and analyses of selected major aspects of the program, including pupil assessments,2 accountability, and allocation formulas. This report will be updated regularly, to reflect significant actions regarding funding and implementation of the NCLBA provisions.
- Expanding Health Care Coverage for the Uninsured: Lessons Learned From States
- State policymakers have been concerned about the uninsured for a number of years and have pursued many strategies to help expand health care coverage. To understand the strategies undertaken by states and their successes and failures, CRS contracted with the Institute for Health Care Research and Policy at Georgetown University to conduct a 50 state survey. The findings of that survey are presented here.
- Internet: Status Report on Legislative Attempts to Protect Children from Unsuitable Material on the Web
- No Description Available.
- Internet: Status Report on Legislative Attempts to Protect Children from Unsuitable Material on the Web
- No Description Available.
- Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP): Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act
- This report is intended to provide an overview of the Adequate Yearly Process (AYP) concept and several related issues, a description of the AYP provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, and an analysis of the implementation of these provisions by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the states. It will be updated when major administrative actions are taken by ED, or substantial new data on state implementation become available.
- Child Nutrition and WIC Programs: Background and Funding
- Federally supported child nutrition programs and related activities — including school meal programs and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (the WIC program) — reach over 37 million children and almost 2 million lower-income pregnant/postpartum women. In FY2004, anticipated spending on these programs is $16.6 billion, and the FY2004 appropriations law (P.L. 108-199) supports this spending level (although with new appropriations of a lesser amount, some $16 billion). The Administration’s FY2005 revised budget request envisions spending a total of $17.15 billion, supported by new appropriations of $16.47 billion. The House FY2005 appropriations bill (H.R. 4766) would support spending of $16.97 billion with new appropriations of $16.29 billion.
- Child Welfare Issues in the 108th Congress
- The purpose of this report is to present a number of generally less broad legislative proposals related to child welfare financing have been introduced in the 108th Congress. Additional child welfare-related proposals designed to improve services, promote timely placement of children across state lines, and for other purposes, are described in this report.
- Reducing Teen Pregnancy: Adolescent Family Life and Abstinence Education Programs
- Congressional Research Service (CRS) report entailing information about Adolescent Family Life (AFL) and Abstinence Education programs in regards to reducing teen pregnancy. Topics include, purpose of the programs, allowable projects, evaluations and research, etc.
- Juvenile Delinquents and Federal Criminal Law: The Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act and Related Matters
- No Description Available.
- Education for the Disadvantaged: Overview of ESEA Title 1-A Amendments Under the No Child Left Behind Act
- Title I, Part A, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) authorizes federal aid to local educational agencies (LEAs) for the education of disadvantaged children. Title I-A grants provide supplementary educational and related services to low-achieving and other pupils attending schools with relatively high concentrations of pupils from low-income families in pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Title I-A is the largest federal elementary and secondary education assistance program, with services provided to (a) over 90% of all LEAs; (b) approximately 45,000 (58% of all) public schools; and (c) approximately 11 million (22% of all) pupils, including approximately 167,000 pupils attending private schools. Four-fifths of all pupils served are in pre-kindergarten through grade 6, while only 5% of pupils served are in grades 10-12.
- Children in Poverty: Profile, Trends, and Issues
- This report documents the trends of economic well-being of children, giving data on child poverty and the employment rate of their mothers.
- Child Care Reauthorization: A Side-by-Side Comparison of Child Care Provisions in House and Senate Versions of H.R. 4, S. 880, and Current Law
- This report discuses the legislative action to reauthorize child care legislation that expired at the end of FY2002. The Child care reauthorization” is composed of two parts: legislation to reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act and legislation to extend mandatory funding appropriated under Section 418 of the Social Security Act.
- Early Childhood Education: Preschool Participation, Program Efficacy, and Federal Policy Issues
- This report examines what we currently know about preprimary programs, including numbers of children served and their family characteristics; as well as data on the efficacy of preprimary programs in enhancing later learning and other life skills. Current federal programs that serve preschool age children are described, and policy issues which may arise as the federal role in early childhood education is debated are discussed.
- Coverage of the TANF Population Under Medicaid and SCHIP
- Health insurance is an important support for individuals receiving, leaving or diverted from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare or cash assistance program for low-income families. Medicaid and SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) are key vehicles for providing such coverage. While there is no formal link between TANF and either Medicaid or SCHIP, some TANF-eligibles, especially children, are likely to qualify for one of these programs. But state eligibility rules can be complex and often differ for parents versus children, leaving some parents, in particular, without coverage.
- Head Start: Background and Issues
- This report discusses the federal "Head Start" program that has provided comprehensive early childhood development services to low-income children since 1965. The Head Start program has received increases of varying levels over the past two decades.
- Medicaid and SCHIP: The President’s FY2006 Budget Proposals
- This report describes the proposal and provides an estimate of the cost or savings based on publicly available information. The report provides a brief background for the proposal and provides a listing of current Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports related to the proposal.
- TANF Reauthorization: Side-by-Side Comparison of Current Law and Two Versions of H.R. 4 (108th Congress)
- No Description Available.
- Child Welfare Financing: An Issue Overview
- The purpose of this report is to describe the federal interest in child welfare (as expressed by Congress); describe the current level and structure of federal dedicated child welfare financing and examine trends in the appropriation and spending of this money; and to review the extent to which states rely on non-dedicated federal funds for child welfare purposes. Finally, the report discusses the future federal commitment to child welfare financing, along with the concepts of flexibility and accountability, as these relate both to current law and to recent proposals to alter federal child welfare financing.
