This review is aimed at highlighting the impact of economic deprivation on the family, the nucleus of any social system. The low income families receiving "aid for families of the dependent children" (AFDC) are the focus. (Author)

Describes efforts by the Council of Educational Facility Planners International to evaluate and modernize poor, rural schools in Honduras. A positive reaction to the visitation by government officials and teachers is revealed leading to the planned use of a model school program to guide school transformation. (GR)

Reviews current research on the incidence and duration of child poverty and intergenerational poverty. Trends in the incidence of child poverty, the demographic characteristics of children, and labor market conditions are discussed, along with a summary of research that relates changes in children's demographic conditions and the economy to child…

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…

Examines the historical blighting of African-American slaves' minds, which stripped them of their African culture. Examines the effect on African-American children, as well as other children of color. Offers suggestions for coping with the problems of modern schools in terms of respecting and teaching these children that the system is the problem,…

Medicaid managed care will have an important impact on Medicaid recipients and uninsured people who live in cities. This article identifies roles for social workers in supporting clients in the transition to Medicaid managed care and in advocating for policies that will improve access to care for disadvantaged urban populations. (RB)

Reviews literature on conceptions that adults and children have about poverty. It reveals society's predisposition to "blame the victim" which provides a moral justification for disenfranchisement of millions from the economic mainstream. Implications of this stereotyping about the poor being cultivated in children, and designing…

This study examines factors in clinicians' concerns about treating and reporting child abuse and neglect by analyzing records of 5,446 pediatric hospitalizations. Age of child, income level, and single-parent families were significant factors; however, ethnicity was not. Practitioners noted concern about abuse in 2.5% of the sample, neglect in…

Current Population Survey data indicate that the rural poverty rate declined to 16.4% in 1994, after increasing during the early 1990s. Poverty is still most prevalent in the South, and rural minorities, women, and children are especially disadvantaged economically. Among racial/ethnic groups, Hispanics have the highest nonmetro poverty rate and…

Reviews the evidence on the prevalence of child poverty in Britain including: (1) how child poverty has changed over the last 20 years; (2) how child poverty in Britain compares with that in other countries; (3) characteristics of poor children; (4) impact of poverty on child well-being; and (5) government attempts to abolish child poverty. (SD)

Discusses how preschool helps children develop pre-mathematics, social, and language skills as well as confidence. Claims low-income children have the greatest need for high-quality early care to overcome the disadvantages of poverty, and argues that high-quality child care prevents later costs for special education, welfare, or job training…

California funds 160 programs for children and administers them through 45 different agencies. Such piecemeal service delivery leads to duplication and fails to deal effectively with the multiple, interrelated nature of children's problems. Senator Pete Wilson, Republican gubernatorial candidate, has proposed that social services be unified and…

Asserts that Blacks must do more to solve their own problems through the creation of employment bases, through an emphasis on factors that have contributed to successes within the Black community, and through a greater effort to channel more of society's resources to the problems of low-income people. (MW)

An anecdotal account by a Queens (New York) school principal about serving homeless students and their families during the 1988-89 school year. (MLF)

Recent policy proposals have introduced need-based criteria, as well as the principle of wealthier older persons paying greater taxes or sharing more heavily in financing services and benefits than those who have less income and accumulated wealth. This article reviews emergence of new approaches and concludes with commentary on political…