[Budget of the United States Government]
[V. Investing in the Common Good: Program Performance in Federal Functions]
[20. Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
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20. EDUCATION, TRAINING, EMPLOYMENT, AND SOCIAL SERVICES
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Table 20-1. Federal Resources in Support of Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services
(In millions of dollars)
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Estimate
Function 500 1999 -----------------------------------------------------------
Actual 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
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Spending:
Discretionary Budget Authority.......... 46,648 44,390 61,543 61,582 62,288 63,447 64,570
Mandatory Outlays:
Existing law.......................... 11,281 11,294 15,401 13,978 15,536 16,168 17,183
Proposed legislation.................. ........ -100 -2,764 -246 -158 -195 -230
Credit Activity:
Direct loan disbursements............... 18,080 14,662 15,785 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Guaranteed loans........................ 21,914 25,261 26,472 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Tax Expenditures:
Existing law............................ 34,070 36,030 37,565 38,745 41,240 42,350 44,740
Proposed legislation.................... ........ 66 1,363 3,654 3,821 4,970 5,470
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N/A = Not available.
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A wide variety of Federal programs assist States and localities in
providing essential education, training, employment and social services.
These programs help educate America's youth; offer training and
employment services to all Americans, especially those who are low-
skilled and jobless; assist youth and adults overcome financial and
other barriers to postsecondary education and training; are an essential
part of the safety net for poor Americans; and work with employers and
employees to maintain safe and stable workplaces.
The President proposes to spend over $67.5 billion in 2001 on: grants
to States, localities and non-profit organizations; grants, loans, and
scholarships to individuals; direct Federal program administration; and,
subsidies leveraging over $42 billion in loans to individuals. The
budget also allocates approximately $41.3 billion in 2001 in tax
expenditures for programs in this function.
Department of Education
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-poverty
schools receive extra educational assistance through the Title I
(Education for the Disadvantaged) program. Other programs provide
related support for children with disabilities and limited English
proficiency; support teacher and administrator training; help finance
and encourage State, district, and school 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, raise their levels of achievement so that
they can meet challenging academic standards.
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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 Improving America's
Schools Act (IASA), including Title I. These laws support State and
local standards-based reform efforts and promote the use of technology
in education to improve learning. These new approaches have 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, all but one State has content standards in at least
reading and math, compared to only 19 States before Goals 2000 and IASA.
By 1997, over 70 percent of all Title I schools reported using standards
to guide reading and math curricula, with a goal of 100 percent in 2000.
Title I: Minority students have made substantial gains in science,
math, and reading since the 1970s, narrowing the gap between minority
and non-minority student achievement by about a third. 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.'' More recently, a 1998 RAND study on rapid achievement
gains in North Carolina and Texas found that the most probable
explanation for the gains, including those of disadvantaged students,
stemmed from policies of high standards for all students, aligned
assessments, accountability with consequences, and targeting high-
poverty schools. These are all core principles of Title I. The budget
provides $9.14 billion for Title I, including $8.36 billion for grants
to local education agencies. In 2001, Title I grants to school districts
will provide educational services to over 12.2 million students in high-
poverty communities, 400,000 more children than in 2000.
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 2001, the Administration proposes a
stronger emphasis on accountability for improved education results in
Title I, financed with an Accountability Fund and reinforced in its
reauthorization proposal for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Within Title I, the budget provides $250 million for this Fund to help
accelerate States' implementation of accountability provisions in the
Title I program, nearly doubling the amount available in 2000. The
Accountability Fund will help States identify their lowest performing
schools, intervene with effective strategies to improve student
outcomes, and report on their results.
Title I is helping to improve student achievement. The most recent
study of Title I schools shows progress in the percentage of students
that meet State standards for proficiency in math and reading, regaining
ground lost in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Results from the 1998
National Assessment of Educational Progress, a series of tests
considered to be the Nation's ``report card,'' show that among the
lowest-achieving 4th graders--those most likely to be served by Title
I--there were fairly substantial improvements in reading between 1994
and 1998. Those in the lowest 10 percent gained an average of nine
points and those in the bottom 25 percent gained five points, compared
with the stable performance of the other groups.
Title I is also helping schools provide extended learning time, a
practice that tends to improve student achievement. Over 60 percent of
Title I schools now have after-school programs to provide extra learning
time for tutoring rather than taking students out of the regular
classroom for assistance, compared to less than 10 percent before 1994.
