The strengths and abilities children develop from infancy through adolescence are crucial for their physical, emotional, and cognitive growth, which in turn help them to achieve success in school and to become responsible, economically self-sufficient, and healthy adults. Capable, responsible, and healthy adults are clearly the foundation of a well-functioning and prosperous society, yet America's future is not as secure as it could be because millions of American children live in families with incomes below the poverty line. A wealth of evidence suggests that a lack of adequate economic resources for families with children compromises these children's ability to grow and achieve adult success, hurting them and the broader society. A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty reviews the research on linkages between child poverty and child well-being, and analyzes the poverty-reducing effects of major assistance programs directed at children and families. This report also provides policy and program recommendations for reducing the number of children living in poverty in the United States by half within 10 years.

This budget document presents the federal proposal for an innovative approach to reduce child poverty and help make work pay. It first briefly reviews the situation of children in Canada and the difficulties that many families on welfare have when attempting to move from welfare to work. It then describes what federal, provincial, & territorial governments provide in the way of income support & child services. Finally, it presents the proposal for a National Child Benefit System, a joint approach that builds a stronger federal foundation for low-income families with children, accompanied by provincial/territorial investments in complementary programs targeted at improving work incentives & services for those families.

The National Child Benefit announced in the 1997 federal Budget promised 850 million dollars to move children out of the welfare rolls and the trap of poverty. This book attempts to outline the key concepts of this new program and set the stage for discussion of its potential impact. The writers do not agree. This book does not present a unified argument either supporting or critiquing the program but raises a series of important issues and concerns regarding the programs effectiveness in addressing child poverty. The question remains: Is this new federal social program a phoenix rising from the ashes of past social welfare programs or just a federal fizzle?

The National Child Benefit is an approach to helping children in low-income families get off to a good start in life through various initiatives by the federal, provincial, territorial, and First Nations governments. This publication begins with a national summary of Benefit funding by jurisdiction & program area. It then summarizes Benefit initiatives & funding by province & territory and for First Nations by region. Program areas are as follows: child benefits & earned income supplements; child/day care; supplementary health benefits; early childhood services and services for children at risk; and other services.