Examines public attitudes toward children, poverty, and government. Concludes that the American public tends toward an integrative perspective that values individual initiative even as it supports opportunities for all Americans. Government programs that fit the practical needs of everyday life are favored. Such programs should support personal…

Using specific examples, describes key features of current comprehensive community initiatives to improve the lives of children and considers the limitations of efforts to evaluate them and factors contributing to their success or failure. Comprehensive community initiatives use multifaceted approaches to strengthen communities and improve the…

The following essential elements of programs that prepare physicians to care for at-risk children effectively are described: (1) active participation in children's care; (2) effective service programs for learning; (3) comprehensive, multidisciplinary, flexible, and intensive programs; and (4) program evaluation. The policy implications in…

A career exploration program provided a group of twenty-five academically and/or socioeconomically handicapped New Haven, Connecticut, high school students with career guidance, classroom instruction, and exploratory work experience in area businesses and agencies. In their junior year participants were placed in an eight-week careers course…

Presents the "Strengths of Black Families" of R. B. Hill (1972) as a paradigm for understanding family behavior. Introduces the practice approach to these strengths in the work of E. Hall and G. King (1982) that is effective for developing family intervention strategies related to social and economic problems. (SLD)

An evaluation of the second year of services of the Massachusetts Adult Education with Homeless Persons Project documented different program models evolving out of diversely defined partnerships between adult education organizations and shelters for homeless people. Site visits to all nine programs and subsequent profiles were supplemented with…

Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) is unsatisfactory: it is biased against the poor, and allows the government to control the poor. Evaluates Massachusetts' Employment and Training (ET) program, and New Jersey's Realizing Economic Achievement (REACH) program. Offers recommendations for REACH and for an improved Federal welfare program.…

Proposes that any strategy designed to combat the problem of urban youth groups must (1) have high visibility; (2) be youth intense; and (3) use economic development approaches such as community-based small business enterprises. The proposed youth enterprise zones model is a youth and community revitalization strategy. (SLD)

Chapter 1, the Federal program of grants to local education agencies (LEAs) for the education of disadvantaged children, authorizes the distribution of assistance through both a basic and a concentration grant formula. Concentration grants are intended to provide additional assistance to areas with especially high numbers or proportions of…

The critical importance of the early childhood years and the rights perspective to human development has made policy and programming for early childhood development an imperative for every nation. In India, poverty, changing economic and social structures resulting in the breakdown of traditional coping mechanisms and family care systems, and the…

This paper reviews the economic and political science literature, and the literature on Chapter 1/Title I in order to identify policy options that retain adequate fiscal accountability as well as insure program quality. Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 is the successor to Title I of the Elementary and Secondary…

The goal of the second year of the Family Employability Development Plan (FEDP) was to increase the number of sites participating in the project implementation. FEDP was developed as part of the Job Training and Partnership Act (JTPA) 8% State Plan. Its major focus was to provide a coordinated service effort for families in Michigan who were…

Explains how community-based organizations (CBOs) have become increasingly ineffective in fighting unemployment and how the role of such organizations has become that of watchdog for CETA activities since that 1973 legislation. Details the current conflicts between SER, CETA, and local government in Houston, Texas. (SB)

A national survey examined state policies for identification of gifted students who are culturally different, economically disadvantaged, disabled, or in some way at risk. Progress was found in the areas of greater public awareness, screening procedures, formal identification processes, and program initiatives. A sidebar describes the Jacob K.…

Information necessary to the planning of the 1982-83 Austin (Texas) Independent School District Chapter I Program is provided in four sections. The first section describes in detail how the attendance areas were ranked by percentages of low-income students. The second section describes ranking procedures altered to reflect differences in…