The Role of Budget and Financial Reform in Making Government Work Better and Cost Less

Budgeting and Financial Management play a crucial role in organizing and disciplining the federal management culture. Consequently, addressing improvements in their practice is essential in the National Performance Review's examination of government-wide management systems. This article briefly describes the recommendations and anticipated implementing actions relating to budgeting and financial management within the context of the National Performance Review's themes of cutting red tape, putting customers first, empowering employees to get results, and cutting back to basics. External factors, such as innovations in private sector management practices, rapid changes in information technology, and statutory reforms such as the Government Performance and Results Act, also influence needed changes in budgetary and financial management practices.     

Evaluating the 'New Public Management' Reforms in the UK: A Constitutional Possibility

Far-reaching managerial changes to the public sector in the UK have been occurring in the last few years. Broadly described as the 'new public management' (Hood 1991, 1995) these changes have reached new levels of intensity ever since the Conservative Government came to power in 1979. The article argues that the government should be accountable for these changes but not in a way which simply justifies its actions to the body politic but rather by going beyond this to a complete critical evaluation to assess their merit and worth. It is this exposure which will provide its real accountability. This article addresses the contextual factors surrounding the possibility of conducting such a wide-ranging evaluation. It traces a range of different examples which highlight the resistance of the previous government to an open-ended evaluation tracing the sizeable investment in implementation rather than careful policy experimentation and evaluation that has occurred. Finally, and most importantly the article explores the constitutional position of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) and the National Audit Office (NAO) who could conduct the wide-ranging evaluation which is deemed necessary. The conclusion of the article is that there is a need for an evaluation and any resistance of the government could be overcome if the C&AG and NAO exercised their constitutional right to conduct an evaluation of the reforms.     

CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES:

Since 1989, federal law requires states to have presumptive child support guidelines and review them using economic data on child-rearing costs at least once every 4 years. This article reviews the child support guidelines models adopted by states, how they relate to estimates of child-rearing expenditures, the extent that states are updating their guidelines, and some of the more controversial guidelines provisions (i.e., adjustments for shared-parenting time, additional dependent children, and low-income nonresidential parents). We find that many states are not updating their core formulas and schedules. As a result, several state guidelines produce support award amounts that are below the costs of raising children.     

Forensic Psychological Expertise in the Wake of Daubert

Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. established guidelines for screening the admissibility of scientific evidence and overruled the Frye general acceptance doctrine. Guidelines more akin to those advocated by psychologists to assess the trustworthiness of the expert testimony were established in light of the Federal Rules of Evidence on the reliability, relevance, and prejudicial or probative nature of the information. Forensic psychological experts will have to be explicit about the scientific foundations of their opinions. The more flexible formula for the admission of scientific evidence may exert greater quality control than the Frye test, and enhance the relationship of psychology and law by eliminating some sources of controversy within the professional community over expert witnesses. Research needs flowing from the new standards are identified. Administrative Judge with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Southern California, and a Mediator and Arbitrator with Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services/Endispute     

The dark figure of infanticide in England and Wales: complexities of diagnosis

Infants aged younger than 12 months have the highest homicide victimization rate of any single age group in England and Wales. In addition, there are good grounds for believing that the official homicide statistics for this particular age group are an underestimate and subject to distortion. At the same time there is evidence mounting in the United Kingdom that some parents have been incorrectly convicted of infanticide. This article first explores all recorded cases of infanticide in England and Wales for the period 1995-2002 (298 cases in total). Characteristics of the offenders, victims, offense, and court outcomes are examined. The second part of the article takes a critical gaze at the complexities involved in distinguishing infanticide from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and other sudden unexplained deaths in infancy (SUDI). The article ends by considering in what ways infant deaths might be more effectively investigated.     

Child-rearing practices and attitudes of working and full-time mothers

Mothers who wish to work are faced with the double burden of paid employment and childcare. They also have to confront the widely held view that ‘a woman's place is in the home’ and the prevailing popular opinion that a mother who also works outside the home is somehow harming her child. Previous research has shown little evidence that maternal employment disadvantages children.The present study, a comparison of the child-rearing practices and attitudes of a group of working (both full- and part-time) and a group of full-time mothers of 4 year olds, reveals few significant differences between the two groups. Mothers in paid employment differ in only one child-rearing practice: they place greater stress on table manners.However, a number of significant attitudinal differences emerged between the two groups of mothers: working mothers found their child rearing more pleasurable, their relationship with the child was better and the child was more likely to be described as happy and contented. Working mothers were rated warmer, higher in self-esteem and less anxious about their child rearing. Husbands of working mothers were more likely and more willing to participate in childcare and were rated as having a more affectionate relationship with the child. Overall, the results of the study are strongly supportive of the aspirations of the growing number of women who wish to combine work and motherhood.