Search

Examines the financial system of children and family services in the United States. Implication of existing financial systems for legal, political, administrative and attitudinal challenges in implementing community-based service delivery; Benefits of alternative financing approaches to educational and psychological consulting communities.

The article presents information on the role of States in the implementation of federal categorical aid programs in education in the U.S. The State Education Agencies (SEA) are playing an increasingly dominant role in initiating and controlling educational governance and policy decisions. Intergovernmental implementation is strongly affected by the way federal expectations and administrative actions interact with state context to influence the role orientation of SEA program staff. The three critical components of intergovernmental implementation framework are: the context of intergovernmental implementation; key intergovernmental implementation variables and State role orientation. Though changes in a statute and in regulations can clarify federal expectations and can reduce the possibility for intergovernmental conflicts that arise over ambiguities in expectations, equal importance should be placed on role orientation and the critical conditions for effective intergovernmental program administration. There is a need to promote greater congruence between federal administrative expectations and local performance in discrete categorical education programs.