Reports on sources of lead contamination in the environment of children. Proposes some solutions and presents statistics that relate poverty and lead contamination. (DDR)

Helping poor families increase their residential stability can have direct bearing on school stability and student academic achievement. Discusses the role of housing in child and family wellbeing; residential mobility and school performance; residential mobility and housing problems; housing affordability; (federal housing policy); homeownership;…

In discussing his work and teaching in Appalachian Studies, Dwight Billings emphasizes the need to recognize the diversity of Appalachia and understand Appalachian Studies in relation to social, economic, cultural, and political developments around the world. Appalachia has much to offer others in terms of postcolonialism and the ways that people…

Profiles Clay County (West Virginia) High School, example of U.S. School of Excellence in rural, poverty area. Explains positive role of school principal. Details successful attendance incentives and dropout program. Describes examples of community involvement. (TES)

Compares numbers of college graduates and illiterates in China to those in developed and newly emerging industrialized nations. Criticizes the quality of Chinese education, arguing education must receive greater priority and more funding if China is to survive and flourish. (CH)

Analyzes the responses of the states to the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, using criteria of quality and equity. Forecasts areas where initial litigation is most likely to occur. Concludes that even the best state plans illustrate that public schools are not becoming an advocate for children, particularly poor and homeless children. (MLF)

Examined contribution of risk and protective factors in adjustment of 721 children, age 8-15, born to teenage mothers. Results showed that exposure to increasing number of risk factors (poverty, urban residence, mother's self-esteem) was associated with greater vulnerability to adjustment problems, while protective factors (intelligence,…

The overwhelming focus of the lives of 43 poor, at-risk Hispanic women was coping with threats to their role as providers for their children. Threats included poverty, potential loss of health, drug addiction, lack of social support, low self-esteem, helplessness, and loss of control. Contains 27 references. (SV)

Discusses gender differences in mental disorder. Presents a research agenda for women's mental health research in the following areas: (1) diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders; (2) mental health issues for older women; (3) multiple roles; and (4) poverty. Discusses gender bias in research. (JS)

Documents rise in U.S. Hispanic poverty and Hispanic female-headed households. Assesses applicability to Hispanics of traditional models of poverty, family structure, and emerging underclass. Suggests that traditional models are influenced by Black poverty but Hispanic poverty patterns are different. Suggests national policy target growing…

Reflections of an Associated Press special correspondent on a return visit to Vietnam 15 years after the war. Discusses the social and economic impact of the war on Vietnam. Examines the plight of the Vietnamese who served in the U.S. military, discussing the problems of Amerasians. Recounts the efforts of U.S. veterans to rebuild Vietnam. (RW)

Between 1959 and 1979, the economic status of nonmetropolitan Black, Mexican-American, and Native American families improved substantially, but nonmetropolitan Black and Mexican-American family incomes deteriorated significantly from 1979 to 1986. Labor force commitment reduced family poverty more effectively than public assistance for all groups.…

After briefly reviewing the child policy decade of the 1890s and how it dominated the national social reform agenda, the article describes the current pressures for a children's agenda in the 1990s, what such an agenda might consist of, and the likelihood of success for a social reform agenda now. (BB)

Compares and critiques Daniel Patrick Moynihan's 1965 labor report, "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action," and the televised version of it, Bill Moyer's special report "The Vanishing Family: Crisis in Black America." Discusses how gender, class, and race shape a group's status in society. (JS)

This supplementary statement, prepared by 10 members of the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Health Care for the Homeless, expands upon the Committee's report, "Homelessness, Health and Human Needs." Argues that the only broad, long-term solution to the health problems of the homeless is immediate action to provide decent, affordable…