[Budget of the United States Government]
[VI. Investing in the Common Good: Program Performance in Federal Functions]
[22. Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


 
        22.  EDUCATION, TRAINING, EMPLOYMENT, AND SOCIAL SERVICES

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------

        Table 22-1.  FEDERAL RESOURCES IN SUPPORT OF EDUCATION, TRAINING, EMPLOYMENT, AND SOCIAL SERVICES
                                            (In millions of dollars)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               Estimate
               Function 500                   1998   -----------------------------------------------------------
                                             Actual     1999      2000      2001      2002      2003      2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spending:
  Discretionary Budget Authority..........    46,700    46,595    52,138    54,152    54,160    54,108    54,025
  Mandatory Outlays:
    Existing law..........................    12,418    14,031    14,876    13,905    13,090    15,113    16,088
    Proposed legislation..................  ........        -9    -1,716      -101      -342      -636      -397
Credit Activity:
  Direct loan disbursements...............    12,145    16,118    16,015       N/A       N/A       N/A       N/A
  Guaranteed loans........................    21,966    23,171    24,557       N/A       N/A       N/A       N/A
Tax Expenditures:
  Existing law............................    29,885    37,580    40,035    42,025    43,975    45,885    49,035
  Proposed legislation....................  ........       165     1,577     3,656     2,674     2,527     2,550
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
N/A = Not available

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  A wide variety of Federal programs assist States and localities in 
providing essential education, training, employment and social services. 
These programs educate young people; offer training and employment 
services to all Americans, especially the low-skilled and jobless; 
assist youth and adults to overcome financial barriers to postsecondary 
education and training; provide essential assistance to poor Americans; 
and work with employers and employees to maintain safe and stable 
workplaces.
  The Government spends over $65 billion a year on: grants to States and 
localities; grants, loans, and scholarships to individuals; direct 
Federal program administration; and subsidies leveraging nearly $41 
billion in loans to individuals. It also allocates about $42 billion a 
year in tax incentives for individuals.

Education Department

  Elementary and Secondary Education: Federal spending for elementary 
and secondary education targets important national needs, such as equal 
opportunity and the use of challenging academic standards to improve 
student achievement. Most low-performing children in high priority 
schools receive extra educational assistance through Title I-Education 
for the Disadvantaged. Other programs provide related support for 
children with disabilities and limited English proficient children; 
support teacher and administrator training; help finance and encourage 
State, school, and system reforms; help reduce class size; and support 
research and technical assistance. The Administration's long-term goal 
is to help all children, especially low-income and minority children, 
make steady educational achievement gains over time.
  The Federal focus began to change in 1994 from supporting individual 
programs to emphasizing school-wide and school system reforms, through 
the President's Goals 2000 Educate America Act and his Improving 
America's Schools Act, of which Title I is a part. These laws support 
State and local standards-based reform efforts and speed the expansion 
of the use of technology in education

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to help raise learning gains. These new approaches freed States and 
schools from unnecessary Federal process restrictions, providing greater 
flexibility while requiring more accountability for results. Early 
results show that the new approaches are having a significant impact: 
for example, in the 1997-98 school year, all but one State had content 
standards in at least reading and math. About seven percent of schools 
based reading and math curricula on challenging academic standards, and 
17 States had tests tied to challenging academic standards. Before Goals 
2000, only a handful of States had challenging academic standards and 
tests in place. Minority students have made substantial gains in 
science, math, and reading since the 1970s, narrowing the gap between 
minority and Caucasian student achievement by about a third.

  Title I: Citing Title I, as well as Head Start and child nutrition 
programs, a 1994 RAND study found that ``the most plausible'' way to 
explain big education gains of low-income and minority children in the 
past 30 years is ``some combination of increased public investment in 
education and social programs and changed social policies aimed at 
equalizing educational opportunities.'' The budget provides $8.78 
billion for Title I including $8 billion for grants to local education 
agencies.
  As described in Chapter 3, ``Investing in Education and Training,'' 
the 1994 reauthorization of Title I set in motion a series of new 
requirements on States for improving educational results for 
disadvantaged children, as a condition for receipt of Title I funds. 
Implementation has been uneven. For 2000, the Administration proposes a 
stronger emphasis on accountability for improved education results in 
Title I, financed with $200 million for a new Accountability Fund and 
will reinforce this approach with its 1999 reauthorization proposal for 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. States and districts will 
identify their worst performing schools (establishing a baseline for 
measurement), and take specific actions to improve those schools, while 
providing immediate extra educational assistance to the children in 
those schools.
   In 2000, Title I grants to school districts will provide 
          educational services to over 12 million students in high 
          poverty communities, 500,000 more children than in 1999.
  The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) will continue to 
be one of the data bases that indicates whether Title I is helping 
students catch up with their more advantaged peers. NAEP measures 
progress toward achieving the goal that rising percentages of all 
students will meet or exceed basic, proficient, and advanced performance 
levels in national and State assessments of reading, math, and other 
core subjects, and the goal that students in high-poverty schools will 
show improvement gains comparable to those for all students.

