The Court Improvement Project was created as part of the US federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1993, Public Law 103-66. OBRA designated a portion of these funds ($5 million in fiscal year 1995 and $10 million in each of FYs 1996 through 1998) for grants to state court systems to conduct assessments of their dependency courts, and to develop and implement a plan for system improvement. The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA), Public Law 105-89, reauthorized the CIP through 2001, which Congress funded at $10 million annually. There were no substantive changes made to the CIP in the 1997 reauthorization.
The Promoting Safe and Stable Families Amendments of 2001, Public Law 107-133, reauthorized the Court Improvement Program through FY 2006. The law also expanded the scope of the program to: (1) include improvements that the highest courts deem necessary to provide for the safety, well-being, and permanence of children in foster care, as set forth in ASFA; and (2) implement a corrective action plan, as necessary, in response to findings identified in a child and family services review of the State's child welfare system. Public Law 107-133 authorizes a mandatory funding level of $10 million for CIP and new discretionary funding for FYs 2002 through 2006. From any discretionary funding appropriated annually for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program, the law authorizes a 3.3 percent set-aside for the CIP. Finally, the Court Improvement Program authority was transferred to a new section 438 of the Social Security Act.
A substantial increase in funding for CIP occurred in 2006, when two additional ten million dollar grants were authorized.
Funded in 2004 by the Children's Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the National Evaluation of the Court Improvement Program is a five-year study being carried out by a partnership of three organizations consisting of Planning and Learning Technologies (Pal-Tech, Inc.) of Arlington, VA; The Urban Institute of Washington, DC; and The Center for Policy Research of Denver, Colorado [1] [2]
The USA PATRIOT Act was a landmark Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, and the commonly used short name is a contrived acronym that is embedded in the name set forth in the statute.
Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The program is designed to investigate and cleanup sites contaminated with hazardous substances. Sites managed under this program are referred to as Superfund sites. There are 40,000 federal Superfund sites across the country, and approximately 1,300 of those sites have been listed on the National Priorities List (NPL). Sites on the NPL are considered the most highly contaminated and undergo longer-term remedial investigation and remedial action (cleanups).
The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – formerly known as the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) – is a program administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides matching funds to states for health insurance to families with children. The program was designed to cover uninsured children in families with incomes that are modest but too high to qualify for Medicaid. The program was passed into law as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, and the statutory authority for CHIP is under title XXI of the Social Security Act.
The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 was a United States federal law that was repealed and replaced by the 2014 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was passed by the 89th United States Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11, 1965. Part of Johnson's "War on Poverty", the act has been one of the most far-reaching pieces of federal legislation affecting education ever passed by the United States Congress, and was further emphasized and reinvented by its modern, revised No Child Left Behind Act.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a piece of American legislation that ensures students with a disability are provided with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is tailored to their individual needs. IDEA was previously known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) from 1975 to 1990. In 1990, the United States Congress reauthorized EHA and changed the title to IDEA. Overall, the goal of IDEA is to provide children with disabilities the same opportunity for education as those students who do not have a disability.
The United States Children's Bureau is a federal agency organized under the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families. Today, the bureau's operations involve improving child abuse prevention, foster care, and adoption. Historically, its work was much broader, as shown by the 1912 act which created and funded it:
The said bureau shall investigate and report to [the Department of Commerce and Labor] upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of children and child life among all classes of our people, and shall especially investigate the questions of infant mortality, the birth-rate, orphanage, juvenile courts, desertion, dangerous occupations, accidents and diseases of children, employment, legislation affecting children in the several states and territories.
The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1988 provides financial assistance for demonstration programs for the prevention, identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect and to establish a National Center on Child Abuse. Additionally, it identifies the federal role in supporting research, evaluation, technical assistance, and data collection activities; establishes the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect; and mandates the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information. It also sets forth a minimum definition of child abuse and neglect.
The Adoption and Safe Families Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 19, 1997, after having been approved by the United States Congress earlier in the month.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 is a United States law that mandates equity, accountability, and excellence in education for children with disabilities. As of 2018, approximately seven million students enrolled in U.S. schools receive special education services due to a disability.
The Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) provides financial support for historic preservation projects throughout the United States. The fund is administered by the National Park Service (NPS), pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA). The fund provides state historic preservation agencies with matching funds to implement the act.
The Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 aims to assist youth aging out of foster care in the United States in obtaining and maintaining independent living skills. Youth aging out of foster care, or transitioning out of the formal foster care system, are one of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations. As youth age out of the foster care system at age 18, they are expected to become self-sufficient immediately, even though on average youth in the United States are not expected to reach self-sufficiency until age 26.
The Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 was separate legislation that revised and reauthorized federally supported agricultural research, education, and extension programs from June 1998 through May 2002. The 1998 Act built upon reforms that were made in the research title of the farm law in effect at the time, the 1996 farm bill. Key provisions were new accountability measures for recipients of federal research funds, and a new competitive research grant program called the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems, for which mandatory funds were authorized. The 1998 law's provisions, as well as new revisions of research, education, and extension policies, are included in Title VII of the 2002 farm bill.
The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968 is legislation enacted by the United States Congress and signed into law on August 24, 1968, which expanded the Interstate Highway System by 1,500 miles (2,400 km); provided funding for new interstate, primary, and secondary roads in the United States; explicitly applied the environmental protections of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966 to federal highway projects; and applied the Davis–Bacon Act to all highway construction funded by the federal government. It established three new programs: a National Bridge Inspection Program, funding and fair housing standards for those displaced by federally funded highway construction, and a traffic operations study program.
The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013 is a law enacted by the 113th United States Congress. The Act amends the Public Health Service Act in order to extend, fund, and improve several programs designed to prepare the United States and health professionals in the event of a pandemic, epidemic, or biological, chemical, radiological, or nuclear accident or attack. The Act clarifies the authority of different American officials, makes it easier to temporarily reassign personnel to respond to emergency situations, and alters the process for testing and producing medical countermeasures. The Act is focused on improving preparedness for any public health emergency.
The Victims of Child Abuse Act Reauthorization Act of 2013 is a bill that would reauthorize the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 and would authorize funding through 2018 to help child abuse victims. The funding is directed to Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs).
The Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2013 is a law that amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize payments to children's hospitals for operating training programs that provide graduate medical education. The law authorizes funding for approximately 55 eligible hospitals across 30 different states. The Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2013 became law during the 113th United States Congress.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is a program of the Administration for Children and Families, an office within the United States Department of Health and Human Services, created with the passing of the United States Refugee Act of 1980. The Office of Refugee Resettlement offers support for refugees seeking safe haven within the United States, including victims of human trafficking, those seeking asylum from persecution, survivors of torture and war, and unaccompanied alien children. The mission and purpose of the Office of Refugee Resettlement is to assist in the relocation process and provide needed services to individuals granted asylum within the United States.
The federal government of the United States has limited authority to act on education, and education policy serves to support the education systems of state and local governments through funding and regulation of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education. The Department of Education serves as the primary government organization responsible for enacting federal education policy in the United States.
The Education for Economic Security Act is a United States federal education law that was enacted in 1984. It provided funding for programs to support schools and teachers in the instruction of math and science, including grants, awards, and scholarships. The act funded teacher training programs and awarded schools and teachers that excelled in the instruction of math and science. The act also developed a program to combat asbestos in schools, fund magnet schools, and protect students from religious discrimination.