Do you feel the weight of high school-the courses, the requirements, the credits-and question whether your young adult will be prepared with the skills needed for life? Cheryl Bastian, twenty-six year veteran homeschooler, mother of eight, and educational consultant designed More than Credits: Skills High Schoolers Need for Life, a ready-to-use guide parents can reference as they walk alongside their teens and young adults through five personal development credits¿Nutrition and Wellness,¿Personal Fitness,¿Personal Awareness and Career Exploration, ¿Philosophy, and¿Personal Finance.Each course intentionally prepares learners to be future-ready while gaining a better understanding of who they are and what they believe. In addition, they will discover how they can use their unique giftings and strengths to add value and contribute to their communities or workplace. Content offers ¿practical skill acquisition through personalized project-based learning, ¿experiential opportunities, ¿related literature and writing suggestions, and ¿meaningful discussion topics and questions. High school is more than checking boxes and meeting requirements. It's about young adults being equipped with the skill sets and emotional intelligence necessary for life beyond graduation.

The new tax credits (the child tax credit and the working tax credit) were introduced in April 2003. Government statistics indicate that 6 million families and 10 million children benefit from the receipt of these credits. In 2003-04 period about one-third of all tax credits awards, 1.9 million, were overpaid, at a cost of nearly £2 billion. This report by the Treasury Committee examines the reasons for the high level of overpayments. The Committee acknowledges recent research which suggests that the tax credits regime is designed to deliver the correct amount of state assistance over the year as a whole, rather than over a shorter period, and that payments should perhaps be aligned more with the financial needs of families who budget over shorter periods. The Committee states that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) need to develop a detailed understanding of the factors that have led to overpayment, such as how much official errors and IT system errors have caused or contributed to overpayments. The report also considers the incidence of fraud, error on the part of claimants and organised crime. The Committee also feels that the administration of the tax credits regime has been based around individual functions or tasks, rather than centred around the needs of the claimants and that the HMRC needs to institute a claimant-centred approach to the administration of tax credits