Results of an ongoing analysis of the household's choice of diet for its children under three years and how that diet relates to the child's growth. Focuses on the extent to which family income and mother's education are obstacles to the provision of adequate diets for children in poor American families. (CT)

Examines how and why the allocation formulae used to distribute Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title I funds reflect a rural bias in American national politics. (Author/BE)

Summaries of eight titles of the reauthorized (for fiscal years 1979 through 1982) Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973 (CETA) are presented and discussed. The new CETA will serve, essentially, to increase the earned income of the economically disadvantaged. (MF)

Argues that to base the benefit schedule of an income-support program on an index that defines poverty in terms of money income alone is to create gross inequities across households that vary in their number of adult hours. Provides a two-dimensional poverty definition and shows how this standard can be used to define voluntary versus involuntary…

Describes the development and implementation of an educational program designed to teach the humanities to those living in poverty and thus help them responsibly enter the public world. The pilot program, focusing on philosophical thought and reflection, successfully helps many of its students rise above poverty and improve themselves. (GR)

Explores why there are so many poor children in the United States, beginning with a review of the reasons for adult poverty. Economic and demographic factors are considered in an analysis of the likelihood that an individual will earn enough to keep his or her family out of poverty. (SLD)

Reports findings of a qualitative study of the educational experiences of 21 women who were academic high achievers who were disadvantaged as children. Most participants believed one reason they were successful is that they did not reveal their backgrounds to educators. The participants' relationship to the concept of disadvantage is explored.…

Examines how Latina families cope with the realities of low wages and low earnings potential by studying how the presence of other adults, other than a spouse, affects the family's income level. Findings indicate the presence of other adults in the home influences a higher level of family income and is a strategy used by Latinas to alleviate…

Georgia's HOPE (Helping Outstanding Pupils Economically) scholarship program, which provides financial reward to students in public and private colleges, universities, and technical institutes, is discussed in an interview with Juanita Baranco, a state system regent, and Stephen R. Porch, chancellor of the state system. Focus of these excerpts is…

A study involving 2,929 Head Start children found that 8% transitioned into special education during kindergarten and showed divergent patterns of receptive language development. Head Start children in special education differed from children in general education based on child demographic, intellectual, behavioral, and health factors. (Contains…

Studied the association between perceived economic stress and adolescent adjustment in 229 Chinese adolescents using children and parent reports of economic stress. Findings show differences in perceived stress between parents and children. A lower level of perceived economic stress was generally related to better adolescent mental health and…

A large-scale study of the effects of the Job Training Partnership Act Title II-A program (n=21,000) showed modest positive earnings impacts for adults and cost-effective returns for society. However, net benefits for out-of-school youth and for society were negative. (SK)

A study of 177 low-income children (ages 3-30 months) investigated the relationship among neglect, failure to thrive (FTT), and cognitive functioning. The cognitive performance of children who had been neglected and were FTT was significantly below that of children who had only one of the variables and typical children. (Author/CR)

Examines aggravated and sexual assaults among 240 runaway and homeless adolescents (RHAs) in Des Moines (Iowa). Results suggest RHAs are at risk of life-threatening situations on the streets due to aggressive and abusive parents. Additionally, street life situations have significant impacts on the probability that RHAs will be victims of…

Notes that the state of Pennsylvania has one of the poorest records for equality in public school funding. Describes how administrators in the Harrisburg School District, one of the low-funded urban school districts, attempt to promote literacy and lift students from low-income families out of a failure cycle that many assume is irreversible.…