This document contains 22 information briefs from the 1981 White House Conference on Aging. Four of the briefs provide data on health, available services, income, and employment from a report comparing the well-being of older people in three rural and urban locations. National estimates are provided about the need for meals for older people, and…

Some observers believe that welfare programs have an urban bias; however, the rate of poverty is higher in rural than in urban areas. This study establishes metro and nonmetro differences in the use of welfare and the degree to which it reduces poverty. Data from the U. S. Census Bureau's March 1987 Current Population Survey are analyzed using…

Using data from the 1980 Census Public Use Microdata Sample, this paper examines characteristics of women who live alone and incidence of poverty in this group. Results show there are two distinct subgroups among women who live alone: the elderly, most of whom are widowed; and the young, many of whom are single or divorced. For both groups, about…

A structural approach which focuses on social and economic conditions under which poverty exists and which de-personalizes causes is used to study the extent and trends of poverty in general and Maine in particular. The 1980 Census reported that 13% of Maine's population was poor, but since income in Maine is generally low many people fall in and…

In 1998 the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics held a working conference on issues pertaining to effective mathematics education in schools serving poor communities. This paper reprises some themes of that conference and highlights potentially important issues to consider in a research agenda with an intentional focus on rural mathematics…

This paper examines the problem of having many poor children in the wealthy United States and the need to find answers to this problem. Despite much recent talk about "family values," the dominant U.S. ideology holds that family welfare is a private rather than a public responsibility. Poor children are seen as a special population that diverts…

This paper considers the rising phenomenon of one-parent, female-headed households in Georgia, identifies family service needs of these families, and explores availability of services. Female-headed families account for 16.4% of all families in Georgia, making it second-highest in the nation. From 1970 to 1980, the number of female-headed families…

The stated purpose of this paper is to summarize findings from survey data which tap approximately 30 of the so-called "poverty traits." The data were collected in 1970-71 from both metropolitan and nonmetropolitan families, varying in income and ethnic background, and living in widely different parts of the U.S. Twenty-nine poverty traits…

Current welfare reform efforts are based on the assumption that limiting government support will promote personal responsibility, driving welfare recipients to obtain additional education and training in order to meet employment targets. But is education and training--human capital--the answer to poverty and welfare dependency, especially in rural…

This study tests the hypothesis that the local labor market structure, particularly the proportions of high- and low-paying occupations, affects human capital investment. Most studies have assumed that the direction of causation flows from the supply of human capital to employment growth. However, the creation of low-skilled jobs merely reshuffles…

This paper examines patterns of change in the number of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan Texas counties, 1980-1990. Specifically, the paper analyzes how changes in AFDC enrollment can be explained by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and the extent to which factors explaining…

Interviews with 265 low-income women examined demographic factors, maternal and child educational experiences, and social support factors, with a focus on urban-rural differences. The women lived in Kansas, Tennessee, Texas, and Florida, and ranged in age from 16 to 55; 94 percent had children and 80 percent were not currently married. The results…

This paper documents changing rates of poverty, sources of income, and employment among rural female-headed families with children, focusing on the effects of welfare reform. Data from the Current Population Survey show that from 1989 through 1999, especially since passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act…

This paper examines and questions popular ideas about education and its relationship to the economic well-being of individuals, communities, regions, and the nation. It suggests that the criteria used to develop economic and educational strategies have produced mixed results at best, especially in rural areas. Since family income is related to…

Three socioeconomic classes of rural students ages 6 to 18 were interviewed about their conceptions of the rich and poor and economic inequality. The 114 students in the sample were divided as follows: (1) middle class, 23; (2) working class, 61; and (3) lower class, 30. Responses of the students are analyzed according to Leahy's categories of…