A decade's explosive growth in the scope, funding and complexity of national social policy has created serious problems in the United States. This first overview report notes that the Office of Economic Opportunity (now known as the Community Services Administration) has ceased to provide a focal point for national social policy. It was this state…

Summarizes the global efforts of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to ease poverty and help developing nations to build their capacity for sustainable development. Includes a glossary of poverty and human development terms, a human poverty index ranking for developing countries, and suggested teaching activities. (MJP)

The Fundacion Social, a grassroots organization in Colombia, uses profits from its 14 companies to fund community self-help initiatives aimed at eliminating poverty. Social programs focus on community integration, microbusinesses, recycling, education, and communication. The organization seeks to eliminate structural poverty and is currently…

In this document, a "two-generation program" is defined as a program "that addresses the developmental needs of children within a family support context." The rationale for Head Start as a two-generation program that includes, but goes beyond, the boundaries of the welfare reform strategy, is explored. Major program goals…

The "Coordinators' Notebook" is a twice-annual publication of the Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development. This issue summarizes some important information about early childhood care and development (ECCD); shares case studies of effective examples of ECCD; helps ECCD advocates think through what they may need to do…

This report examines the successes and shortcomings of efforts made on behalf of Ohio's black children and their families during the last generation. The three main sections of the report examine maternal and child health, family economics, and education, discussing the situation as it existed in the recent past and as it exists today, specific…

This report describes problems West Virginia State has experienced in serving children, especially those in poverty-stricken areas, and recommends ways to overcome these problems. In confronting these issues, the task force made recommendations in four topic areas: Reorganization and System Change, Education and Child Care, Teen Pregnancy, and…

Traces the search for economic development alternatives that go beyond conventional neo-classical and Marxist theory and practice. Outlines case studies of social and economic transformation in South Korea and China and delineates the differences between similar attempts in Latin America and Eastern Europe. (MJP)

Summarizes the Report and Recommendations of the Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation. Proposes an economic development approach that is based on a people-centered values framework and social mobilization. Profiles a similar program, Janasaviya, pioneered in Sri Lanka in 1989. (MJP)

This handbook presents the essential components of a comprehensive family service system for low-income families. It shows, through the documentation and description of two low-income African American communities over 4 years of development work, the types of information that should be collected about community functioning so that informed…

This document provides a historical framework for better understanding the emergence of community-based family support and education (CBFSE) programs, their place within the larger service delivery system, and their potential for meeting the needs of children and families living in poverty. The paper is organized into five sections. The first…

The purpose of this paper is to increase awareness and understanding of the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Program. The Academic Senate holds the view that welfare reform that focuses on "work first" tends to push participants into below-subsistence-level jobs and eclipses an emphasis on long-term…

In 1998, Washington state passed into law WorkFirst, its version of the federal welfare reform program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Colleges were funded for four training programs: (1) Pre-Employment Training; (2) Tuition Assistance; (3) Workplace Basic Skills; and (4) Families That Work. This paper presents the overall…

In 1998, Washington passed into law WorkFirst, its version of the federal welfare reform program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Colleges were funded for four training programs: (1) Pre-Employment Training; (2) Tuition Assistance; (3) Workplace Basic Skills; and (4) Families That Work. This paper presents the overall second-year…

The young people quoted in this paper attend two high schools in Umlazi Township, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Poverty is rife in the area: some students are known to go five days at a stretch without food. Parts of the vast, sprawling township are notorious for shootings and violent crime. The rape of schoolgirls on their way to and from school…