Teacher Quality and Professional Development: The budget provides $1
billion to help States and districts provide sustained, content-rich
professional development, recruit teachers, and support State efforts to
align curricula and assessments with content standards.
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21st Century Community Learning Centers/After School Programs: The
budget proposes to more than double this program to $1 billion, as part
of a comprehensive approach to fix failing schools by providing children
in these schools the extra help they need to meet challenging academic
standards. Grants to public schools and community-based organizations
support the establishment or expansion of after-school, summer school
and other extended learning opportunities. The budget provides
sufficient funds to make after- or summer-school programs universally
available to help turn around failing schools, defined as schools
identified under Title I as in need of improvement.
In 2001, over 10,000 schools will receive 21st Century Community
Learning Centers grants. Most of these schools are in districts that
commit 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.
Reading Excellence: 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. On the 1998 National Assessment of
Educational Progress, 68 percent of all fourth-grade students in high
poverty schools scored below the basic reading level. 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 began
funding local programs on July 1, 1999. The budget provides $286 million
for the Reading Excellence program.
The Department of Education's objective for the Reading Excellence
program is to significantly improve students' achievement in
participating schools and classrooms. By 2001, participating students
will increase their reading scores significantly compared to non-
participants. Furthermore, by the end of 2001, at least 15 States will
have revised their State in-service training and guidelines for reading
certification of teachers to reflect scientifically-based reading
research.
Education Technology: The Administration's education technology
programs serve to make modern computers and technologies accessible to
all students; connect classrooms to the Internet; make high-quality
educational software an integral part of the curriculum; and enable
teachers to effectively integrate technology into their instruction. The
budget provides $903 million for education technology.
The Administration's goal is that by 2001, all schools will
be connected to the Internet. This compares to an actual level
of 65 percent in 1996 and 89 percent in 1998.
In 2001, a higher percentage of teachers than in 1996 will
integrate high-quality technology-based instruction into their
curriculum. 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.
Special Education: Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA), the Education Department works with States to ensure that
children with disabilities receive a ``free appropriate public
education'' that prepares them for employment and independent living,
and that all schools are held accountable for the educational results of
special education children. As of July 1, 1998, all States were required
to have performance goals and strategies in place for students with
disabilities aged three to 21, and to report their progress toward
meeting those goals on a biennial basis. Moreover, by July 1, 2000, all
States will be required to include special education children in State
and district-wide regular assessments or provide alternate assessments
to measure educational performance. The budget provides $6.4 billion for
IDEA, a $333 million increase.
One measure of success is the increase in the percentage of students
with disabilities who are graduating from high school with
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a regular diploma and the reduction in the number who are dropping out.
In the 1995-96 school year, 53 percent of students with
disabilities left school by graduating with a regular diploma
and 34 percent dropped out of school. The Administration's
goal for school year 2000-01 is that 58 percent of students
with disabilities will graduate with regular diplomas and that
no more than 29 percent will drop out.
Bilingual Education: The budget provides $296 million for this program
in 2001, an increase of $48 million over 2000. The population of limited
English proficient (LEP) students has grown dramatically over the last
two decades. Between school years 1992-93 and 1996-97, the LEP
population in 10 states (Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Idaho, Nebraska,
Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee) grew by more
than 50 percent. The Bilingual Education program provides funds to
school districts to teach English to LEP students and helping them meet
the same challenging state standards required of all other students.
Likewise, through the Professional Development authority, the program
provides funding to address the critical shortage of highly trained
Bilingual Education and English as a second language (ESL) instructors.
In 2000, Federal funds will support the training of nearly
5,700 teachers. In 2001, funds will support training of about
8,000 teachers to specialize in teaching LEP children.
Class Size Reduction: The budget proposes $1.75 billion, an increase
of $450 million over 2000, as the third 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 1993-1994, the average
number of students in a grade one to three classroom was 22. In 1999-
2000, the first year of the program, school districts met their goals
and hired 29,000 teachers. As a result, class sizes in grades in which
teachers were hired decreased from an average of about 23 to 18.
Public School Choice: The budget includes several initiatives to
expand the availability of choice in public schools, such as
Opportunities to Improve our Nation's Schools (OPTIONS), a proposed new
program that would fund innovative approaches to public school choice
like public schools located at work sites or on college campuses.
Funding is also provided to continue the inter-district magnet school
program initiated in 2000. 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.
Thanks in part to startup funding provided through the Public Charter
Schools program, that number has grown to over 1,700 schools in 2000.
