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…

Discusses the Clinton Administration's proposed overhaul of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), designed to assist the nation's poor and disadvantaged students. The new ESEA should set high standards for all children; focus on teaching and learning; stimulate local initiatives; reconnect schools, parents, and communities; and target…

A formal review was conducted to assess the efforts made by federal agencies to implement the 1983 Emergency Jobs Appropriations Act (EJAA). (The EJAA provided emergency supplemental appropriations to provide productive employment for jobless Americans, to hasten or initiate federal projects and construction of lasting value to the nation, and to…

Discusses successes and problems of Head Start. Suggests that Head Start's difficulties relate to its implementation, not its design. Proposes increasing the effectiveness of Head Start through a series of reform strategies that relate to interventions that address the needs of children in child care, preschool children, and school-age children.…

This question-and-answer format paper looks at some of the basic issues surrounding the chronically poor and initiatives and services designed to break the poverty cycle. A first section explores some of the myths and realities surrounding the characteristics of the chronically poor population and notes that this population is comprised of…

This research review focuses on the effects of early intervention on the preschool children of low-income families, examining studies of intervention programs begun in the 1960s through the present. It then relates this analysis to the new Georgia Prekindergarten Program. The interventions reviewed are grouped into four hierarchical categories…

As a part of a larger project under grant from the Ford Foundation to evaluate federal manpower policies and programs, this evaluation of the training efforts under Title II of the Manpower Development and Training Act (MDTA) made use of data provided by the Departments of Labor and Health, Education, and Welfare. By the end of fiscal 1967, 1.2…

The effect of training programs on the income and employment duration of low-income residents of Chicago has been examined through data drawn from the 1969 Urban Employment Survey, which reflects differences in such factors as age, race, sex, level of education, occupation, and industry of employment and contains information about participation in…

Smart Start is a broad-based community initiative to ensure that all of North Carolina's children arrive at school healthy and ready to learn. This study examined the effect of Smart Start on the quality of child care from 1994-1996. Data were collected from child care centers in 12 counties implementing the initiative. Data collectors visited 180…

In order to break the cycle of poverty for disadvantaged children and their families, action must be taken to redistribute income and other resources and improve services and institutions that serve the poor. Successful programs are the following: (1) comprehensive, flexible, and responsive; (2) staffed by workers who develop relationships of…

This report describes the development, introduction, and evaluation of the SuperStart comprehensive prekindergarten program adopted by the New York City Public Schools in 1990. By 1991, SuperStart offered 299 classes in 188 schools, providing a developmentally appropriate learning environment to foster cognitive, social, emotional, and physical…

The problems facing low-income families headed by women and some current and planned Ford Foundation responses are discussed in this paper. The first section presents a general overview of the problem, with special focus on nonpayment of child support and teenage pregnancy. The debate over the Federal welfare program and other attempts to use…

"Research results indicate that the Neighborhood Youth Corps (NYC) has been effective in reaching seriously disadvantaged youth and in improving the community and work adjustments of these youths. At the same time, these achievements appear to fall far short of the full potential of the NYC Programs." Among the problems of program and…

Reported is the first phase of a project to evaluate the effectiveness of selected Neighborhood Youth Corps (NYC) programs. Effectiveness was judged by community and work adjustment of enrollees. Experimental and control groups were selected in four cities; samples were mainly Negroes, with more females than males. Findings from interviews with…

The causes and consequences of homelessness have been the subject of considerable social science research. This report details recovery from homelessness, or "exits from homelessness," through analysis of descriptive demographic data and correlation of success rates with participant behavior and intervention context. The 2-year…