- Breastfeeding: Federal Legislation
- There has been significant growth in the practice of breastfeeding in recent years. As a result, Congress and numerous state legislatures have considered various proposals concerning different aspects of breastfeeding. Through appropriations legislation, Congress has repeatedly affirmed a mother’s right to breastfeed on federal property or in a federal building, if the mother and child are authorized to be in that location. This practice was most recently affirmed in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005.
- Breastfeeding and Jury Duty: State Laws, Court Rules, and Related Issues
- The fact that a state, a court system, or a single court does not have a law, rule, or formally written procedure does not necessarily mean that a breastfeeding mother will be compelled to serve on a jury. It appears that a general “medical exception” from jury duty may be applicable to breastfeeding mothers in some instances, and local practice and custom may influence an excuse or deferral from jury duty. It appears that many of the decisions concerning a nursing mother’s excuse or deferral from jury duty are handled on a case-by-case basis by the individual courts.
- Amber Alert Program Technology
- This report discusses provisions in the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 to test Amber Alert network technology for use in expanding the Emergency Alert System (EAS). The Amber Alert network utilizes a combination of technologies, such as highway messages boards, the Internet, and text messaging, to ensure the swift recovery of abducted children.
- Child Support Enforcement: Side-by-Side Comparison of Current Law and Welfare Reauthorization Bills (S. 667 and H.R. 240)
- No Description Available.
- The Child Welfare Workforce: An Overview
- This report gives an overview of the Child Welfare Workforce. The contents include who are child welfare workers, size and job characteristics of child welfare workforce, earnings, Working conditions, and job outlook.
- Medicaid and SCHIP: The President's FY2006 Budget Proposals
- This report describes the proposal and provides an estimate of the cost or savings based on publicly available information. The report provides a brief background for the proposal and provides a listing of current Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports related to the proposal.
- Child Welfare: State Performance on Child and Family Services Reviews
- This report begins with a short history of the legislation and other factors that led to the creation of the current CFSR and then briefly describes how a CFSR is conducted and what “substantial conformity” with federal child welfare policy means in the context of this review. Much has been made of the fact that no state was found to be in substantial conformity with all aspects of federal policy reviewed during the initial (FY2001-FY2004) round of the CFSRs. This report seeks to better understand that fact by looking closely at state performance on each of the performance indicators that determined compliance.
- SCHIP Financing: Funding Projections and State Redistribution Issues
- No Description Available.
- Child Labor in West African Cocoa Production: Issues and U.S. Policy
- This report outlines how and where cocoa is produced, discusses the use of abusive child labor in the industry, efforts by Congress to counter abusive child labor — including the Harkin-Engel Protocol, and initiatives by affected governments and international organizations to address the problem. This report also provides possible policy options that might undertaken to stop the use of child labor in cocoa production.
- Child Care Issues in the 109th Congress
- Federal support for child care comes in many forms, ranging from grant programs to tax provisions. Some programs serve as specifically dedicated funding sources for child care services (e.g., the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)), while for others (e.g., Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)), child care is just one of many purposes for which funds may be used. This report discusses budget proposals in areas related to child care and early childhood development in the 109th Congress.
- Medicaid Eligibility for Adults and Children
- Medicaid is a means-tested entitlement program that is largely designed and administered by states under broad federal rules. The programs are jointly financed by federal and state funds. Federal contributions to each state are based on a state’s willingness to finance covered medical services and a matching formula. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is responsible for federal oversight of the program. In FY2003, preliminary federal and state spending on Medicaid reached $275.5 billion, exceeding Medicare payments, net of premiums, by over $15 billion.
- TANF Cash Benefits as of January 1, 2004
- No Description Available.
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Its Role In Response to the Effects of Hurricane Katrina
- The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant provides grants to states to help them fund a wide variety of benefits and services to low-income families with children. TANF is best known as helping fund ongoing cash welfare benefits for families with children, but the block grant may also fund other benefits and services such as emergency payments, child care.
- TANF Reauthorization: Side-by-Side Comparison of Current Law, S. 667 and H.R. 240 (TANF Provisions)
- No Description Available.
- Impact on States of Revised Redistribution of Unspent FY2002 SCHIP Allotments
- No Description Available.
- Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP): Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act
- This report is intended to provide an overview of the Adequate Yearly Process (AYP) concept and several related issues, a description of the AYP provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, and an analysis of the implementation of these provisions by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the states. It will be updated when major administrative actions are taken by ED, or substantial new data on state implementation become available.
- Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP): Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act
- This report is intended to provide an overview of the Adequate Yearly Process (AYP) concept and several related issues, a description of the AYP provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, and an analysis of the implementation of these provisions by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the states. It will be updated when major administrative actions are taken by ED, or substantial new data on state implementation become available.
- Budget Reconciliation: Projections of Funding in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
- In FY2005, six states faced the prospect of running out of federal funds in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). This was the first time since the program’s creation in 1997 that multiple states faced such a shortfall. The shortfalls were avoided by the redistribution of funds from other states’ original SCHIP allotments that had not been spent by the end of the three-year period of availability. To address this, the reconciliation proposal approved by the Senate Finance Committee would reduce the period of availability for original allotments from three years to two.
- Budget Reconciliation FY2006: Medicaid, Medicare, and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Provisions
- This is one report in the series of reports that discus the Budget Reconciliation- Medicaid, Medicare, and SCHIP Provisions. These are some of the issues discussed in this report: Medicaid Outpatient Prescription Drugs, Long-Term Care under Medicaid, Fraud, Waste, and Abuse, State Financing and Medicaid, Improving the Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Programs, Medicare Advantage, and other Medicare Provisions.