This report takes an in-depth look at the evidence of family well-being since the 1996 federal welfare legislation drawing on new national survey data, a review of studies by states and research institutions, and a compilation of findings from informal community-based monitoring projects. Disturbing findings include: Only a small fraction of…

This volume presents the research findings of numerous scholars on the theme, The Ghetto Underclass: Social Science Perspectives. The following 13 articles are included: (1) "The Cost of Racial and Class Exclusion in the Inner City" (L. Wacquant and W. Wilson); (2) "Urban Industrial Transition and the Underclass" (J. Kasarda); (3) "Absent Fathers…

A study used data on African American children in foster care collected by the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) to compare whether there are differences in the characteristics, needs, services, and outcomes for children depending on whether or not parental drug abuse was a contributing factor in their foster care placements. The…

Responding to a rise in hate crimes directed toward persons of Arab descent and Muslims before and during the Gulf War, the Los Angeles County (California) Commission on Human Relations held a hearing. The commission heard presentations by representatives of the Arab and Muslim communities, law enforcement, schools, and social science, and…

This monograph is intended to provide a foundation for communication programs for the prevention of alcohol and other drug problems among high-risk American children. The book offers guidelines for program planners at the national, state, and local levels. Chapter 1 provides a comprehensive look at the priority target audience, youth from…

The term "underclass," which refers to the concentration of economic and behavioral problems among racial minorities (mainly Black and Hispanic) in large, older cities, accurately describes a real and new condition in the United States social structure. In a sense, the rise of the underclass is an effect of the success of American social…

The keynote speeches and papers presented at the 1985 conference on the black family are collected in this document. Titles (and authors) relating to the conference theme, "We are neither motherless, fatherless, nor childless--we are family,": (1) "The Black Family" (Andrew Billingsley); (2) "Black Men's Perceptions of Their Problems: Implications…

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) became involved in the problem of homelessness through the establishment of the Search for Shelter program, a collaboration with several other architectural organizations. The program, led by the AIA Housing Committee, sought solutions to the housing crisis through a series of workshops held around the…

This book is designed to provide public officials, leaders of organizations concerned with school funding issues, and citizens active in educational affairs with information about the political, economic, and equity issues that underlie the school finance reform debate in New York State. It discusses present inequities and potential approaches to…

Assuming that neighborhood newspapers and neighborhood leaders are among the most important influences on neighborhood residents' issue agendas and definitions of issues, a study examined some of these influences by interviewing a random sample of 239 residents of a low income, urban neighborhood in Minneapolis. In addition, a purposive sample of…

This paper describes the decline and polarization of American cities into two separate and coterminous systems: the city of the poor, characterized by the function of redistribution (i.e., public welfare benefits); and the city of the elite, a city of information processing, economic facilitation, and consumption. Demographic trends and social and…

In October 1984, unacceptably high levels of unemployment persisted in many regions of the United States. Figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal that nearly 8.5 million Americans, or 7.4 percent of the civilian labor force, are still without work. When the 5.5 million Americans working part-time because of economic reasons, as…

The three major factors affecting the future of the nation's cities are: (1) lack of housing demand due to population migration; (2) the conflict between suburban growth and city restoration; and (3) the combination of racially segregated housing markets, obsolescence of existing buildings, and the high cost structure of both public sector and…

Presented are instructions for the use of "RATS," a model simulating the dynamics of a rat population in either a city or an apartment house. The student controls the conditions of growth and sets the points at which the computer program prints reports. The rat population is controlled by variables including garbage levels selected for the site,…

In discharging its constitutional responsibility for maintaining and supporting free public schools, the state financially aids local school districts to insure that lack of wealth is not an obstacle to providing at least a mimimum educational program. State aid to education in New York State is dependent on two factors: the full value of real…