The budget provides $175 million for charter schools. At this level, by
2001, the program will have helped nearly 2,400 charter schools since
its inception, supporting 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 $4.3 billion to help 97 percent of all school
districts implement anti-drug and anti-violence programs. The budget
proposes $650 million for this program, including $122 million in
competitive grants under the interagency Safe Schools/Healthy Students
initiative in conjunction with contributions from the Departments of
Health and Human Services, Justice, and Labor; $50 million for the newly
established Coordinator Initiative to ensure that over 1,300 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, $10 million for Project SERV, a resource for responding
to school violence incidents.
In 1997, the rate of alcohol use in schools was five percent for
eighth graders and eight percent for 10th and 12th graders; the 1997
rate of marijuana and other drug use in schools was five percent and 11
percent for eighth and 10th graders, respec
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tively, and the rate of marijuana use was 10 percent for 12th graders.
The Administration's performance goal is that 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 and other drug use in
school for the same time period will decline to three percent
and 10 percent for eighth and 10th graders respectively, and
the rate of annual marijuana use will decline to nine percent
for 12th graders.
Postsecondary Education: The economic returns to a college education
are dramatic. Males working full time who are over 25 years old and have
a bachelor's degree earned 56 percent more in 1997 than 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.
Since 1964, Federal postsecondary programs have helped nearly triple
college enrollment, increasing by a third the share of high school
graduates who attend college.
In 2001, the Education Department will provide financial aid
to approximately 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 the 2000 tax year, 5.6 million students will be eligible for over
$5 billion in Hope tax credits, and 7.2 million students will be
eligible for almost $2.4 billion in Lifetime Learning tax credits.
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 six years, from 1994 to 2000, the
maximum award increased 43 percent to $3,300. In fiscal year 1998, an
estimated 76 percent of Pell Grant funds were awarded to students below
150 percent of the poverty level. The budget provides for a program
level of $8.5 billion for Pell Grants.
An estimated 3.9 million needy students will receive Pell
Grants in 2001, for which the budget proposes a maximum award
of $3,500, an increase of $200 over 2000.
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. This goal was achieved. The
budget includes $1.011 billion, an increase of $77 million over 2000, to
maintain this commitment.
GEAR-UP: The budget proposes increasing funding for GEAR-UP, the
early intervention program based on the President's High Hopes proposal,
to $325 million in 2001. GEAR-UP provides funds for States and local
partnerships to help students in high-poverty schools prepare for and
attend college. The Department of Education aims to have GEAR-UP program
participants successfully complete high school and enroll in
postsecondary education programs at higher rates than comparable non-
participants.
Student Aid Delivery System Modernization: The Education Department
manages the delivery of student aid benefits to nearly nine million
students in approximately 5,300 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 has 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
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use of 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
Administration's High Impact Agencies. The three primary goals of the
PBO are:
Improving customer satisfaction: The PBO has established the
goal of increasing the satisfaction of ``customers'' of the
student financial assistance programs to a level commensurate
with private sector financial service firms. Under the
national survey conducted by the University of Michigan in
1999, the PBO scored 63 in satisfaction. The goal is to
increase this rating to 74 out of 100 by 2002.
In 2000, the PBO has committed to improving customer
satisfaction in at least six of 10 core functions, as measured
through detailed surveys.
Reducing cost: The PBO has set a target to reduce the 2004
projected unit cost of delivering each student aid dollar by
19 percent.
In 2000, the PBO has committed to reduce unit costs by $18
million and re-invest this amount in further information
systems modernization. These investments will produce even
greater future unit cost reductions.
Improving employee satisfaction: Recognizing that employee
satisfaction is essential to modernizing the delivery of
student financial assistance and achieving the aforementioned
goals, the PBO has committed to raising employee satisfaction,
as measured by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), to
the top five of all Government agencies by 2002. In 1999, the
PBO ranked 33rd out of 50 in the OPM survey.
As a down-payment in 2000 on the long-range commitment, the
PBO's management has committed to making demonstrable progress
on five issues identified by the Labor-Management Partnership
Council.
Student Aid Income Verification: In 2000, in accordance with the
Higher Education Amendments of 1998, the Departments of Education and
Treasury will conduct a test match of income data provided on the
student aid application against IRS data. This test match will provide
important information for the development of a full scale match, which
would enable the Department of Education to reduce fraud and improve
eligibility determinations.
Adult Education: For many disadvantaged adults, Federal adult
education programs provide the only opportunity to gain literacy skills
and obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to attain employment and
self-sufficiency, to learn English, 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 $555.5 million
for adult education, an increase of $85.5 million over 2000.