  Improving Accountability: The budget provides $200 million to help 
accelerate States' implementation of accountability provisions in the 
Title I program.
   In 2000, States will identify their lowest performing 
          schools, begin intervening with effective strategies to 
          improve student outcomes, and begin periodic reporting on 
          their results.

  21st Century Community Learning Centers/Ending Social Promotion: The 
budget proposes to triple this program to $600 million, as part of a 
comprehensive approach to fix failing schools and help end social 
promotion the way successful schools do it--without harming the 
children. School districts will have a competitive advantage for these 
new funds if they combine before and after school and summer school 
programs with other resources that support State and school commitments 
to high educational standards, more qualified teachers, smaller classes 
that enhance learning, and accept accountability for increased student 
achievement.
   In 2000, 7,500 schools will receive 21st Century Community 
          Learning Center grants. Most of these districts will have made 
          commitments to use these funds as part of a comprehensive 
          effort to improve learning in low performing schools. In 
          future years, grantees will report their progress and receive 
          continuation grants if they meet program terms.

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  America Reads: A student's most basic skill to master is reading. 
Although reading problems are particularly severe for disadvantaged 
students, students with reading difficulties represent a cross-section 
of American children. In 1994, only 30 percent of 4th graders scored at 
the proficient level in reading on NAEP, while only 59 percent scored at 
basic level. In 1998, the President launched the America Reads Challenge 
to provide extra help to meet the goal that every child will read well 
and independently by the end of the third grade, and obtained enactment 
of new legislation that will begin funding local programs on July 1, 
1999. The budget provides $286 million for America Reads.
   In 2000, America Reads will continue to help increase the 
          percentages of fourth-graders who meet basic, proficient, and 
          advanced levels in reading on the 4th grade NAEP (administered 
          in 1998 and every two years thereafter).
   By 2002, 68 percent of fourth grade public school students 
          will score at or above the basic level of proficiency on the 
          NAEP.

  Education Technology: The Administration's education technology 
programs serve to make modern computers and technologies accessible to 
all students; connect classrooms to one another and to the outside 
world; make high-quality educational software an integral part of the 
curriculum; and enable teachers to effectively integrate technology into 
their instruction. The budget provides $801 million for education 
technology.
   The percentage of public schools with access to the Internet 
          will increase to 95 percent by 2000, compared to 65 percent in 
          1996.
   In Fall 1996, 20 percent of public school teachers used 
          advanced telecommunications for teaching. In 1994, 40 percent 
          of the fourth graders and 17 percent of the eighth graders had 
          teachers reporting use of computers to teach reading. In 1996, 
          about 75 percent of fourth grade students and 46 percent of 
          eighth grade students had teachers reporting use of computers 
          for math instruction. In 2000, a higher percentage of teachers 
          will integrate high-quality technology-based instruction into 
          their curriculum.

  Special Education: Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act (IDEA), the Education Department works with States to ensure that 
children with disabilities benefit from the Act's requirement for a 
``free appropriate public education'' and are part of all accountability 
systems. As of July 1, 1998, all States were required to have 
performance goals and strategies in place for children with disabilities 
aged three to 21, and will report their progress toward meeting those 
goals on a biennial basis. The budget provides $5.45 billion for IDEA.
   In 2000, all States will include children with disabilities 
          in State and district-wide regular assessments or provide 
          alternate assessments to measure educational performance.

  Bilingual Education: Federal funds help children and adults learn 
English while progressing in school, and help States train teachers to 
educate individuals who are limited English proficient. The budget 
provides $415 million for Bilingual Education with special emphasis on 
expanding teacher training.
   In 1999, Federal funds supported the training of 4,000 
          teachers. In 2000, funds will support training of 6,000 
          teachers to specialize in teaching limited English-proficient 
          children.

  Class Size Reduction: The budget proposes $4.1 billion, an increase of 
$200 million over 1999, as the second installment of the President's 
plan to help schools recruit, hire, and train 100,000 new teachers by 
2005 and reduce class size in the early grades.
   States will annually reduce the average class size in grades 
          one through three so that by 2005, the average class size 
          nationally in the targeted grades is 18 students per 
          classroom. In 1993-94, the average number of students in a 
          grade one to three classroom was 22.

