Trends during the 1980s are described including high infant mortality, no decline in low birthweight percentages, an increase in the black-white infant mortality gap, more high-risk pregnancies, and inadequate prenatal care. Inadequate progress in reducing infant mortality is attributed in part to the limited technological ability to save…

The hearing reported in this document was called to address the human havoc wreaked by substance abuse among pregnant women in America. Witnesses included leading scientists and innovative service providers qualified to supply the best information on chemically dependent women across the country and to point the way to a better understanding of…

This document provides an analysis of the federal government's funding of programs which aid children and families. The foreword begins by describing the crisis which children and families face in the U.S. and proceeds to outline a course of action to help correct the problems. Chapter 1 discusses the federal budget process and the changes in the…

The ad hoc network of shelters and related services that has been developed in an effort to meet the most critical needs of the homeless population is staffed by a wide spectrum of professionals and volunteers. Many of these individuals lack easy access to information, training, or resource materials to help them with their social services work.…

The rapid impoverishment of women and their children has serious implications for the American family and for the nation. This report includes testimony before the Illinois Commission on the Status of Women from national and state representatives of women's organizations, social services agencies, advocacy groups, and civil rights organizations. A…

The Family Support Act of 1988 (FSA) provides a means by which federal, state, and local governments can work systematically and comprehensively to provide the support people need to escape poverty. The act mandates that appropriate educational services be made available to at least some welfare recipients as part of the effort to help those…

This hearing, the third of three on welfare reform, focuses on the problem of child support and ways to improve the current system. One child in four now lives with a single parent; these children must receive the support that they are due. The hearings also focused on the problems of unemployed parents, and how the welfare system can help prepare…

The responsibility of the U.S. House of Representatives Task Force on Hunger is to investigate the causes and dimensions of world hunger and to develop legislative recommendations addressing the issues raised. At this hearing, the issue discussed was of basic education as a crucial link in expanding opportunities for poor and hungry people to…

Rural areas' population growth, location, level of economic activity and social well-being depend less on natural resource endowments than on such factors as transportation, communication, labor force characteristics, and urbanization. General causes of the 1970's urban-to-rural migration included fewer changes in the structure of agriculture,…

With a total area of 197,116 square miles, the Appalachian Region has an uneven distribution of population, income, wealth, and natural resources. The Region's 19 million people live in 397 counties and 5 independent cities in Virginia, which range in population size from 2.6 thousand to 1.5 million. Under 50% of the population live in…

Addressed primarily to direct service personnel and others interested in direct work with parents, this book includes a collection of articles reflecting different perspectives on and approaches to parents involved with the foster care system. Following introductory chapters which examine the emerging focus of interest on parents of children in…

Morocco's three non-formal educational programs for "the hard core poor female adolescent school drop-out" differ in the kind and effectiveness of training offered. The Foyers Feminins program, although it claims to emphasize crafts and literacy, is in fact, definitely geared towards the teaching of handicrafts. The Ouvroir Centers…

This followup study, one of a series of documents assessing the University of Western Ontario Preschool Project, examines the long range effects of the Project on the performance of children from low income families after entering the public schools. This study summarizes data accumulated by the end of the academic year 1977-78 and describes…

A one year descriptive study of demographic characteristics, employment situations, and supportive services needs of women farmworkers in the California labor force was conducted in 1977-78. Data were collected in interviews with both employers and 400 women and 200 men engaged in farmwork in Fresno and Imperial Counties. Most of the women were of…

This guide reviews resources used to develop the analysis of world hunger in "Food First: Beyond the Myth of Scarcity," Houghton Mifflin, 1977. The objectives are to help people understand the economic and political factors that contribute to food deprivation, document this analysis with credible sources, and inform high school, college, and…