The Administration's goal is that by 2001, 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 1999, 31 percent of the
adults in basic education, 33 percent of those in secondary
education, and 28 percent of those in ESL programs achieved
basic skill proficiency, earned a diploma or GED, or achieved
basic English proficiency.
Vocational Rehabilitation Services: The Vocational Rehabilitation
(VR) program provides funds to States to help individuals with
disabilities prepare for and obtain gainful employment to the extent of
their capabilities. In 1998, the program helped 223,668 individuals with
disabilities secure employment, and 88 percent of these individuals
obtained competitive employment. The budget includes $2.8 billion for
Vocational Rehabilitation. In 1999, all States started to develop
challenging State-specific goals based on a comprehensive assessment of
the vocational rehabilitation needs of
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individuals with disabilities and to describe the strategies that will
be used to address those needs. State agencies will begin reporting
progress made toward meeting the goals in 2000.
In 2001, 63 percent of all individuals with disabilities
served in the VR program will obtain employment, up from 61
percent in 1999. Of those achieving competitive employment, 85
percent will maintain employment and earnings 12 months after
their case is closed.
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 some $7 billion a year on
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 currently lists 1.5 million job
vacancies daily and has over eight million job searches each month, an
increase over the 900,000 job vacancies and six million job searches
reported last year.
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 fully implement the WIA requirements. The WIA reflects the
principles the President sought in his GI Bill for America's Workers
proposal including: streamlining services through One-Stop Career
Centers; 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 oversee 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 a major impact evaluation
of the Job Corps program. Past studies have found 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. Beginning in July 2000, each State will implement an
accountability system to measure performance. The goal of this system is
to optimize the return on investment of Federal funds directed to State
and local workforce activities. This accountability system will assess
the effectiveness of States and local areas in achieving positive
outcomes and ensuring continuous improvement of their workforce
investment systems. The WIA establishes core performance indicators for
all adult, dislocated worker, and youth programs that help people find
and retain unsubsidized jobs, increase earnings, or lead to further
education and attainment of credentials or employable skills. DOL is
working with each State to establish appropriate baselines and
challenging performance goals. The goals and measures indicated here and
in DOL's performance plan were established using programmatic data from
the predecessor job training program as a baseline.
The WIA establishes strong ties between performance and funding. If a
State fails to meet its expected levels of performance in any year, it
can request technical assistance from DOL. If a State continues to fail
to meet its agreed-upon performance levels for a second year, or if a
State fails to report its performance information in any year, its
funding may be reduced by up to five percent.
Reemployment services: In the 2000 Budget, the President proposed a
major initiative to help working and laid-off workers to get the
information and training they need to succeed in a dynamic labor market.
This budget includes increased funding for new initiatives to ensure
that: (1) all displaced workers would receive the training they want and
need; (2)
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individuals who lose their job due to no fault of their own could get
improved re-employment services; and, (3) every American would have
access to One-Stop Career Center services.
WIA's Dislocated Worker Employment and Training Activities: This
program will provide training and employment services to about 984,000
displaced workers in 2001. The budget proposes $1.8 billion for
dislocated workers, an increase of $181 million over 2000, when the
program will serve 836,000 participants. While new performance measures
will be developed for the WIA beginning in 2001, in 2000, 80 percent of
participants are expected to be employed six months after leaving the
program in jobs that replace, on average, 98 percent of their pre-
dislocation earnings. The budget also includes a legislative proposal to
consolidate and reform the Trade Adjustment Assistance and NAFTA
Transitional Adjustment Assistance programs.
One-Stop Career Centers/Employment Service: The Employment Service
provides a free labor exchange for all job seekers and employers, and is
growing more effective through implementation of a One-Stop delivery
system. The budget proposes $1.010 billion for a range of information
and services, including self-service access to job and labor market
information, either through the Internet or in local offices, as well as
staff-assisted services for those needing more help.
In 2001, DOL and the States will work to increase the number
of employers listing jobs with the AJB website by 10 percent
over the 2000 level while expanding information on local labor
markets to help workers make informed career decisions.
Continued efforts in 2001 to improve access to the information and
services of the One-Stop system will include a toll-free number, mobile
One-Stops, and on-line job information made available at community-based
organizations. In addition, DOL will have the lead in a new
Administration initiative called Access America for Workers. This
initiative envisions a consolidated website that will serve as a single
point of contact for American workers and their families to access a
wide range of Internet-based services, information, and transactions.