  Public School Choice: The budget includes several initiatives to 
expand the availability of choice in public schools, including funding 
for private sector and school partnerships to create ``Worksite 
Schools'' in the more inte

[[Page 228]]

grated setting of the workplace, and funding for inter-district Magnet 
Schools. The largest public school choice program is Charter Schools.
  Charter schools introduce innovation and choice into public schools. 
In 1992, there was one charter school in operation, funded locally. In 
1998, approximately 1,000 charter schools are operating around the 
nation, of which about 950 received Federal funding. The budget provides 
$130 million for charter schools.
   In 2000, nearly 2,000 charter schools will be operating, 
          continuing progress toward the President's goal of 3,000 
          charter schools by 2002.

  Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities: Since 1993, this program 
has provided a total of $3.7 billion to help 97 percent of all school 
districts implement anti-drug and anti-violence programs. The budget 
proposes $591 million, including $90 million in competitive grants for 
projects that use proven program designs in high-need areas; $50 million 
for the newly established School Drug Prevention Coordinators program to 
ensure that half of all middle schools have a director of drug and 
violence prevention programs to monitor local programs and link school-
based programs to community-based programs; and $12 million for SERVE, a 
resource for responding to school violence incidents. In 1997, rates of 
alcohol use in schools were five percent for 8th graders and eight 
percent for 10th and 12th graders; 1997 rates of marijuana use in school 
were five percent, 11 percent and 10 percent for eighth, 10th and 12th 
graders respectively.
   By 2001, rates of annual alcohol use in schools will decline 
          to four percent for eighth graders and seven percent for 10th 
          and 12th graders; rates of annual marijuana use in school for 
          the same time period will decline to three percent, 10 percent 
          and nine percent for eighth, 10th, and 12th graders 
          respectively.

  Title VI Education Block Grant: This program provides general 
resources for education. It does not have clear, measurable goals and is 
not designed in law to produce specific results in terms of student 
achievement gains. Evaluations of the program show that school districts 
generally use the funds for routine activities that do not necessarily 
improve teaching and learning. As a result, the budget eliminates 
funding for this program in order to support other programs, such as 
Title I, for which there are stronger indicators of results in terms of 
student achievement gains.
  Postsecondary Education: The economic returns to a college education 
are dramatic. Males working full time who are over 25 years old and have 
at least a bachelor's degree earned 89 percent more in 1993 than 
comparable workers with just a high school degree. Moreover, the 
benefits of college extend beyond the college graduates themselves. The 
resulting higher socioeconomic status of parents with college degrees 
leads to greater educational achievement by their children.
  Since the GI Bill was enacted following World War II, the Federal 
Government has played a growing role in helping Americans go to college. 
From 1964 to 1993, Federal postsecondary programs have helped nearly 
triple college enrollment, increasing by a third the share of high 
school graduates who attended college, and raise college enrollment 
rates for minority high school graduates by nearly two-thirds.
   In 2000, the Education Department will provide financial aid 
          to an estimated nine million students.

  Hope Scholarships and Lifetime Learning Tax Credits: These tax 
benefits for postsecondary education were proposed by President Clinton 
in 1996 and enacted in 1997. They have helped make college more 
affordable for many American families.
   In 2000, 5.5 million students will receive over $4 billion in 
          Hope tax credits, and 7.2 million students will receive almost 
          $3 billion in Lifetime Learning tax credits.

  College Completion Challenge Grants: This initiative will award $35 
million in 2000 to colleges that submit high quality applications 
demonstrating how they will close the difference in the rates at which 
disadvantaged and other students complete college. Grants will be used 
to strengthen counseling, mentoring and related services, increase grant 
aid, or help finance summer programs. The gap between the persistence 
rates of low-income and

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at-risk students receiving services under this program and of students 
who do not receive need-based aid will decrease at school receiving 
grants.
  Pell Grants: When President Clinton took office in 1993, the Pell 
Grant maximum award was $2,300--the same as it was when President Bush 
took office in 1989. Over the next five years, from 1994 to 1999, the 
maximum award increased 36 percent to $3,125. Currently 76 percent of 
Pell Grant funds go to students below 150 percent of the poverty level. 
The budget provides $7.5 billion for Pell Grants.
   An estimated 3.9 million needy students will receive Pell 
          Grants in 2000, for which the budget proposes a maximum award 
          of $3,250, an increase of $125 over 1999.

  Work-Study: The Work-Study program helps needy undergraduate and 
graduate students finance postsecondary education through part-time 
employment. In 1996, the President set a goal of supporting one million 
work-study students each year by 2000. The budget includes $934 million, 
an increase of $64 million over 1999.
   In 2000, Work-Study will add 56,000 students and reach the 
          President's goal of supporting one million students.

