Poverty has risen faster in recent years under measures of poverty that include the value of non-cash benefits. The Census Bureau recently issued nine measures of poverty which make the poverty population appear unrealistically small. In summary, these measures do the following: (l) count non-cash benefits because they include household purchasing…

The paper presents the thesis that mild mental subnormality developed as a "scientific," hence natural, explanation for the socially unacceptable behavior of economically marginal persons. The history of such labels as "moron,""imbecile," and "moral imbecile" is traced to the late 19th century emphasis on…

The Department of Labor's Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects (YIEPP) was the nation's largest demonstration to test a new approach to solving the employment problems of disadvantaged youths. Sixteen- to 19-year-olds from low income or welfare households who had not yet graduated from high school were offered minimum-wage jobs, part-time…

This paper presents facts to use in evaluating changes in incomes of families with children, focusing on the period from 1967-1984 and making comparisons with the preceeding two decades. Changes in average family income are examined, as well as income changes in a variety of socioeconomic groups. Comparisons are provided of current and past…

A pioneering residential child care project in inner city Dublin began operations in July 1981. The project was designed to function as a resource for seriously deprived or at-risk children and their families. The community served is one characterized by exceptionally high unemployment, a 10 percent rate of heroin addiction among local 15- to…

Recommendations of the Belmont Task Force concerning the problem of student loan defaults are offered to the U.S. House of Representatives. The task force concludes that the purpose of the Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) program has changed significantly in the last decade. While originally established as a loan of convenience for middle-income…

This paper presents excerpts from the introductory and summary chapters of an interim report published in January 1986, the first of three reports to be produced as part of the National Assessment of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 (ECIA) Chapter 1. The interim report, which is intended to provide an analytic and…

This publication is designed to alert local and state advocates to the presence of the National Coalition on Women, Work, and Welfare Reform. It shares the Coalition's perspective on the welfare employment issue and proposes several initial strategies local advocates or policymakers might use in considering proposed or ongoing welfare employment…

Fifty-one ninth through eleventh grade students who participated with their parents in the Parent Education Follow Through Program (PEFTP) while in elementary school were compared with their older, non-program siblings on the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT) and the Science Research Associates (SRA) Achievement Series. (PEFTP was a compensatory…

This document, prepared by the Appalachia Educational Laboratory's (AEL) School Family Relations Program, contains research of six special needs families: families with handicapped children, families with low socioeconmic status, minority families, rural Appalachian families, single-parent families, and two-job families. The synopses are based on…

The core of the U.S. social welfare system provides old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid to dependent children. In recent years, as social and economic developments have created new vulnerabilities for the American family, observers are asking whether the system needs refinement and rethinking. The Project on Social Welfare and the…

This book grew out of the national conference "The Kerner Commission: Twenty Years Later." The Kerner Commission found in its 1968 Report that America was moving toward two separate and unequal societies, divided along racial lines, and that major efforts to combat poverty, unemployment, and racism were mandated. The essays in this book…

A Youth Internship Program (YIP) has been developed at seven community colleges of the State University of New York (SUNY) to improve the employability potential of unemployed, out-of-school, economically disadvantaged youth between 16 and 21 years of age. Components of the seven programs examined differ, but all address six main activities:…

This document reports on the second in a series of hearings on the reauthorization of expiring federal elementary and secondary education programs. Corporate business leaders presented their views on the reauthorization of Chapter 1. Five witnesses, representing manufacturing, education programs funded under the Education Improvement and…

There are many forces of environmental and economic decline that endanger our communities and planet. These have caused a global threat which is very complex. The pressure to feed increasing numbers of people helps cause high rates of topsoil loss which results in decreased agricultural productivity. As poorer nations attempt to fight these…