This report provides a detailed examination of the various federal programs for children and families and outlines ways in which the United States Congress and Executive Branch could make these programs work better. Intricate and often overlapping goals and actions are typical of the Congressional committees and Executive Branch departments that…

Through its Metropolitan Educational Trends and Research Outcomes (METRO) Center, the Southwest Regional Laboratory (SWRL) helps school districts implement research-based programs for educationally disadvantaged students. The most prominent of these is Success for All, a nationally recognized school restructuring program. In 1992, SWRL made a…

The Hispanic/Latino Health Initiative of the Surgeon General's Office was created under Surgeon General Antonia Coello Novello to develop a plan to address barriers to quality health care and services. This report documents the activities and findings of the Initiative. It describes the status of Hispanic/Latino health in five regions of the…

Nearly 80 means-tested programs for low-income persons and families have been created by the federal government to help meet the needs of various groups. In fiscal year 1992, the federal government spent about $208 billion through these programs. Evaluation of these programs was based on reports by the General Accounting Office (GAO) and others.…

This report presents a context for the consideration of welfare reform, and reviews 10 major poverty programs. A linkage is made between government poverty programs and the full panoply of American economic and social interventions through five major themes: (1) quashing the many myths about welfare leads to a clearer understanding of poverty; (2)…

This analysis of how plans to balance the budget are likely to affect the public considers the latest Republican offer and the Democratic administration's offer of January 18, 1996, as well as pending action on the fiscal year 1996 appropriations bills. The analysis finds that the latest Republican offer, in conjunction with pending and enacted…

This quarterly publication presents scholarly developmental research results pertaining to social and public policies which affect children. The first issue in the 1994 volume examines "Children's Changing Access to Resources: A Historical Perspective" (Donald Hernandez). This report focuses on changes in the American family's finances,…

Families First, an early intervention program implemented in Marin City, California, was designed to integrate and coordinate the provision of a wide range of services to families of children in a low-income, mostly African-American community, from the third trimester of pregnancy to 8 years of age. The program is intended to enhance the…

This paper describes the involvement of Mexican-American parents in secondary schools located along the Texas-Mexico border. The study is directed toward strengthening parental involvement in school communities where cultural and linguistic diversity, poverty, mobility, and lack of English proficiency present challenges to both school staff and…

Among Latinas, the number of cases of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is increasing relentlessly. From August 1989 to August 1990, there was a 53 percent increase nationally in cumulative AIDS cases among Latinas. In New York City, AIDS is the leading cause of death among Latinas aged 25-34. The conditions and circumstances that place…

By exploring the everyday experiences of women in a rural Head Start program, this study examines the processes of underprivileged women working to make a better life for themselves and their families. In all, researchers interviewed 42 parents, 7 of them fathers, 18 staff members, and 4 community representatives. To empower mothers, the Head…

This report identifies a set of research questions for linguistics related to the Human Capital Initiative (HCI) launched by the National Science Foundation to increase understanding of the nature and causes of problems related to improving human resources. It is argued that the broad scope of linguistic inquiry in the United States has…

Books in the Opposing Viewpoints Series present debates about current issues that can be used to teach critical reading and thinking skills. The varied opinions in each collection explore aspects of a social, cultural, or political issue. A great deal of money has been spent in this country to eradicate poverty, but the problem remains. Some…

The U.S. Young Child Poverty Rate (YCPR) is at least one-third higher and usually two to three times as high as the YCPR in any of 12 other Western industrialized nations. This report highlights key facts regarding the six million young children living in poverty in the United States and the millions more living in near poverty, and it provides…

This book is a contribution to the dialogue that is maintained today around the problems of education. The book contains four parts: (1) "In Search of the 21st Century School. Can the Colombian New School (EN) Show Us the Way?"; (2) "Experimentation with Self-Learning Materials in Two Schools in Conchali (Chile)"; (3)…