Addresses the causes for and implications of infant mortality. Besides the more immediate causes such as disease, nutrition, and lifestyle, there are the additional hurdles of government bureaucracy, lack of funds, and institutional attitudes that block access to prenatal care. Suggests structural solutions, including a consistent, individual,…

Contends that welfare reform should be focused on the well-being of children. Indicates the kinds of concerns that the new welfare reform act should consider. Examines each title of the Family Support Act of 1988. Discusses the implications of each for children. (JS)

Presents a vision and a national strategy for civic networking based on the development of the National Information Infrastructure. Topics addressed include a public interest communications policy; benefits of civic networking, including improving services and reducing government costs, reducing poverty and health care costs, and improving…

Data from 805 California high schools are used to examine teacher education and experience in relation to student dropout rates. Dropout rates tend to be higher where faculties include a greater percentage of minimally educated teachers or teachers with little experience. These relationships are independent of school size, student poverty, and…

Examined the effects of economic need and self-esteem on attitudes toward and use of instrumental and psychotherapeutic services (N=224). Findings show that self-esteem was associated with help-seeking behavior, but attitudes were not. However, when economic need was included in the analyses, the effect of self-esteem disappeared. (Author/EMK)

Examines representations of street children and child and youth prostitution disseminated through literature and by international and Brazilian media during the 1980s and 1990s. Argues that dissemination of images that stigmatize the poor is caused by the need of the media and of modern philanthropy to make an impact on the public. (Author)

Studied four high-poverty school districts as they changed to a literature-based literacy curriculum in line with state manifestos. Data from classroom observations, teacher and administrator interviews, and documents from schools, the media, and the State Department of Education revealed obstacles to change and highlighted substantial differences…

Examines the perception of urban African-American adolescent mothers and fathers regarding sex, love, intimacy, pregnancy, and parenting. Uses structured interviews and focus groups to gather data. Employs inductive data analysis using constant comparison methods to identify themes and patterns within and across gender groups. (Author/GCP)

Describes provisions, implementation processes, and successes of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Welfare-to-Work grants to promote employment of the least employable welfare recipients, including many in rural poverty areas. Addresses other welfare modifications concerning legal immigrants, disabled children, food stamp recipients,…

A study investigating the over-identification of rural minority students as learning disabled used a sample of 123 rural Mississippi students classified as learning disabled. Three possible ways of modifying the assessment protocol were attempted. A discrepancy formula incorporating a minimum full-scale IQ score of 85 balanced the number of…

Examines why the number of high-poverty neighborhoods in U.S. cities has increased since 1970 by using geocoded data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Suggests that migration of the non-poor from the poor played a key role in forming new poor urban neighborhoods during the 1970s and 1980s. (CMK)

In 1998, the principal of a rural Oregon elementary school used a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant and Title I funds to design a program to address homeless children's personal and social well-being. Kids eat a nutritious breakfast, take showers, get clothes washed, receive positive feedback, and participate in after-school…

The growing importance of multiple-income strategies in the changing rural Appalachian economy is discussed via a case study of a network of female home-based machine-knitters. Social networks are an important part of the knitters' recruitment and training process, promote leadership development, and help overcome some of women's economic…

Examined the educational experiences of nontraditional, ethnic minority, women students in the United Kingdom who were involved in a community-based, flexible access to higher education project in the inner city, highlighting financial and institutional barriers they experienced. Students were frustrated participants in an unresponsive…

Evaluated achievement data on low- and high-performing urban elementary and middle school students and data on teacher characteristics, investigating relationships between teacher quality and student achievement. While poverty and minority status may have negatively influenced school achievement, they were exacerbated by stresses created by the…