Our work group wishes to thank CFRC staffer Laura Dale at Loughborough for extraordinary efforts in producing this statement in record time and for her care and assistance with all phases of our Summit activity.

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In recent years, presidents have utilized public appeals on behalf of their nominees to the U.S. Courts of Appeals with increasing regularity. In this study, I examine the timing, audience, and themes of these presidential speeches from 1977 to 2004. I find that presidents have tended to discuss circuit court nominees who are vulnerable to defeat in the confirmation process before narrow audiences consisting of sympathetic groups or campaign supporters. Presidents discussed nominees in an effort to influence Senate behavior, but more so to court favor with like‐minded groups and link nominees to electoral politics. These findings indicate that presidents have begun to insert their nominees into public political discourse for their own political gain, rather than to help their nominees secure confirmation.

In decisions to adopt and implement new practices or innovations in child welfare, costs are often a bottom-line consideration. The cost calculator, a method developed in England that can be used to calculate unit costs of core case work activities and associated administrative costs, is described as a potentially helpful tool for assisting child welfare administrators to evaluate the costs of current practices relative to their outcomes and could impact decisions about whether to implement new practices. The process by which the cost calculator is being adapted for use in US child welfare systems in two states is described and an illustration of using the method to compare two intervention approaches is provided.

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