The universal belief that poverty is a matter of low income and correctable through economic growth, more jobs, and increased income is precisely why poverty has persisted in the United States and elsewhere. We view the poor as those not yet in the middle class, but it can be shown that not all the poor can join the middle class, even in the…

Argues that home visiting and related services have been shaped and constrained by the tendency to use services as a substitute for adequate income and economic opportunity, by ambivalent attitudes toward poor people, and by a preoccupation with the effects of poverty on child rearing. Proposes basic principles of practice that should guide early…

Developed as a program to help protect family life and children, the Colombian Institute for Family Well-being operates as a "Ministry for Children," providing a variety of medical, psychological, and educational services. (CS)

Noting that the skills of community-building are some of the same skills needed to help families, this newsletter issue focuses on enhancing the resources and leadership in the community as the best way to provide support for families. The articles in the newsletter include: (1) "Building on the Strengths of Communities"; (2)…

This book examines the history of supportive social services to examine ways in which those services have been helpful, and sometimes unhelpful, to poor families; the factors that have constrained service provision and reform; and what would make the service enterprise viable in the coming years. Discussed are formative influences on the…

This report explores ways to implement ideas outlined by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) in a November 1992 policy statement. The CCSSO statement called for joint action by state and local agencies to prepare students for productive employment, healthful lifestyles, knowledgeable and contributing citizenship, strong family…

This booklet discusses the origins and components of Head Start, a federal project launched in 1965 to help break the cycle of poverty by providing preschool children of low-income families with a comprehensive program to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs. The description of the program notes that in fiscal…

This report contains summaries by representatives of major federal agencies of the ways in which their programs relate to children. Generally, each reporting agency provides a brief description of programs, information on authorizing legislation, appropriations and any recent program modifications as well as names of any programs that have been…

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…

THE PERSONNEL OF THE FAMILY AGENT PROGRAMS WERE WOMEN OF COMFORTABLE MEANS WHO HAD TEN TO TWENTY HOURS A WEEK AVAILABLE FOR SERVICE TO THE POOR. THE TRAINING PROGRAM DESCRIBED IS DIVIDED INTO TWO PHASES--INITIAL TRAINING AND INSERVICE TRAINING. SUBJECTS COVERED INCLUDE--(1) CONCEPTS OF THE WAR ON POVERTY, (2) THE NATURE OF POVERTY, (3) THE CULTURE…

Self-help among low-income people is vitally important. In no area is self-help more important than in overcoming poverty's burdens and energizing the escape from poverty. This document comprises an inventory of self-help and mutual-help programs that feature active involvement of members of the low-income population. The programs in this…