For women, leaving home, marriage, childbearing, and remarriage can create drastic changes in income. Divorce or giving birth out of wedlock frequently accompanies entry into poverty, while marriage or remarriage often results in exit from poverty. In the United States since 1970, the increase in the number of poor women greatly exceeded that of…

The gains of economic recovery have been unevenly distributed to benefit the rich much more than the poor. According to Census Bureau data, poverty, especially among children, is significantly higher than five years ago. Poverty has worsened despite decreased unemployment because of widening gaps between rich and poor. Even modest changes in…

This document presents a transcript of a hearing on the problems of the black elderly poor. Statements read by nine advocates for the aged and agency representatives are included. Among the issues discussed are cutbacks of Federal income support and maintenance programs, housing, health care, and nutrition; and the fact that older blacks are three…

This document contains materials from a Congressional public forum which focused on multigenerational approaches to the health and economic problems of Americans. Introductory remarks are included from Fernando Torres-Gil, staff director of the House Select Committee on Aging; Victor Sidel, president of the American Public Health Association…

This report describes compensatory education (CE) programs and compares their classroom activities with those of regular instruction programs. This report is part of an extensive series of studies on CE and its long-term effects. Data were collected through interviews, structured observations, and the generation of narrative protocols based on…

This paper addresses the important but relatively understudied problem of immigrants' use of transfer payments. First it documents differentials in the propensity of natives and immigrants to receive public assistance income using 1980 census data. Descriptive tabulations revealed considerable differences between Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and…

The eight papers contained in this document focus on those tax provisions most directly affecting families and children. Questions addressed include the following: (1) Since the enactment of the first permanent income tax in 1913, how have tax laws affecting families evolved in response to changes in economic and demographic conditions? (2)…

There are 16.4 million women over age 65 in this country, compared to 11 million men. The 41 percent of this population who live alone are the poorest of the poor in this country, with an annual median income of just over $3,000 for white women and little more than $2,000 for black women. This abject poverty affects the ability of these women to…

This study examined three theories which might account for the large differences between states in the incidence of homicide, and particularly the theory that stress causes homicide. The other theories are those which hold that homicide is a function of cultural norms which support violence and of a weak system of social control. The regression…

This hearing before the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources focuses on poverty in the 1980s. The goal was to explore innovative methods to improve the nation's poverty situation. The historical background, including the War on Poverty of the 1960s, was discussed. Much of the testimony centered around Michael Harrington's book, "The Other…

Although the number of people in developing nations who are too poor to provide themselves with an adequate diet is rising, this is not reason to assume that such poverty is inevitable. Strategies that foster economic growth and include poor people in the growth process can be found in countries with such diverse political and economic systems as…

This country has long debated the question of how to design the welfare system, particularly the federally supported Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program which provides cash assistance to families headed primarily by female single parents. A pressing issue is whether welfare programs should continue to be broad entitlements or…

Findings and recommendations of the Executive Panel of the Ford Foundation Project on Social Welfare and the American Future are presented. The research was based on a comprehensive review of Americans' social welfare needs and of policy alternatives. The findings show that, although the present system was well conceived, it is now outdated and…

This report examines the poverty status of persons in 1984 and 1985 using the complete panel file of the 1984 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and compares those findings to poverty estimates based on the Current Population Survey (CPS). Although the CPS is used to obtain official estimates of persons in poverty, SIPP captures the…

The welfare of American families improved steadily for over 20 years after World War II. After the War on Poverty of the 1960s, the number of people living in poverty fell, reaching its lowest point in 1973. During the 1980s, homeless families, including those living in the streets, in cars, and in shelters seemingly appeared out of nowhere. As…