Work Incentive Grants: To enhance the employment prospects of
individuals with disabilities, the budget includes $20 million for
competitive grants to partnerships or consortia in each State to provide
new services and information for individuals 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 learn
about the benefits available to them when they return to work. In
addition, the partnerships would improve local service delivery by
coordinating the State and local agencies and disability organizations
that help individuals with disabilities prepare to enter or reenter the
workforce. In 2001, DOL's goal for grantees is a three-percent increase
in the number of individuals with disabilities served and a three-
percent increase in unsubsidized employment outcomes over the 2000
level.
Incumbent Workers: To boost the skills, productivity, and wages of the
U.S. work force, the budget includes $30 million for competitive grants
to States for training and upgrading the skills of currently employed
workers. Applicants would be required to provide non-Federal matching
resources, and employers that received grant assistance would be
expected to demonstrate that training increased participant earnings.
Responsible Reintegration for Young Offenders (RRYO): The budget
includes $75 million for this new initiative to establish partnerships
between the criminal justice system and local one-stop delivery systems
created under the WIA. Young offenders up to age 35 would be able to
access a comprehensive array of services--including education, training,
drug treatment and support services--that would help them successfully
reenter the community.
In 2001, the RRYO will provide competitive grants to serve
almost 19,000 young ex-offenders.
Youth Opportunity Grants (YOG): The YOG 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 $375
million for the third year of five-year competitive grants to 25-30
communities and the first year of
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five-year competitive grants to an additional 12-15 communities.
By 2001, 75 percent of YOG participants placed in employment,
the military, advanced training, postsecondary education, or
apprenticeships will be retained at six months.
Job Corps: The Corps provides skill training, academic and social
education, and support services in a structured, residential setting to
approximately 73,000 very disadvantaged youth per year at 122 centers.
Performance data indicate that, in program year 1998, 82 percent of
Job Corps graduates enrolled in education or entered employment after
leaving the program.
By 2001, 85 percent of Job Corps graduates will be enrolled in
education or get jobs with an average starting wage of $7.25
per hour. In addition, 70 percent will still be enrolled in
education or employed six months after their initial
placement.
Workplace Protections: DOL regulates compliance with various laws
that protect individuals in the workplace--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. (For discussion of
workplace safety programs, see Chapter 21, ``Health.'') 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. DOL measures the success of
these efforts against specific measurable goals:
In 2001, DOL will increase compliance by five percent among
employers who were previously violators and the subject of
repeat investigations in targeted health care, garment, and
identified agricultural commodities industries.
Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB): The budget provides $167
million for ILAB to continue the Administration's commitment to help
developing countries establish core labor standards and reduce
exploitative child labor internationally. The budget includes $55
million for the School Works programs to help developing countries with
high levels of abusive child labor to enroll and retain these children
in basic education as a primary strategy in the elimination of child
labor.
In 2001, ILAB will increase by 50 percent the number of
countries signing memoranda of understanding with the
International Labor Organization's Program on the Elimination
of Child Labor, adding 20 new countries to the IPEC membership
list. In addition, in 2001 ILAB will focus its efforts to
support projects on the worst forms of child labor and
continue to raise public awareness and international support
for the progressive elimination of child labor.
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 $1.5 billion to help achieve this goal through
Welfare-to-Work (WtW) grants in 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. Working closely with Congress, the
Administration secured critically needed changes to WtW's eligibility
and reporting requirements. These streamlined criteria will allow WtW,
within existing resources, to better serve the eligible population and
report program results with minimal burden. The budget includes a
proposal to extend by two years the time period in which grantees may
spend their existing WtW funds.
Fathers Work/Families Win: The budget includes $255 million to put
non-custodial parents who own child support to work so they can support
their children; and help low-income custodial parents stay in their
jobs, move up the career ladder, and remain off cash assistance. DOL
will develop with each successful applicant a goal to increase the
employment, earnings, and retention of program participants.
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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), one
of the Vice President's High Impact Agencies. The budget provides $6.3
billion for Head Start, a $1 billion increase over the 2000 level.
In 2001, Head Start will serve approximately 70,000 additional
children, for a total of 950,000 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 2001
approximately 10,000 more children under age three will
participate in the Early Head Start component, for a total of
nearly 54,000. 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 improve outcomes for
Head Start families, including child growth and development.
In 2001, the Head Start program will increase the average
improvement in literacy skills of Head Start children from 66
to 77 percent. Head Start will also increase the percentage of
participating children whose parents read to them at least
three times per week.
