This hearing before the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources focuses on national goals for employment and poverty reduction. Testimony was heard from government officials, union representatives, economists, and other interested persons. Excerpts from articles and publications were submitted for review. The testimony included the following…

This document presents a transcript of a Joint Subcommittee on Monetary and Fiscal Policy hearing on the impact of the Federal "War on Poverty" programs. Testimony and submissions for the record included: (1) a paper by Lowell Gallaway et al., "The 'New' Structural Poverty: A Quantitative Analysis," which examines the effects…

Following an executive summary and introduction, the report is divided into four chapters. Chapter 1 presents evidence of hunger in Texas, which is revealed to be a growing problem. Statistics on the number of persons living in poverty, unemployed persons not receiving unemployment insurance benefits, and persons seeking food assistance from both…

This report contains eight papers which summarize a two-year research project that examined the income dynamics of poor families. The empirical work is based upon the National Longitudinal Surveys of the Michigan Survey Research Center, a special sample of 3,000 Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) families conducted by the authors, the…

This report provides the most recent data on the food security of United States households. Based on studies using the Food Security Core Module (FSCM), a tool facilitating direct documentation of the extent of food insecurity and hunger caused by income limitations, this report summarizes 35 studies representing 20 states and Canada. The report…

Higher rates of mental health problems, including depression, have consistently been documented among lower-income samples, and the highest rates of depression have been found among low-income mothers with young children. This study examined maternal depressive symptoms as a risk factor for the development of children who are already at risk by…

This review is aimed at highlighting the impact of economic deprivation on the family, the nucleus of any social system. The low income families receiving "aid for families of the dependent children" (AFDC) are the focus. (Author)

Examined relationship between welfare status and perceived financial stress and children's emotional and behavioral problems using data from National Survey of Children. Found that levels of depressive symptoms, impulsive behavior, and antisocial behavior were higher among children who experienced either type of economic stress at least once…

Assesses the major claims and counterclaims in the debate on the desirability of attaching work-related obligations to the receipt of welfare benefits. Attempts to reach a balanced judgment on whether labor policy should continue moving in that direction. (JOW)

Examines a work initiative that moved welfare recipients into jobs as nurse assistants at a geriatric facility. The women's stories describe a welfare-to-work program in practice and illustrate how and why earnest efforts to mediate poverty resulted instead in the continued marginalization and stigmatization of poor people. (RJM)

Analyzes recent media accounts of teen mothers, identifying interpretive frames associated with the discourses of bureaucratic experts, conservatives, oppositional movements, and the mothers themselves. The dominant discourse is that of the bureaucratic experts who have incentives to tell their own stigma stories about teen mothers. (SLD)

This study estimates the effect of welfare reform on adolescent behaviors using a difference-indifferences approach. After defining the prereform and reform cohorts and considering the life course development of adolescent behavior by following each cohort from age 14 to age 16, we compare the welfare-target and nontarget populations in the two…

During the 1990s, the federal government promised low-income families that work would pay. Parents moved into jobs in response to new welfare rules requiring work, tax credits and other work supports that boosted take-home pay. Unfortunately, the record shows that low-income families have not progressed much. Many do not bring home enough to cover…

There is a great deal of misunderstanding about welfare programs and clients. This booklet attempts to dispel popular misconceptions concerning the Massachusetts Department of Public Welfare (DPW). Using graphs, it provides a demographic profile of welfare recipients. It also provides other statistics about welfare through Aid to Families with…

Welfare programs and the people who use them have a bad public image. Any attempts at welfare reform should include the dissemination of factual information to eliminate the misconceptions. This information should include the following facts: (1) only 60% of poverty stricken households receive welfare; (2) most government services and funds to…