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The Government in the Sunshine Act, passed by Congress in September 1976 to become effective in March 1977, will require many of the federal government's decision-making agencies to permit attendance by the press and public at agency meetings. This report details the provisions of the new law and comments on the effects it may have on the operations of agencies involved. Agency meetings; exemptions from the rule; enforcment of openness; "ex parte" contacts; impact of the new act on the press, the public, and the Freedom of Information Act; and the outlook for increased government openness are also discussed. (KS)

This report outlines the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) regulatory authority over the licensing and operation of commercial, educational, and public broadcasting in the United States. Also described are rules and regulations governing the program content and advertising, in relation to the fairness doctrine, free speech, and public interest. The report contains a list of professional organizations and publications pertaining to radio and television broadcasting. (SC)

Covering the period from October 1, 1975, to September 30, 1976, this annual report contains information on the Colorado Career Information System's (COCIS) administration and organization, information development, delivery vehicle, and marketing and field services. (COCIS is an on-line computerized career information system that has been available for marketing since September 15, 1976. It contains the following files: Occupational Description, Preparation, Program, Employers, Bibliography, Women's Career Resources, and Job Skills. It includes 234 occupations which have localized data for the Denver metropolitan and State of Colorado areas. An occupational information library, using the Oregon classification system, has been established, as well as review panels for the occupations and update cycles for new and corrected material.) Appendixes make up the majority of the document and cover the following items: (1) Administration and organization information (administrative staff, organization structure, COCIS board members, and board meeting minutes); (2) information development (library list, library categories, occupation list, program list, samples of PROG, DESC, and PREP files, and samples of employers, bibliography, women's career resources, and job search files, test site instruments, test site results report, COCIS-COVIEW merger, and process evaluation; and (3) marketing and field services (demonstrations, product offering, preliminary income projections, proposed target populations, priority groupings of COCIS populations, the five COCIS regions, second year marketing timetable, cost guidelines, proposed user handbook, tentime user contract, COCIS/user contract, and COCIS/computer service contract). (TA)

A process assessment was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the procedure used by the Bureau of Occupational and Adult Education, U.S. Office of Education (USOE), in conducting State Management Evaluation Reviews for Compliance (MERC) with Federal legislation and regulations governing public vocational and adult education programs. The purpose was to assure that the continuation of the MERC process be of greatest value to the future relationship between Federal and State agencies. The objectives of this assessment were: (1) To determine the feasibility of continuing the program, (2) to determine ways to improve the process, (3) to identify cost to States for the review, (4) to identify benefits to the States, and (5) to identify benefits to USOE. Utilizing a structured interview approach, Sierra Planning and Research Associates (SPRA) contacted personnel in 5 of the 13 States which had been reviewed by MERC. SPRA also interviewed personnel in six regional offices and various personnel from the central USOE. Additionally, SPRA observed the MERC review in Idaho. A total of 87 persons were interviewed by SPRA, and data from these various sources yielded 14 recommendations which are categorized as follows: (1) The MERC process should be better organized, (2) communications should be improved among all personnel, (3) the MERC process should be reviewed periodically to remove or alter unsuitable items, and (4) the process should be systematized through the development and usage of a procedures manual. The general conclusion of the investigators is that the MERC process should be continued on a regular basis as practically all the people interviewed held the concept of MERC in esteem. (Author/HD)

Rather than purporting to be a definitive study in data gathering techniques for federal and state regulatory agencies, this paper is a systems approach for gathering data for affirmative action utilization availability analysis and for setting goals and time tables at a large university. The system is essentially for a large university setting but could be adapted to other types of educational institutions. The section dealing with laws and orders regarding equal employment opportunity offers a modicum and synthesis of most of the mandates, executive orders, and acts that offer guidelines and pertinent information. The systems and PERT charts are given with sufficient detail for in-depth study. It is hoped that the paper will provide a basic understanding of the complexities involved in gathering data for federal and state regulatory agencies dealing with affirmative action. (Author/LBH)

