This article looks at ways the Social Security Administration is changing its image to be more helpful to families with a disabled child. Noted are Supplemental Security Income benefits, the part played by the National Parent Network on Disability, and the recent "Zebley" Supreme Court decision. (DB)

The core of the U.S. social welfare system provides old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid to dependent children. In recent years, as social and economic developments have created new vulnerabilities for the American family, observers are asking whether the system needs refinement and rethinking. The Project on Social Welfare and the…

A proposal written by a group of economists suggests investing a portion of the Social Security surplus in a revolving loan fund designed to enable American students and workers to finance their own post-secondary education, vocational training, or re-training. The plan would make available to every American a line of credit to finance the costs…