Foster Care and Adoption Assistance: The Administration for Children
and Families (ACF) 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 budget proposes a $5 million pilot initiative
to support Indian Tribes' management of their own child welfare systems.
Currently, tribal child welfare agencies must operate within state
systems to be eligible for Federal support of foster care and adoption
assistance activities. Under the pilot initiative, participating tribes
would receive direct Federal funding, improving their ability to meet
the needs of eligible Native American children.
Decrease the number of children with substantiated reports of
abuse with a repeat report of maltreatment within 12 months
from 12 percent in 1997 to 10 percent in 2001.
Provide children permanency and stability in their living
situations by reducing the median length of time between
placement and adoption for all children from 38 months in 1997
to 37 months in 2001.
Aging Services Programs: The Administration on Aging (AoA)
administers information and assistance, home and community-based support
services for older people, and programs that protect the rights of
vulnerable, at-risk older people. In 2001, the budget proposes $1.1
billion for AoA programs, including $125 million to assist families who
are caring for frail elderly relatives. The goal of care-giver services
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 these activities. The budget also
includes $325 million, an increase of $15 million, for the core
Supportive Services program.
In 2001, AoA will increase the number of meals served under
the Home-Delivered Meals Program to 166 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: Building upon the Administration's commitment to shape and
strengthen the role of national service, AmeriCorps' goal is to expand
service opportunities to 100,000 participants by 2004.
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In 2001, AmeriCorps will engage 62,000 Americans in community
service, and provide education awards in return for such
service.
Learn and Serve America: This program provides young people with
opportunities to serve by connecting community service with academic
learning, personal growth and civic responsibility.
In 2001, 15,000 high school students who have provided
outstanding community service will receive Presidential
Service Scholarships--compared with 10,000 students in 2000.
National Senior Service Corps: The Corps, which includes 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 2001, Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions will serve
160,000 special-needs youth and frail elderly, while retired
senior volunteers and volunteer leaders will work to further
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 as part of their missions the advancement of knowledge and
sharing that knowledge with the American public. To accomplish its
mission, each institution must maintain its physical infrastructure and
provide access to its unique assets.
In 2001, each agency will provide new and updated exhibits and
performances, including, for example, major traveling exhibitions from
the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art and National Portrait
Gallery to cities nationwide. In 2001, each agency will protect its
unique assets by implementing its comprehensive plans for repair and
renovation, including completion of repairs of the National Gallery of
Art's Mall steps and initiating repairs on the Gallery's West Building
facade and connecting link expansion joints.
In 1999, the National Gallery of Art had 6.7 million visitors, the
highest total since 1988, due primarily to the success of the special
exhibitions program that included the critically and publicly acclaimed
Van Gogh exhibition. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum hosted two
million visitors and had 1.3 million visitors to its website while
attendance at traveling exhibitions increased by 29 percent over 1998.
In 1999, the Kennedy Center completed a comprehensive upgrade of its
building automation system and began work on an energy conservation
plan.
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 $206
million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to
support museums and libraries. In 2001, the Endowments and IMLS will
fund education and life-long learning as well as projects 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 given to underserved areas and
to the use of the arts and humanities to strengthen community and family
life.
In 2001 the NEA's proposed Challenge America program will
award more than 1,100 grants, directly or in partnership with
States, to communities across America for Arts Education,
Access to the Arts, Youth-at-Risk, Cultural Heritage and
Preservation, and Community Arts Partnerships.
In 2001, the 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
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cultural and intellectual resources; and dramatically expand
access to humanities programming for millions of citizens in
rural areas and cities nationwide.
In 2001, IMLS will promote access to learning and information
resources held by museums and libraries through electronic
linkages, helping all 55 State library agencies expand
electronic access to materials 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 under current law will cost an
estimated $59 billion in 2001, and $307 billion from 2001 to 2005. 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. Since
1998, many taxpayers have been able to 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.
In 2000, the Administration secured an extension through December 2001
of the current exclusion from employee income of employer-provided
educational assistance, known as section 127 of the Internal Revenue
Code. New education tax provisions in the budget include proposals to
provide tax credits to support public school construction and
rehabilitation; expand the Lifetime Learning tax credit by giving
families the option of taking a tax deduction or claiming a 28 percent
tax credit for postsecondary tuition and fees; 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;
eliminate the tax owed when certain student loans are forgiven after 25
years of repayment; and, 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.