This document presents reports covering the first 3 years of the Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC). The first is an account by the board chairman of the activities of OUAC Board of Management. The second, by the director of the Application Centre, recounts the development of the centre and of the undergraduate applications system. (MJM)

Volume 2 contains 15 productivity case studies which illustrate and expand on the causal factors mentioned in volume 1. The cases illustrate many different approaches to productivity measurement improvement. The case studies are: Development of an Output-Productivity Measure for the Air Force Medical Service; Measuring Effectiveness and Efficiency in the Army Materiel Command; The Effectiveness/Productivity Program in the Defense Mapping Agency; Productivity Measurement in the Defense Supply Agency; Technology Repair Centers in the Air Force; Budget Use of Productivity Measures in the National Labor Relations Board; Productivity Case Study of the Farmers Home Administration; Management Use of Productivity Measures in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing; Productivity Improvement in the Bureau of the Mint; Productivity through Automation in the Bureau of the Public Debt; Improved Measurement of Productivity in Power Operations of the TVA; Productivity Measurement and Quality Evaluation in the Social Security Administration; Productivity Improvement in Clerical Functions of the VA; Improved Productivity in a Regional Office, Bureau of Labor Statistics; and Improving Productivity in Nashville, Tennessee. (Author/NH)

Volume 1 reports on Federal productivity and productivity trends for Fiscal Years 1967-1973, and comments on the causes of productivity increases and decreases. The report, prepared to promote improved financial management in individual agencies and on a government-wide scale, includes productivity measurement data supplied by 46 agencies. The report indicates considerable progress has been made in the measurement of productivity but that many opportunities exist for further productivity improvements. Factors which can be used to motivate increased productivity are discussed. Overall Productivity Trends summarizes coverage of the FY 1973 sample; the trends of input, output, and productivity for FY 1967-73; and the analysis of causal factors which influenced the direction of productivity trends. Chapters 3-19 describe productivity trends in the following areas: agriculture and natural resources; citizens' records; training and education; medical services; loans and grants; postal service; power; reference services; regulation; specialized manufacturing; transportation; maintenance of facilities; overhaul and repair of equipment; procurement and supply; standard printing; general support; and government-Owned, contractor-operated activities. The Relation of Productivity Measures to Other Performance Measures, Cooperation with State and Local Governments, and Conclusions are the concluding chapters. Study related materials are appended. (NH)

Volume 3 of the 3-volume report by ACKCO, Inc. presents various appendixes pertaining to the legislative review and the fiscal, management, and program studies conducted by ACKCO, Inc. to review the Impact-Aid Program, Johnson-O'Malley Program, Indian Education Act, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I. A chronological summary of the principal Federal legislation affecting education from 1777 to 1974 is given. Findings for each of the various sites visited are discussed. The appendixes include: (1) charts of rating summaries by funding source within organizational level; (2) diagrams illustrating the flow of funds to the various sites which were visited; (3) recommendations and/or comments offered by some of the personnel who were interviewed during the field visits; (4) management profile of the sampled State Education Agency Planning Units; (5) fiscal compliance ratings based on generally accepted auditing procedures and on the rules and regulations of the laws being considered; (6) charts of revenue by source and site, schedule of Federally-sponsored programs, and expenditures by function and site; (7) scale content for program questionnaires, sample descriptions, and an analysis of program data at a single site; and (8) a review of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Listings of abbreviations used, legal cases, and a selected bibliography are also given. (NQ)

