Drawing on census and survey data from 1940 to 1990, this book offers an overview of the dramatic transformations in American childhood over the past 50 years and presents the case for overhauling national child welfare policies. The first chapter examines the life course of children and provides an introduction to the remainder of the book.…

It is racism that has undermined the War on Poverty declared by Lyndon Johnson, and the country must come to terms with its history of racism if there is to be any hope of accomplishing welfare reform today. American social policy has continually foundered on issues of race. The antipoverty efforts begun by the Johnson administration were never…

Although the 1996 welfare reform bill reduced welfare rolls, falling caseloads do not necessarily mean a better standard of living for families. This book examines the evidence and evaluates whether welfare reform has met one of its chief goals--improving the well-being of the nation's poor children. The chapters of the book are as follows: (1)…

Children's poverty rate in the United States, over 20%, exceeds that of all industrialized nations except Australia. This interdisciplinary book examines the impact of changing public policies on children. Section 1 gives a current and historical overview of children in poverty. Sections 2 through 5 address arenas of possible change from policy…

This book contains 13 papers on labor market and welfare reform, with special emphasis on the demand for low-wage workers, wages and job characteristics in the less skilled labor market, public politics to increase employment and earnings of less skilled workers, and the impact of welfare reform. The following papers are included: "The Labor…