Formal adoption in the Black community is not readily accepted, perhaps because the social services system is insensitive to Black culture. Informal adoption by relatives with extended family support is prevalent and reflects the Black self-help tradition. But such adoption can perpetuate the cycle of dependency and poverty. (SH)

Critics who advocate encouraging pregnant teenagers to marry are mistaken. Teen marriages are distinctly less stable than marriages that occur after age twenty. Later marriers are less likely to be on welfare and are likely to have more education and fewer children. A hasty marriage makes a bad situation worse. (BJV)

New studies demonstrate that many teen marriages are more resilient than had previously been believed; current policies promote single parenthood for teen mothers in the face of very little systemic information about young fathers and their potential for being providers, husbands, or parents. Marriage is a feasible option for many pregnant…

Proposes a policy where money currently being spent on subsidies for poor families and on the effects of illnesses resulting from poverty and crime would be spent instead on preventive health care, day care, education, and job training programs. Advocates helping people become self-sufficient as society's most cost-effective option. (CJS)

The problems facing low-income families headed by women and some current and planned Ford Foundation responses are discussed in this paper. The first section presents a general overview of the problem, with special focus on nonpayment of child support and teenage pregnancy. The debate over the Federal welfare program and other attempts to use…