Volume 2 of a 3-volume report presents the major findings and discussions of ACKCO, Inc.'s legislative review and empirical research of the Impact-Aid Program, Johnson-O'Malley (JOM) Program, Indian Education Act, and Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I. The empirical findings, which form the basis for most of the conclusions and recommendations, are from the fiscal, management, and program studies. Among these findings are: (1) Indian children are not receiving an adequate share of Title I funds to meet their needs; (2) the JOM Act had not been used as extensively as it could and should be due to the BIA's interpretation of the Act; (3) a great difference existed in the money appropriated for BIA education and the money actually spent per pupil in BIA schools; and (4) existing methods of school financing have neither assured that Indian children receive an equalized per pupil expenditure nor that they are provided an adequate basic education program. Recommendations are also given for Titles I and IV, P.L. 874, JOM, and the SEA. Results of the surveys of parent advisory committees and of business community attitudes toward the educational program are also included. A discussion is presented on the degree of success of these programs in meeting the Indian educational needs. (NQ)

For potential grant applicants and for the general public, the booklet describes the programs of the six Public Health Service agencies in the American health care system. Each program is described concisely in terms of: its purpose and legal basis; applicants' eligibility for grants and the basis for their award; the special requirements made of applicants; and instructions for applications. The programs are presented by agency: the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA), which deals with the sociomedical proglems of alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and mental illness; the Center for Disease Control (CDC), which leads the national attach on communicable and vector-borne diseases, and works to control many other, noninfectious conditions; the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is the nation's first consumer-protection agency; the Health Resources Administration (HRA), responsible for health planning, manpower training, and research and evaluation of health resources and needs; the Health Services Administration, (HSA), whose goal is to improve the delivery of health services; and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which conducts and supports basic research, research training, and biomedical communications. (Author/AJ)

The review of the funding aspect of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973 (CETA) under Titles 1 and 2 was conducted by the General Accounting Office (GAO). Title 1 of the Act authorizes comprehensive manpower services to be provided by prime sponsors, and Title 2 is designed to provide transitional employment opportunities and public services in unemployment areas and to enable enrollees to obtain jobs not supported under this title. The review focuses on: (1) the legislative history of CETA, (2) the appropriation of Title 1 funds for fiscal year 1975 and Title 2 funds for fiscal years 1974 and 1975, and (3) the Department of Labor's policies and procedures for allocating these funds. The review is based upon an examination of records and interviews with officials at the Department of Labor headquarters and four regional offices as well as with certain State and local officials in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Virginia. The methodology for generating unemployment data used to make the allocations is briefly discussed. Appended materials include: (1) an example of the effect of the trade-off factor in fiscal year 1974 Title 2 allocations, and (2) a response to the GAO report by the Department of Labor. (Author/EC)

The report evaluates the civil rights activities of several Federal agencies with responsibilities for ensuring nondiscrimination toward women and minorities in their Federally assisted programs under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The agencies reviewed are the Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture; the Health and Social Services Division of the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; the Department of the Interior; the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration of the Department of Justice; the Manpower Administration of the Department of Labor; the Federal Highway and the Urban Mass Transportation Administrations of the Department of Transportation; the Environmental Protection Agency; and the Federal Programs Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Some of the areas analyzed within the agencies are program and civil rights responsibilities, organization and staffing, data collection, complaint investigations, compliance programs, audits, enforcement action, regulations and guidelines, coordination activities, litigation, certification, and reporting systems. The evaluations are based on a review of documents produced by these agencies, interviews with Federal officials, and an analysis of available literature. It offers recommendations for the improvement of programs which require change. Twenty-two charts supplement the discussions. (Author/EC)

A survey of 136 doctorate-holding administrators employed in the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the United States Office of Education sought to measure educational administrators' perceptions of their responsibilities, training and background, future orientation, and job satisfaction. Two types of analyses were used: an analysis of computerized personnel data, and an analysis of administrators' responses to an 18-item questionnaire. Questionnaire items fell into four general categories, including perceptions about job preferences, perceptions about graduate preparation and choice of academic field, perceptions about present administrative responsibilities, and perceptions about teaching, research, and choice of colleagues. A number of data tables summarize both the computerized personnel information and administrators' responses to the various questionnaire items. (Author/JG)

