The historical, political and economic climate in the mid-1960's was ripe for a head-on collision between two conflicting ideologies. On the one hand, there was President Johnson's War on Poverty. The Head Start summer programs were begun in late 1964 as the archetype of the hope to improve the lives of the poor. On the other hand, was the…

These hearings before the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs are organized in four parts, the contents of which are as follows. The first part concerns "Unused food assistance funds and food stamps," with opening statements by Senators Percy and McGovern, followed by the presentations of other witnesses. The focus of…

The study attempts to evaluate the efficiency of two types of alternative programs aimed at increasing the incomes of poor families. It deals with programs involving education and training as well as those which represent direct measures for increasing family income. In order to compare such programs, a common measure of efficiency is needed. The…

This booklet contains the proceedings of a Congressional hearing held to review the broad policy implications involved in defining poverty and income, and to gather information on the relationship of the poverty definition and eligibility for public assistance, revenue sharing, block grants, and other programs. Addressing the general question of…

This report reviews the status of poverty and makes the following recommendations for program aims and structure, and for organizational changes at the Federal level. Antipoverty programs should attack the total environment of the poor: housing, education, family stability, employment, and neighborhoods. Increased efforts must be made to reach the…

The Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966 called for a comprehensive attack on social, economic, and physical problems of blighted urban areas through the concentration and coordination of resources. It also required the involvement of neighborhood citizens in all aspects of planning: from setting goals, choosing…

Authored by a political scientist, the study focuses on the impact of two alternative policies, "political strategy" and "service strategy," designed to deal with the problem of poverty in American society. The central concern is the effect of the policies on the poor. The service strategy assumes that the poor differ from the…

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…

Too much of the debate over the five-year, 30 billion dollar program of State and Local Assistance has focussed on its presumed or theoretical impact. Too little has dealt with what actually happens when the quarterly Treasury checks arrive at the local level. Local-level studies that are under way concentrate heavily on the fiscal impact of…

Between 1979 and 1983 the noninstitutionalized Medicaid population grew by 210,000 people, or one percent. In comparison, because of a severe economic recession, there was a 37 percent increase in the number of people in poverty during the same period. The Medicaid population growth rate is relatively small for the following reasons: (1) Congress…

The bad economy, the eligibility controls of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, and state controlled Aid to Families with Dependent Children payment standards had different aggregate effects for different Medicaid eligibility groups between 1979 and 1983. Increases in the number of children and young women covered by Medicaid did not keep pace…