  GEAR-UP: The budget proposes doubling funding for GEAR-UP, the early 
intervention program based on the President's High Hopes proposal, to 
$240 million in 2000. GEAR-UP provides funds for States and local 
partnerships to help students in high-poverty schools prepare for and 
attend college.
   Program participants will successfully complete college 
          preparatory curricula at higher rates than comparable non-
          participants.
   Program participants will enroll in postsecondary education 
          programs at higher rates than comparable non-participants.
  Initial data should be available in 2001.

  Teacher Quality: A new teacher recruitment program will provide grants 
to partnerships of high-need school districts and institutions of higher 
education to provide scholarships to college students who commit to 
teaching in high-poverty communities upon graduation. The President 
proposes $115 million for teacher quality enhancement grants, including 
$35 million for teacher recruitment in 2000.
   In districts with grantees, the percentage of individuals who 
          teach in low-income communities who satisfy all State 
          licensure requirements will increase each year. Baseline data 
          will be collected in 2000.

  Modernization of the Student Aid Delivery System: The Education 
Department manages the delivery of student aid benefits to nearly nine 
million students in approximately 6,200 postsecondary schools, and 
oversees the direct and guaranteed loan systems affecting 37 million 
individuals, 4,100 lenders, and 36 guarantee agencies. The Department 
has made modernization of student financial aid management one of its 
highest priorities. Through the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, the 
Administration and Congress authorized the Department to establish the 
Government's first ever Performance-Based Organization (PBO). This new 
organization will have unprecedented flexibility in procurement, 
operations and management of Federal student financial assistance 
programs. Major parts of the effort include improving customer service 
at lower cost through better contracting practices and using new 
information technology. For example, students can now apply for student 
financial aid electronically and access their direct student loan 
information over the Internet. The PBO is one of the Vice President's 
High Impact Agencies (see Section IV, ``Improving Performance Through 
Better Management''). Among its goals are:
   By October 2000, increase the annual number of students 
          applying for Federal aid electronically to three million, up 
          from 1.9 million in 1997 and 2.3 million in 1998.
   By October 2000, enable students and families applying for 
          Federal aid electronically to have their eligibility 
          determined in four days, cutting in half the current 
          processing time;
   By December 1999, make the Department's website the most 
          comprehensive and efficient source of information on Federal 
          student aid and program require

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          ments, reducing hard copies of materials that now must be 
          printed and mailed by at least a third;
   By July 2000, test a multi-year promissory note for student 
          loans to streamline application procedures, minimize delays in 
          receiving funds, and provide better consumer information for 
          borrowers; and
   By December 1999, establish, with its partners in the 
          financial aid community, mutually agreed upon industry-wide 
          standards for data exchanges needed in administering student 
          aid.

  Student Loan Defaults: In recent years, the Education Department has 
made great progress in reducing defaults and increasing collections from 
defaulters. The national student loan cohort default rate used for 
institutional eligibility dropped for the sixth straight year to 9.6 
percent for 1996, down from 10.4 percent for 1995 and from 22.4 percent 
in 1990. This dramatic reduction is due, in large part, to the Education 
Department's improved institutional oversight that has led to the 
removal of 1700 schools from all student aid programs and 300 additional 
schools from only the loan programs. In addition, the department has 
implemented rigorous recertification standards for institutions to 
participate in the student aid programs. As a result, it has rejected 
about a third of initial applications to participate in the student aid 
programs over the last three years--twice the rate in 1990.
   In 2000, the default rate will remain below 10 percent.

  Student Aid Income Verification: In 1999, in accordance with the 
Higher Education Amendments of 1998, the Secretary of Education and the 
Secretary of Treasury will begin development of methods by which 
Education can reduce fraud and improve eligibility determinations 
through access to IRS data. In addition, the 2000 budget proposes a new 
debt collection initiative through use of the New Hire Data Base (in 
HHS) that will increase collections by approximately $1 billion over 
five years.
  Direct Loan Consolidations: By relying more on performance-based 
contracting, the Education Department is ensuring the availability of 
this option to borrowers in repayment to consolidate multiple loans into 
single loans at lower interest rates and with greatly reduced paperwork. 
The Department is also improving the loan consolidation process by 
improving the accuracy of its data, strengthening managerial controls 
through better tracking and reporting, increasing the number and 
expertise of consolidation contractor staff, and speeding up the loan 
certification process. As a result of new procedures, the department now 
averages just under 60 days to complete a loan consolidation 
application.
   In 2000, the average time to complete a loan consolidation 
          application will continue to be no more than 60 days.
   In 2000, surveys of borrowers will show that the majority of 
          applicants for loan consolidation are highly satisfied with 
          the timeliness and accuracy of the loan consolidation process. 
          In 1998, 60 percent of applicants were highly satisfied.

