Presents statistical information on rates of violence and victimization in a substance abuse program for homeless mothers, with accompanying anecdotal details to indicate the depth and effects of the problem. The majority of the women acknowledged incidents of childhood and adult victimization, and reported engaging in adult aggressive or abusive…

In 1999, the percentage of low-wage workers in rural areas was higher than in urban areas or in 1979. The share of women and minorities in low-wage work stabilized, but the share of White men increased. Low-wage work increased in higher-skilled occupations, and the share of college educated low-wage workers increased significantly since 1979. (TD)

Draws on a project undertaken for the United Kingdom Government Department for Education and Employment, focusing on the role of ethnic monitoring in identifying low attainment and the investigation of ways to raise attainment. Offers suggestions for the use of ethnic monitoring of school processes. (CMK)

Discusses how El Paso Community College (Texas) linked welfare-to-work participants to college credit programs that offer realistic pathways to certificates, associate degrees, and bachelor degrees. Stresses training for employment that offers a living wage over immediate employment. (AUTH/NB)

Examined the developmental characteristics of children in three income groups and related them to family characteristics and experiences in child care. Found that on most family background variables and in the cognitive and social child outcomes, the income groups differed significantly, with levels of functioning ranging downward from…

Data from three studies investigating factors supporting literacy development of children from low-income families indicate: early levels of achievement are strongly linked to later success; kindergarten vocabulary is strongly reflective of the use of varied vocabulary during meal times; and teacher training in literacy is beneficial to classroom…

Using longitudinal data collected over 2 years on a sample of 2,745 urban elementary school children (1st-6th graders, ages 6-11 years) from economically disadvantaged communities, effects of stressful experiences within 3 contexts (school, family, neighborhood), cumulative stress, and multiple context stress on 3 indices of children's adjustment…

The current study examines how certain ecological factors influence migrant Latino children's (N = 94) academic outcomes following their participation in an after-school program with intensive academic instruction. Hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that children who made the greatest academic gains were acculturated in English,…

The present study examined relations among neighborhood structural and social characteristics, parenting practices, peer group affiliations, and delinquency among a group of serious adolescent offenders. The sample of 14-18-year-old boys (N = 488) was composed primarily of economically disadvantaged, ethnic-minority youth living in urban…

This study used cluster analysis to identify college orientation profiles of 115 Latino college freshmen from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds and examined the relationship of profiles to adjustment and academic outcomes. Participants were surveyed on personal and cultural types of motivation and college degree goals, degree confidence, and…

A number of economic and labor market trends in the United States over the past 30 years affect the well-being of workers and their families. This article describes key changes taking place and the implications for social and economic policies designed to help low-income working families and their children, particularly those families that include…

On January 23, 2004, President Bush signed the DC School Choice Incentive Act into law. This landmark piece of legislation included $14 million in funding for what would come to be called the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP). The OSP is the first federally funded K-12 scholarship program in the country and is designed to provide…

"Words and Concepts" is a computer software program that focuses on building oral language skills related to vocabulary, comprehension, word relationships, and other concepts in six units--vocabulary, categorization, word identification by function, word association, concept of same, and concept of different. It can be used by adults and…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) focused national attention on improving schools so that all students reach academic proficiency by 2014. In the 2006-2007 school year, about 4,500 of the 54,000 Title I schools failed to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) for 4 or more years. Schools that miss AYP for 4 years are identified for…

The average public school serving children who are economically disadvantaged cannot afford to provide the above-average education that many of these children need to achieve at the same levels as their more advantaged peers. It becomes necessary for schools to ask, "Who else has the resources to help children succeed?" Because of these…