In the nation today, 4.6 million young adults ages 16 to 24 are out of school and unemployed. More than one-third live in poverty. For these young people, commonly referred to as opportunity youth, building skills and gaining work experience are key to upward mobility. However, they face significant barriers to entering the labor market.…

"Child Care Helps America Work and Learn" is a new publication produced by the Child Care Bureau. This new series will highlight some of the many Recovery Act-funded child care success stories from communities across the country that illustrate how the Bureau is working toward the shared goal of supporting children and families. This…

Reviews the major enactments of federal income transfer programs, Federal payments programs presently in force, Federal manpower training programs, and recent developments in Congress. Presents a pro and con discussion by several Senators and Representatives on the Adminsistration's current plan to terminate the Federal anti-poverty agency.…

This article describes Federal income maintenance programs for people with mental retardation in the United States. Combined Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Disability Insurance (DI) totaled an estimated $20.6 billion for people with mental retardation in 2000. Discussion focuses on the relative importance of these programs for this…

This analysis of how plans to balance the budget are likely to affect the public considers the latest Republican offer and the Democratic administration's offer of January 18, 1996, as well as pending action on the fiscal year 1996 appropriations bills. The analysis finds that the latest Republican offer, in conjunction with pending and enacted…

Surveys the particular issues and problems in public education systems in this country that have confronted poor people and their legal representatives and suggests the areas in which future legal activity may reasonably be expected. (Author)

The National Center for Children in Poverty is developing a series of issue briefs on children and welfare reform to help policymakers, community leaders, and advocates use the opportunities afforded by welfare changes in ways that are most likely to benefit both children and adults. This second issue brief focuses on the impact of federal and…

Over a period of 4 months in early 1994, Voices for Children investigated low-income children's access to 15 benefits for which they might be eligible. Of those benefits, six were further analyzed to determine how many eligible low-income children were actually receiving them. Counties were grouped by population size to determine if differences…

This paper analyzes the Bush Administration's budget request for homelessness programs, and argues that it promised little to alleviate the suffering of homeless people. The paper asserts that the proposal is the weakest in years, with overall spending down by 7 percent when adjusted for inflation. Programs hardest hit are new funding to increase…

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…

Continuing erosion of the structure of low-income families perpetuates a vicious cycle of moral and economic troubles--poverty, drug and alcohol dependency, out-of-wedlock births, child and spouse abuse, juvenile delinquency, and crime--that feed on and create more impaired families. Accordingly, this report contends that the major portion of the…

Analyzes public policy strategies to support single parent families with children in Western European countries. Compares and contrasts with American policy. (FMW)

Noting that the mid-1990s are an era of experimentation in welfare initiatives, this publication summarizes 34 research studies on children and welfare reform. Articles include studies of children and parents in poverty, studies of program models likely to have direct implications for children, and outcome evaluations of welfare-to-work programs…