The stated objectives of the study reported here were to determine the answers to the following questions: what Federal, State and local programs provide contracting opportunities for minorities and women equal to those provided to nonminority males; if not, what the barriers to their full participation are; to what extent special State or local contracting programs have been established to facilitate contracting with firms owned by minorities and women; whether distinct organizational mechanisms have been established to implement such special contracting programs, and if so, whether such mechanisms are adequately equipped to carry out their task; whether goals have been established for such programs and are these programs achieving their goals; whether the type and size of contracts being awarded through the special programs aid the development of the firsts they are designed to assist; whether there is an edequate flow of information to minorities and women regarding Federal, State, and local contracting opportunities; whether unique problems are encountered by minority and female-owned firms supplying goods and services to government agencies; and, whether the government's purchasing power is being effectively used to aid the development of firms owned by minorities and women. Data on Federal contracting programs were gathered from responses to a questionnaire sent to 10 Federal agencies and two offices responsible for administering Indian programs. (Author/JM)

The handbook is designed to help State Planning Agencies (SPA, grantees of Federal funds) to develop or improve performance monitoring systems in order to monitor the implementation, operation, and results of the criminal justice projects they support. Such monitoring is required by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) guidelines. The suggested procedures were obtained by telephone survey, review of materials, and visits to 55 SPAs and represent those practices which appeared most useful in meeting the LEAA guidelines. A chapter discussing monitoring requirements defines the nature and scope of the required monitoring, and describes its relationship to management and other types of evaluation. In another chapter the major problems confronting monitoring system managers are identified. The remaining four chapters detail how the manager can use the monitoring system to accomplish these four identified tasks: establishing agreement on information required by the user, establishing agreement with the subgrantee (unit of local or State government receiving Federal funds from the SPA for a criminal justice project) on what will be monitored, establishing the information flow, and assuring the utilization of monitoring information. Appended material (79 pages) includes detailed examples (identified by State) of procedures and materials used in monitoring criminal justice programs. (Author/MS)

Designed for those seeking information relative to Federal aid and educational opportunities now afforded the American Indian, this brief booklet describes the Indian Education Act of 1972 (Title IV Public Law 92-318, Education Amendments of 1972). The 4 major components of this Act provide for financial aid to: Part A--local and nonlocal educational agencies; Part B--special programs and projects designed to improve educational opportunities for Indian children through support of pilot and demonstration projects; Part C--programs designed to improve Indian adult education; and Part D--establishment of a Bureau-level Office of Indian Education within the U.S. Office of Education (for administration of grants and contracts under the 1972 Act) and a National Advisory Council on Indian Education (members charged with advisory and evaluative responsibilities relative to governmental programs affecting Indian interests). Additional brochure information includes reference to previous educational legislation affecting the Indian, programs already funded via this Act, the initial steps necessary for those desiring to establish programs under this Act, and the major conditions necessary for application approval as specified in Parts A, B, and C of this Act. (JC)

The voucher training program for Work Incentive Program (WIN) clients described within this interim report is a system for providing occupational training to clients through entitlements rather than direct service (client and trainer are in a direct relationship facilitated by the agency). The basic program objective, discussed in the introduction, is to maximize the extent to which clients make occupational decisions, selecting the type of training which they feel is most suitable (in a vocational school or on the job) and negotiating for training without intercession by WIN but within the context of existing statutes and program guidelines. Part I describes the procedures in administering the voucher program and the role of the WIN staff and includes (1) the program design, (2) the voucher process, (3) special counseling and information system, and (4) staff qualification and training. Part II deals with administrative considerations bearing on the feasibility of the vouchering system and contains selected empirical findings from program field tests conducted between 1974 and 1976 in Portland, Oregon and Baltimore, Maryland. Comparisons are made between vouchered (institutional and OJT) and regular clients with respect to demographic characteristics, training occupations, school and/or employer characteristics, length and cost of training, and training completion rates. Complete findings and a summary of findings are included along with sample copies of a voucher and other program materials. (EM)