  Adult Education: Federal adult education programs assist adults to 
become literate and obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to attain 
employment and self-sufficiency, to be better parents, and to complete 
their secondary education. The new Adult Education and Family Literacy 
Act places a strong emphasis on performance and accountability, and 
States must now establish annual performance targets for the educational 
achievement of participating adults. States that meet or exceed their 
targets in adult education and other Federal workforce development 
programs are eligible to receive special incentive grants. The budget 
proposes $575 million for adult education, an increase of $190 million 
over 1999.
   By 2000, 40 percent of the adults in beginning level adult 
          basic education, adult secondary education, and English as a 
          second language (ESL) programs will achieve basic skill 
          proficiency, earn a diploma or General Educational Development 
          (GED) credential, or achieve basic English proficiency. In 
          1998, 28 percent of the adults in basic education, 38 percent 
          of those in secondary education, and 27 percent of those in 
          ESL programs achieved basic skill proficiency, earned a 
          diploma or GED, or achieved basic English proficiency.

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   By 2000, 300,000 participating adults will enroll in further 
          academic education and/or vocational training compared with 
          175,000 in 1998. Also by 2000, 300,000 participating adults 
          will get a job or retain or advance in their current job, 
          compared with 268,000 in 1998.

  Vocational Rehabilitation Services: The Vocational Rehabilitation 
program provides funds to States to help individuals with disabilities 
prepare for and obtain gainful employment. In 1997, the program helped 
to rehabilitate 211,520 individuals with disabilities. The program has 
not had consistent performance goals and measures of progress. The 
budget includes $2.7 billion for Vocational Rehabilitation. Starting in 
1999, as a result of the program's reauthorization in 1998, all States 
will develop challenging State-specific goals based on a comprehensive 
assessment of the vocational rehabilitation needs of individuals with 
disabilities in the State, describe the strategies it will use to 
address those needs, and report on progress made towards those goals. 
State agencies will begin reporting progress toward achieving those 
goals in 2000.
   In 2000, about 750,000 individuals will be served, 
          approximately the same number as in 1999.

Labor Department

  Elementary, secondary, and postsecondary investments enable Americans 
to acquire the skills to get good jobs in an increasingly competitive 
global economy. In addition, most workers acquire more skills on the job 
or through billions of dollars that employers spend each year to enhance 
worker skills and productivity. However, some workers also need special, 
targeted assistance. In addition to Pell Grants, student loans, and tax 
credits, the Federal Government spends nearly $7 billion a year through 
Department of Labor (DOL) programs that finance job training and related 
services. Workers who want to learn about job openings can use the State 
Employment Service and One-Stop Career Center System and DOL's popular 
America's Job Bank (AJB) website, which lists over 900,000 job vacancies 
every day and has over six million job searches each month.

  The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998: The WIA takes full effect 
on July 1, 2000 as the Job Training Partnership Act is repealed and all 
States will be implementing the requirements of the WIA. The WIA 
reflects the principles the President sought in his GI Bill for 
America's Workers proposal including: the streamlining of services; 
empowering individuals with the information and resources they need to 
choose the training that is right for them; providing universal access 
to a core set of employment services such as job search assistance; 
increasing accountability; ensuring a strong role for the private sector 
and the local boards who develop and over-see programs; facilitating 
State and local flexibility; and improving the quality of youth job 
training services.
  DOL has launched several longitudinal evaluations of its job training 
programs over the past two decades, including major impact evaluations 
of the Job Corps and Dislocated Worker Assistance programs. Past studies 
have found mixed, but generally positive results.
  While impact evaluations are the best measure of program 
effectiveness, DOL also sets annual performance goals for its major job 
training programs. Performance goals for 2000 will continue to emphasize 
placement in unsubsidized employment, employment retention, and earnings 
levels.
  Reemployment Services: This budget includes funding for new 
initiatives to ensure that (1) every displaced worker would receive 
training he or she want and need; (2) every person who lost his or her 
job due to no fault of his or her own could get the re-employment 
services; and (3) every American would have access to One-Stop Career 
Centers.
  WIA's Dislocated Worker Employment and Training Activities: This 
program will provide training and employment services to about 840,000 
displaced workers in 2000. The budget proposes $1.6 billion for 
dislocated workers, an increase of $190 million over 1999.
   In 2000, about 74 percent of those who receive services will 
          be working three months after leaving the program, earning an 
          average hourly wage that represents

