This report examines trends in income distribution from the late 1970s to the late 1990s in the 50 states. It is based on before-tax income for families from the Census Bureau's March Current Population Survey public use files. All figures are expressed in 1997 dollars and adjusted for inflation. The paper examines the long term trend from the…

This study analyzes Census data which indicate the following U.S. poverty trends for 1988: (1) the gap between rich and poor is wider than at any point in the post World War II era; (2) the poverty rate showed no improvement and remains higher than the most severe recession years of the 1970s; (3) the share of the national family income going to…

Scandinavian welfare states are developing a growing new middle class and a growing marginalized, poverty-threatened underclass, reproducing the societal duality caused by labor market structuring. Tightening labor markets, increased dependency on welfare benefits, and substantial decreases in public transfers have combined to create a growing…

TWO POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS FOR THE MAGNITUDE OF THE DISENGAGEMENT FROM THE POOR BY PRIVATE SOCIAL WORK AGENCIES ARE THE CONCERN THE SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION FOR ITS OWN STATUS, WHICH HAS LED IT TO SEEK A MORE PRESTIGIOUS CLIENTELE, AND THE FEELING THAT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY OF SOCIAL WORK IS MORE AMENABLE TO MIDDLE-CLASS THAN TO LOWER-CLASS…

Discusses the struggles of middle- and lower-class black women to use social programs and affirmative action mandates to advance their status. Examines ways their struggles have affected their self-perceptions and relationships with each other. (Author/JS)

This book examines various types of the disadvantaged in the United States, uncovers reasons for the multifaceted problem of social deprivation, and indicates constructive ways, through education, of helping the disadvantaged. Attention is also focused on the poor and disadvantaged in foreign lands. There are ten parts to the volume: the…

To understand the African-American family, the African-American poor and middle class must be investigated. Extra costs mean that it is much harder for African Americans to reach the middle class. Ways to improve the economic status of African-American families and to increase the middle class are discussed. (SLD)

A recent report from Rand, a think tank in California, titled "The Trend in Inequality among Families, Individuals, and Workers in the United States" by Lynn A. Karoly confirms that the gap between the haves and have-nots is widening and that the middle class in the United States is shrinking. Latinos have been particularly hard hit.…

A CASTE-CLASS ANALYSIS IS A USEFUL FRAMEWORK FROM WHICH TO STUDY THE CURRENT POSITION OF THE NEGRO. HIS SPATIAL ISOLATION HAS CREATED A RACE CONSCIOUSNESS AND A RACIAL SUBCULTURE WITH DISTINCTIVE FOLKWAYS (MUSIC, FOOD, AND CHURCHES). THE NEGRO LOWER CLASS IS STRATIFIED INTO AN "ORGANIZED" SECTOR WHOSE LIFE STYLE IS ORIENTED AROUND THE CHURCH AND…

Investigated interactions among 18 African American mother-infant pairs participating in an early intervention program for infants with developmental delays or at risk for developmental disabilities. The hypothesis that mothers would become less responsive to infants over time as a function of drug addiction, poverty, or serious developmental…

This conference paper points out that there are different patterns of social deviancy among the various socioeconomic classes, and remedial treatment must take this class differential into account. For example, practitioners should be aware that there is a greater incidence of brain damage among children from impoverished families, and that…