This pamphlet discusses the problems of child sexual abuse, and introduces the Heart to Heart program created by the Ounce of Prevention Fund in Illinois. The pamphlet begins with reflections of adolescents who were sexually abused during childhood, and presents statistical information on this issue. It also discusses the various effects of…

Fifteen of the lowest-income neighborhoods of Cleveland (Ohio) are the focus of this report. These areas encompass most of the traditional, new, and emerging poverty areas identified in a previous report. Several indicators of investment patterns have been chosen for this report. They fall into the general categories of housing and land, economic…

This report uses figures from the 1990 Census to present a detailed and comprehensive picture of the changes that occurred in the economic standing of women and minorities during the 1970s and 1980s in the six-county Chicago (Illinois) metropolitan area. The terms African American, Asian American, Latino, and White are used to describe the city's…

Books in the Opposing Viewpoints Series present debates about current issues that can be used to teach critical reading and thinking skills. The opinions expressed in the selections in each series title examine many different aspects of a single issue. Detractors of the welfare system have long argued that the system promotes dependency. They…

Current welfare reform efforts are based on the assumption that limiting government support will promote personal responsibility, driving welfare recipients to obtain additional education and training in order to meet employment targets. But is education and training--human capital--the answer to poverty and welfare dependency, especially in rural…

This report presents results from the Community Childhood Hunger Identification Project (CCHIP), a research project that used survey techniques to document the extent of hunger among low-income families with at least one child under the age of 12. The report's six chapters provide: (1) an overview of the project, identifying its major components;…

This booklet is part of a series designed to help students take and defend a position on public issues. In this unit, the progressive era, a major reform period in U.S. history that stretched from about 1900 to 1915 is discussed. The book suggests that large scale reform is difficult to achieve because reformers often assume that their interests,…

This document consists of the final report and booklet developed by a project that provided individual counseling and life-coping skills workshops to recently unemployed workers lacking basic educational skills. The final report describes how individuals recruited at Philadelphia unemployment offices attended group workshop sessions where they…

To assess the status of hunger and homelessness in urban America during 1991, The U.S. Conference of Mayors surveyed 28 major cities whose mayors are members of its Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness. The survey sought information and estimates from each city on: (1) the demand for emergency food assistance and emergency shelter and the…

This study examined the relationship between mothers' recollections of those who cared for them during their childhood and mothers' ability to cope with the daily stress of being a single parent living in poverty. Subjects were 52 low-income, single mothers of preschool-age children. Mothers' recollections of caregiving were assessed by means of a…

This publication presents indicators of social and economic conditions in Arkansas highlighting urban and rural differences. Initial information includes a discussion of the definition of "rural" and a display of classification schemes used to describe the regions of Arkansas. The remainder of the document contains data for 1990, state…

This executive summary crystallizes the main themes of a study that is intended to help policymakers, advocates, community members, and welfare administrators create a welfare system to do more for children and do it better. The study was prompted by the Family Support Act of 1988. The following programs that have been successful in providing…

Researchers have investigated whether significant numbers of people can earn their way out of long-term poverty. Statistics show that between 1980 and 1986, the number of District of Columbia residents living in poverty increased by 8 percent. Between 1970 and 1980, the numbers of poor people living in the same area with other poor people…

Lying within the Cumberland Plateau of Appalachia, the Kentucky River Area Development District (KRADD) comprises eight rural Kentucky counties: Breathitt, Knott, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Owsley, Perry, and Wolfe. This report reviews regional history of economic development and examines socioeconomic indicators, including education, poverty, and the…

Tracking and ability grouping are common practices that are often harshly criticized. Both practices group students of similar achievement levels for instruction, but they differ in how this task is accomplished. Elementary schools typically use ability grouping in reading instruction, with instruction targeted to the reading level of each group.…