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          93 percent of the wage in their previous job.
  Employment Service/One-Stop Career Centers: The Employment Service 
provides a free labor exchange for all workers and job seekers, and is 
growing more effective through implementation of One-Stop Career 
Centers. The budget proposes $1.048 billion for these activities.
   In 2000, continue to expand the One-Stop Career Center System 
          to include 60 percent of all local employment service and WIA 
          offices, compared to 16 percent in 1997, and to increase the 
          number of employers listing jobs with the American Job Bank 
          (AJB) website by 19 percent over the 1998 level while 
          expanding the basic One-Stop concept. The new concept for 2000 
          will include access through a toll-free number, access to AJB 
          for the blind, mobile One-Stops, and on-line job information 
          made available at Community-Based Organizations.
  Work Incentive Assistance Grants: In order to enhance the prospects of 
employment for individuals with disabilities, the budget includes $50 
million for competitive grants to partnerships or consortia in each 
State to provide new services and information sources for people with 
disabilities who want to return to work. These partnerships would work 
with the One-Stop system to augment its capabilities to provide timely 
and accurate information that people with disabilities need to get jobs 
and to learn about the benefits available to them when they return to 
work. In addition, the partnerships would help improve local service 
delivery by coordinating the various State and local agencies and 
disability organizations which help ensure persons with disabilities are 
prepared to enter or reenter the workforce. Performance goals and 
measures will be developed with the grantees.

  WIA's Adult Employment and Training Activities: This program currently 
helps about 380,000 low-income individuals get training, support 
services, and job placement assistance. The budget proposes $955 million 
for adult programs.
   In 2000, about 64.8 percent of those who receive services 
          will be working three months after leaving the program, with 
          weekly earnings averaging $361.

  Right Track Partnership: The budget includes $100 million for this new 
initiative designed to prevent youth from dropping out of school and 
encourage those who already have to return to school and complete their 
high school education.
   In 2000, the Right Track Partnership program will provide 
          grants to serve 100,000 economically disadvantaged and Limited 
          English Proficiency youth ages 14-21. From baseline data 
          developed for each grantee, RTP will increase the rate at 
          which these youth reenter, complete, and excel in high school 
          through integrated Federal, State, local, public and private 
          sector efforts.

  Youth Opportunity Grants: The Youth Opportunity Grants initiative 
addresses the special problems of out-of-school youth, especially in 
inner-cities and other areas where unemployment rates are high. The 
budget provides $250 million for this program.
   The Department will develop with each successful applicant a 
          goal for a substantial increase in the rate of employment for 
          youth in the program area, as well as improvement in the rate 
          at which participants return to high school, go on to college, 
          receive vocational training that leads to a good job, or go in 
          to the military.

  Job Corps: The Corps provides skill training, academic and social 
education, and support services in a structured, residential setting to 
approximately 70,000 very disadvantaged youth a year at 121 centers:
   In 2000, about 85 percent of graduates will get jobs or 
          pursue further education. This compares with 75 percent in 
          1999. In addition, 70 percent of those students will still 
          have a job or will be pursuing education 90 days after their 
          initial placement date.

  School-to-Work: All States are implementing school-to-work systems, 
using the five-year Federal venture capital grants to devise new 
collaborations between schools and the private sector. By June 1997, 
over 805,000 students

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in 2,200 high schools throughout the nation, as well as 200,000 
employers, participated in School-to-Work systems.
   In 2000, the final year of school-to-work funding, all States 
          will have completed the portion of their Statewide systems 
          financed with Federal funds. Two million youth will be 
          actively engaged in school-to-work activities, 500,000 more 
          than in 1999, and 40 percent of high schools will offer key 
          school-to-work components, an increase of five percent over 
          1999.

  Workplace Protections: DOL regulates compliance with various laws that 
give workers certain workplace protections--a minimum wage for virtually 
all workers, prevailing wages and equal employment opportunity for 
workers on government contracts, overtime pay, restrictions on child 
labor, and time off for family illness or childbirth. In these areas, 
the Federal Government is working to increase industry's compliance with 
labor protections through voluntary compliance initiatives (coupled with 
continued strong enforcement), outreach to new and small business, and 
targeted enforcement in specific industries, with specific measurable 
goals.
   In 2000, increase compliance by five percent (compared to 
          baseline) among employers who were previously violators and 
          the subject of repeat investigations in targeted health care, 
          garment, and identified agricultural commodities.

