Technological acceleration, increased global engagement, and national aspirations to restructure its economy and promote innovation have persuaded China to intensify an emphasis on skills acquisition through technical-vocational education and training (TVET). After a background of China's experience, this paper examines the case of Gansu, the…

This paper examines poverty's impact on student physical health, socioemotional health, and the brain. Further, although children spend only 20 percent of their time in school, this paper examines the school's role in student development, as well as proposes effective policies and programs that go beyond the classroom.

Throughout the history of the United States, adult education has played a continuous role in helping adults reach for better lives. In the early 20th century, as this country witnessed expanded growth and tremendous work opportunities, it became apparent that in order to have a productive workforce and economic stability, the language needs of so…

Homelessness among families is quickly reaching crisis proportions across the country. Over 30 percent of America's three million homeless people are members of families, and families are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population. Perhaps more disturbing, homelessness represents only the most extreme manifestation of a more…

The two papers in this document were prepared in response to requests by the Department of Agriculture and the White House staff for briefs on welfare and poverty issues. The first paper, "The Administration's Welfare Reform Proposal: Impact on Rural Areas" by Robert Hoppe, discusses major provisions of (1) the proposed Welfare Reform…

For many single mothers and displaced homemakers (homemakers who must suddenly enter the workforce), jobs often do not signify escape from poverty. 1990 U.S. Census data indicate that the number of single mothers and displaced homemakers rose dramatically during the 1980s. Workforce participation for this group also rose during that decade, but…

This report, along with its supplemental volumes, assesses the welfare system and its successes and failures, describes the frustrations felt by the poor in the United States, and proposes a basic change in public assistance policy. America's state and federal governments spend more than $150 billion a year on programs to alleviate poverty, yet…

This report provides an overview of the current welfare system. The number and size of federal public assistance programs have increased during the past 25 years, with particular growth in noncash benefit programs, which now constitute about three-quarters of all means-tested assistance. From mid-1983 to mid-1984, more than 52.5 million Americans…

In order to study the persistence of poverty across generations with a view to developing or monitoring cross-generational poverty-reduction policies, social indicators to track dependency and deprivation of children are needed. Available data on the dependency and deprivation of children primarily describe the following characteristics of the…

New York City's response to the demand for shelter has consistently been adequate. The city's homeless population is estimated at 35,000, including 11,000 members of homeless families, of whom almost 7,625 are children. The City's Human Resources Administration (HRA) has routinely failed to provide temporary emergency shelter for homeless…

Suggests ways to improve child support enforcement. Getting the child support system out of the courts to the extent possible and providing government guarantees of child support are two types of proposals that must be considered. A final necessity is increasing welfare benefits to a subsistence level. (SLD)

This book analyzes how welfare reform can improve the lives of children, based on a study of successful programs that provide services to needy children and their families. The study looked at programs that operated in conjunction with the welfare department before the enactment of the Family Support Act and that operated successfully. Chapter 1…