Related Guides
Policy related databases
- PolicyFile : public policy research and analysisProvides online access to abstracts and if available, links to full-text articles on public policy research and analysis from think tanks, university research programs, research organizations and publishers.
- CQ electronic libraryThe CQ (Congressional Quarterly) Electronic Library is an integrated search environment providing access to 8 separate CQ resources for research on American Government, history, politics, public policy, and current events. Provides access to research and reference articles, opinion and news coverage, data, and contact directories. Congressional Quarterly is renowned for non-partisan coverage of U.S. Government issues and activity.
CRS subject terms
When searching for current proposed legislation it can be helpful to use the controlled subject terms. Here is a list of the terms that might be most relevant for this class.
Families
Adoption and foster care
Adult day care
Child care and development
Child safety and welfare
Domestic violence and child abuse
Family relationships
Marriage and family status
Separation, divorce, custody, support
Teenage pregnancy
Health
Allergies
Allied health services
Alternative treatments
Birth defects
Blood and blood diseases
Cancer
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Cell biology and embryology
Child health
Comprehensive health care
Dental care
Digestive and metabolic diseases
Disability and paralysis
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Drug and radiation therapy
Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Environmental health
Family planning and birth control
General health and health care finance matters
Genetics
Health care costs and insurance
Health care quality
Health care coverage and access
Health facilities and institutions
Health information and medical records
Health personnel
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Hearing, speech, and vision care
Hereditary and development disorders
HIV/AIDS
Home and outpatient care
Hospital care
Immunology
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Medicaid
Medical education
Medical ethics
Medical research
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Medicare
Mental health
Minority health
Musculoskeletal and skin diseases
Neurological disorders
Nutrition and diet
Introduction
This guides to designed to identify basic resources for identifying and accessing federal legislation, policies and programs related to contemporary social issues and child development, research in applied settings, assessment, intervention, and prevention, as well as program evaluation.
Federal Legislation
The federal legislative process is documented in easily accessible. Use these resources to identify current/past issues being discuss in Congress and status of proposed legislation.
- Thomas.govThomas.gov includes the following features and content:Bills, Resolutions; Activity in Congress; Congressional Record; Schedules, Calendars; Committee Information; Presidential Nominations; Treaties; Government Resources; For Teachers; Help and Contact
- ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new windowUse to find indexing information for Congressional Committee Hearings and supporting reports and documents. Search the title to identify the location for the item. If you need assistance email corthalf@ku.edu
- FDsys This link opens in a new windowThis full text resources provides among other things full text transcripts for Congressional Committee hearings and related documents and reports.
Try various keyword searches and then refine the search using the limits in the left navigation of the results page.
For example: "child health" AND "school lunches". You can see that during 2010 there were several proposed bills and Congressional hearings and reports discussing the topic.
Regulations and Agency Oversight of Programs
Once legislation has passed the appropriate agency is assigned the authority to regulate and monitor programs, distribute funds to state programs, conduct research etc. Here are a basic tools to identify some of the plethora of government information.
- Federal RegisterThis is the web 2.0 version of the Federal Register which is a daily journal designed to inform citizens of their rights and obligations, documents the actions of Federal agencies, and provides a forum for public participation in the democratic process.
It consists of four types of entries:
Presidential Documents; Rules and Regulations; Proposed Rules; and Notices. - U.S. Government's Official Web PortalExplore topic is a directory access to information (instead of a google search)
Find Government Agencies include state, local and tribal (not just federal) - U.S. Government's Official Web SearchThis is a very targeted web search engine which searching webpages for only federal, state, local and tribal government information (not dot.coms).
For example, search for "mandatory public education" will provide hits for state level information such as Massachusetts has mandatory public education and you can link to the laws on a state website.
Specialized Government Web sites
There are various agency and inter-agency web sites designed to provide access government information and resources for both board and narrow policy issues. These are a few that might be relevant to this class.
- ChildStats.gov"This website offers easy access to statistics and reports on children and families, including: family and social environment, economic circumstances, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education and health. The Forum fosters coordination, collaboration, and integration of Federal efforts to collect and report data on conditions and trends for children and families."
- HealthFinder.gov"When making decisions about your health, it’s important to know where to go to get the latest, most reliable information. healthfinder.gov has resources on a wide range of health topics selected from over 1,600 government and non-profit organizations to bring you the best, most reliable health information on the Internet."
- Kids.gov"Kids.gov is the official kids' portal for the U.S. government. It links to over 2,000 web pages from government agencies, schools, and educational organizations, all geared to the learning level and interest of kids. Kids.gov is maintained by the Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC), those folks in Pueblo, CO 81009. You can learn more about FCIC by visiting www.pueblo.gsa.gov."
- GirlsHealth.gov"Girlshealth.gov was created in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office on Women’s Health (OWH) to help girls (ages 10 to 16) learn about health, growing up, and issues they may face. Girlshealth.gov promotes healthy and positive behaviors in girls, giving them reliable and useful health information in a fun, easy-to-understand way. The website also provides information to parents and educators to help them teach girls about healthy living."
- IDEA - Building The Legacy of IDEA 2004"This site was created to provide a "one-stop shop" for resources related to IDEA and its implementing regulations, released on August 3, 2006. It is a "living" website and will change and grow as resources and information become available. When fully implemented, the site will provide searchable versions of IDEA and the regulations, access to cross-referenced content from other laws (e.g., the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), etc.), ..."