  International Child Labor: The budget proposes $52 million in 
additional funding to continue the Administration's commitment 
increasing opportunity to improving work conditions for children and 
raising international labor standards.
   Increase the implementation of core labor standards in five 
          countries in 2000.

  Welfare-to-Work: Moving people from welfare to work is a primary goal 
of Federal welfare policy. In addition to the $16.5 billion per year 
provided through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Children Program, 
the President obtained $3 billion to help achieve this goal through 
Welfare-to-Work (WtW) grants in fiscal years 1998 and 1999. These grants 
provide welfare recipients with the job placement services, transitional 
employment, and job retention and support services they need to achieve 
economic self-sufficiency. The budget includes $1 billion to extend WtW 
in 2000.
   In 2000, an estimated 56 percent of participants will be 
          placed in unsubsidized employment.

Department of Health and Human Services

  Head Start: Head Start gives low-income children a comprehensive 
approach to child development, stressing language and cognitive 
development, health, nutrition, and social competency. Head Start is 
administered by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in 
the Department of Health and Human Services. ACF is one of the Vice 
President's High Impact Agencies (see Section IV). The 2000 budget 
provides $5.3 billion for Head Start, a $607 million increase over the 
1999 level.
   In 2000, Head Start will serve an additional 42,000 children, 
          for a total of 877,000 children. The Head Start program goal 
          established by the President is to serve one million children 
          annually by 2002.
   Within the overall total of children served, in 2000 an 
          additional 7,000 children under age three will participate in 
          the Early Head Start component, for a total of nearly 45,000. 
          The President established the goal of doubling the number of 
          children below age three served in Head Start by 2002, within 
          the goal of one million total children.
  National evaluation studies of both the regular Head Start program and 
the Early Head Start component are under way to increase outcomes for 
Head Start families, including child growth and development. Preliminary 
results are expected in late 1999 for the regular Head Start program and 
in 2001 for the early Head Start component.

  Foster Care and Adoption Assistance: The Administration for Children 
and Families (ACF), a high impact agency (see Section IV), administers a 
number of programs that focus on preventing maltreatment of children, 
protecting children from abuse and neglect, and finding permanent 
placements for children who cannot safely return to their homes. The

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budget proposes a $265 million initiative to support the transition from 
foster care to independent living in addition to the new Foster Care 
Medical benefits described in Chapter 3. As part of the comprehensive 
effort to develop performance measures for the child welfare system, ACF 
is developing specific performance goals for the Independent Living 
Program that will establish goals for increasing the proportion of 
children that have graduated from high school, or received a GED within 
one year of aging out of foster care.
   In 2000, the Foster Care, Adoption Assistance and Independent 
          Living Programs will support over 600,000 youth monthly at an 
          annual cost of $5.5 billion.

  Aging Services Programs: The Administration on Aging (AoA) administers 
information and assistance, home and community-based support services 
for older people and support programs that protect the rights of 
vulnerable, at-risk older people. In 2000, the budget proposes $1 
billion for AoA programs. The budget includes $125 million for a new 
state grant program that will assist families who are caring for frail 
elderly relatives. The goal of this National Family Care Giver Support 
Program is to help sustain the efforts of family care givers by 
providing information, education and counseling, and respite services. 
AoA will develop performance measures for activities supported through 
the program's formula and competitive grants. The budget includes $147 
million, an increase of $35 million, 30 percent, for the Home-Delivered 
Meals Program.
   In 2000, AoA will increase the number of meals served under 
          the Home-Delivered Meals Program to 146 million, compared to 
          119 million meals in 1996.

National Service

  The Corporation for National and Community Service supports programs 
providing service opportunities Nation-wide for Americans of all ages 
and backgrounds. Through Corporation-supported projects, over 1.5 
million participants work to address the Nation's unmet, critical needs. 
The Corporation organizes its programs into three streams of service, 
with various annual performance goals.

  AmeriCorps: In 1999, there were 53,000 participants in AmeriCorps.
   In 2000, AmeriCorps will engage 69,000 Americans of all ages 
          and backgrounds in community service, and provide education 
          awards in return for such service with a goal of 100,000 
          participants in AmeriCorps by 2002.
   In 2000, AmeriCorps participants will recruit and organize 
          53,000 community volunteers to serve in elementary school 
          reading programs.

  Learn and Serve America: This program provides opportunities for 
students to improve their academic learning while participating in 
service-learning projects in schools, universities, and communities.
   In 2000, 20,000 high school students who have provided 
          outstanding community service will receive Presidential 
          Service Scholarships--compared with 15,000 students in 1999.

