Examines public attitudes toward children, poverty, and government. Concludes that the American public tends toward an integrative perspective that values individual initiative even as it supports opportunities for all Americans. Government programs that fit the practical needs of everyday life are favored. Such programs should support personal…

Examines the historical blighting of African-American slaves' minds, which stripped them of their African culture. Examines the effect on African-American children, as well as other children of color. Offers suggestions for coping with the problems of modern schools in terms of respecting and teaching these children that the system is the problem,…

Medicaid managed care will have an important impact on Medicaid recipients and uninsured people who live in cities. This article identifies roles for social workers in supporting clients in the transition to Medicaid managed care and in advocating for policies that will improve access to care for disadvantaged urban populations. (RB)

Reviews literature on conceptions that adults and children have about poverty. It reveals society's predisposition to "blame the victim" which provides a moral justification for disenfranchisement of millions from the economic mainstream. Implications of this stereotyping about the poor being cultivated in children, and designing…

This study examines factors in clinicians' concerns about treating and reporting child abuse and neglect by analyzing records of 5,446 pediatric hospitalizations. Age of child, income level, and single-parent families were significant factors; however, ethnicity was not. Practitioners noted concern about abuse in 2.5% of the sample, neglect in…

Current Population Survey data indicate that the rural poverty rate declined to 16.4% in 1994, after increasing during the early 1990s. Poverty is still most prevalent in the South, and rural minorities, women, and children are especially disadvantaged economically. Among racial/ethnic groups, Hispanics have the highest nonmetro poverty rate and…

Reviews the evidence on the prevalence of child poverty in Britain including: (1) how child poverty has changed over the last 20 years; (2) how child poverty in Britain compares with that in other countries; (3) characteristics of poor children; (4) impact of poverty on child well-being; and (5) government attempts to abolish child poverty. (SD)

Discusses how preschool helps children develop pre-mathematics, social, and language skills as well as confidence. Claims low-income children have the greatest need for high-quality early care to overcome the disadvantages of poverty, and argues that high-quality child care prevents later costs for special education, welfare, or job training…

California funds 160 programs for children and administers them through 45 different agencies. Such piecemeal service delivery leads to duplication and fails to deal effectively with the multiple, interrelated nature of children's problems. Senator Pete Wilson, Republican gubernatorial candidate, has proposed that social services be unified and…

Asserts that Blacks must do more to solve their own problems through the creation of employment bases, through an emphasis on factors that have contributed to successes within the Black community, and through a greater effort to channel more of society's resources to the problems of low-income people. (MW)

An anecdotal account by a Queens (New York) school principal about serving homeless students and their families during the 1988-89 school year. (MLF)

Recent policy proposals have introduced need-based criteria, as well as the principle of wealthier older persons paying greater taxes or sharing more heavily in financing services and benefits than those who have less income and accumulated wealth. This article reviews emergence of new approaches and concludes with commentary on political…

Examines how widespread the "working poor" problem actually is and concludes that the Clinton administration's views on the dimensions of the "working poor" are seriously distorted. It argues that there are fewer "working poor" households: making up only 12% of all poor families. (GLR)

Summarizes a large-scale, systematic study that described and analyzed instructional practices in about 140 classrooms located in 15 poverty-area elementary schools. Teaching for meaning, or instruction promoting comprehension and conceptual understanding, was compared to more conventional methods. Students exposed to meaning-oriented instruction…

Discusses the passage in the United Kingdom of the Public Libraries Act of 1850 and its reflections of social and political attitudes prevalent at the time, particularly laissez-faire and utilitarianism. Individualism, national education, and middle class concern for the poor are discussed. (60 references) (LRW)