  National Senior Service Corps: The Corps, comprising over 500,000 
people age 55 and older, encourages seniors to use their experience, 
skills and talents while serving as Foster Grandparents, Senior 
Companions, and the Retired and Senior Volunteers.
   In 2000, Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions will serve 
          160,000 special needs youth and frail elderly, while 9,375 
          retired senior volunteers and volunteer leaders will work in 
          furtherance of the goals of America's Promise and the America 
          Reads Challenge.

Cultural Agencies

  The Smithsonian Institution and other Cultural Agencies: The 
Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery of Art, the U.S. Holocaust 
Memorial Museum, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 
all have advancement of knowledge and sharing that knowledge with the 
American public as part of their mission. In order to accomplish their 
missions, each institution must maintain its physical infrastructure and 
provide access to its unique assets.
   In 2000, each agency will provide new and updated exhibits 
          and performances, in

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          cluding the conservation of the Star Spangled Banner in a 
          special laboratory at the Smithsonian's National Museum of 
          American History; the National Gallery of Art's exhibit 
          entitled ``Art Nouveau: Sources and Cities, 1890-1914''; the 
          implementation of a state-of-the-art memorial interpretation 
          program at the John F. Kennedy (JFK) Center; and the ``Flight 
          and Rescue'' exhibit at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
   In 2000, each agency will protect its unique assets through 
          implementing its comprehensive plans for repair and 
          renovation, including continuation of capital renovation at 
          the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History; analysis 
          and preliminary design work to repair or replace the National 
          Gallery of Art's mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems; 
          a building-wide sprinkler system and new fire alarm system at 
          the JFK Center; and completion of the security bollards 
          project at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

  The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the 
Humanities: The budget proposes $150 million, each, for the National 
Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities to 
provide support for important cultural, educational and artistic 
programs for communities across America. The budget also proposes $188.5 
million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to 
support museums and libraries. In 2000, the Endowments and IMLS will 
fund education and life-long learning as well as projects designed to 
increase public access to performances, exhibitions, and our Nation's 
cultural treasures held by museums, libraries, archives, and historical 
organizations. Special attention will be afforded underserved areas and 
to the use of the arts and humanities to strengthen community and family 
life.
   In 2000, NEA, through its new Challenge America program, will 
          award more than 1,200 grants through direct grants or in 
          partnerships with the States, to communities across America to 
          address Arts Education, Access to the Arts, Youth-at-Risk, 
          Cultural Heritage and Preservation, and Community Arts 
          Partnerships.
   In 2000, NEH will help improve the quality of humanities 
          education offered to hundreds of thousands of American school 
          children and college students; provide opportunities for 
          citizens from all walks of life to engage in a lifetime of 
          learning about the Nation's history and culture; preserve and 
          democratize access to millions of brittle books and other 
          important cultural and intellectual resources; and 
          dramatically expand access to humanities programming for 
          millions of citizens in rural areas, communities, and cities 
          across America.
   In 2000, IMLS will promote access to learning and information 
          resources held by museums and libraries through electronic 
          linkages, helping all 55 State library agencies expand 
          materials available electronically and increase Internet 
          access. IMLS will help museums develop and support regional 
          electronic networks, providing technical support to thousands 
          of museums in putting collection information on-line, and 
          supporting after-school programs located in museums.

Tax Incentives

  The Federal Government helps individuals, families, and employers (on 
behalf of their employees) plan for and buy education and training 
through numerous tax benefits, which will cost an estimated $42 billion 
in 2000. Along with the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning tax 
credits for college costs, the tax code provides other ways to pay for 
education and training. State and local governments, for instance, can 
issue tax-exempt debt to finance student loans or to build the 
facilities of non-profit educational institutions. Interest from certain 
U.S. Savings Bonds is tax-free if the bonds go solely to pay for 
education. Many employers provide education benefits that do not count 
as income. Starting in 1998, many taxpayers can deduct the interest on 
student loans. Finally, the tax code gives employers a Work Opportunity 
Tax Credit and a Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit, letting them claim a tax 
credit for part of the wages they pay to certain hard-to-employ people 
who work for them for a minimum period.

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  New tax provisions for education in the President's budget include 
proposals to modify the current exclusion for employer-provided 
educational assistance by extending it for another year and including 
graduate as well as undergraduate courses; to eliminate the 60-month 
limit on the student loan interest deduction to provide longer-term 
relief to low-and middle-income taxpayers with large educational debt; 
to eliminate the tax owed when certain student loans are forgiven after 
25 years of repayment; and to provide a tax credit for employer-provided 
workplace literacy and basic education programs. In addition, the budget 
proposes exclusion from income for repayment or cancellation of a 
student loan under the AmeriCorps Education Award Program.