The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 is one of the most important pieces of social legislation ever enacted. Its principles and the workhouse system dominated attitudes to welfare provision for the next 80 years. This new Seminar Study explores the changing ideas to poverty over this period and assesses current debates on Victorian attitudes to the poor. David Englander reviews the old system of poor relief; he considers how the New Poor Law was enacted and received and looks at how it worked in practice. The chapter on the Scottish experience will be particularly welcomed, as will Dr Englander's discussion of the place of the Poor Law within British history.

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.

The welfare state is a pervasive and controversial aspect of contemporary society. Samuel Mencher provides a historical and philosophical background on the growth of welfare policy through its sources, concepts, and specific programs. He covers a period from the English Poor Law of the sixteenth century through contemporary times-viewing changing attitudes toward poverty, new concepts on the nature of man and the influence of scientific thought-and also discusses mercantilism, laissez-faire, utilitarianism, liberalism, socialism, romanticism, social Darwinism, and modern capitalism as major influences on the growth of economic security policy.

Poverty declined significantly in the decade after Lyndon Johnson's 1964 declaration of "War on Poverty." Dramatically increased federal funding for education and training programs, social security benefits, other income support programs, and a growing economy reduced poverty and raised expectations that income poverty could be eliminated within a generation. Yet the official poverty rate has never fallen below its 1973 level and remains higher than the rates in many other advanced economies. In this book, editors Maria Cancian and Sheldon Danziger and leading poverty researchers assess why the War on Poverty was not won and analyze the most promising strategies to reduce poverty in the twenty-first century economy. Changing Poverty, Changing Policies documents how economic, social, demographic, and public policy changes since the early 1970s have altered who is poor and where antipoverty initiatives have kept pace or fallen behind. Part I shows that little progress has been made in reducing poverty, except among the elderly, in the last three decades. The chapters examine how changing labor market opportunities for less-educated workers have increased their risk of poverty (Rebecca Blank), and how family structure changes (Maria Cancian and Deborah Reed) and immigration have affected poverty (Steven Raphael and Eugene Smolensky). Part II assesses the ways childhood poverty influences adult outcomes. Markus Jäntti finds that poor American children are more likely to be poor adults than are children in many other industrialized countries. Part III focuses on current antipoverty policies and possible alternatives. Jane Waldfogel demonstrates that policies in other countries—such as sick leave, subsidized child care, and schedule flexibility—help low-wage parents better balance work and family responsibilities. Part IV considers how rethinking and redefining poverty might take antipoverty policies in new directions. Mary Jo Bane assesses the politics of poverty since the 1996 welfare reform act. Robert Haveman argues that income-based poverty measures should be expanded, as they have been in Europe, to include social exclusion and multiple dimensions of material hardships. Changing Poverty, Changing Policies shows that thoughtful policy reforms can reduce poverty and promote opportunities for poor workers and their families. The authors' focus on pragmatic measures that have real possibilities of being implemented in the United States not only provides vital knowledge about what works but real hope for change.

One-in-seven adults and one-in-five children in the United States live in poverty. Individuals and families living in povertyÊnot only lack basic, material necessities, but they are also disproportionally afflicted by many social and economic challenges. Some of these challenges include the increased possibility of an unstable home situation, inadequate education opportunities at all levels, and a high chance of crime and victimization. Given this growing social, economic, and political concern, The Hamilton Project at Brookings asked academic experts to develop policy proposals confronting the various challenges of AmericaÕs poorest citizens, and to introduce innovative approaches to addressing poverty.ÊWhen combined, the scope and impact of these proposals has the potential to vastly improve the lives of the poor. The resulting 14 policy memos are included in The Hamilton ProjectÕs Policies to Address Poverty in America. The main areas of focus include promoting early childhood development, supporting disadvantaged youth, building worker skills, and improving safety net and work support.

Not every illness has a biological remedy. Poverty, Health and Law presents health in the broader social context of people''s lives, providing insights into the advancement of health through legal advocacy and interdisciplinary solutions to complex social problems. Focusing on basic legal rights and their relation to health--income and employment, housing, education, legal status, and personal safety--the authors provide information and insight into how the law may be used as a tool to improve health and how health care providers and lawyers can work together to invoke more effective and preventive remedies for patients and clients. As America prepares for major reform of its health care system, Poverty, Health and Law brings to the forefront the need to address the root causes of illness and poor health, particularly among vulnerable populations, by exploring remedies and innovations both within and outside of the health care system. "[T]his book is a helpful resource for existing and emerging MLPs that is sure to inspire improved care for the poor." -- World Medical & Health Policy "This book is intended to be used in at least three ways: (1) as a teaching tool primarily for legal and medical educators; (2) as a guidebook for newer or contemplated MLP programs; and (3) as a resource and reference work for MLP practitioners. It succeeds in each of these categories. ...The chief pedagogical goal, whose attainment is likely to be aided immeasurably by this volume, is not to get physicians and attorneys to think alike, but rather to teach members of each profession how and why the other professional thinks as he or she does. ...Taking on an ambitious and provocative agenda, they have done an excellent job of preparing future and current medical and legal practitioners to work collaboratively on behalf of patients/clients who need their joint advocacy. Any reader interested in the ways in which law and medicine might intersect on behalf of consumers'' well-being will benefit from attention to ''the'' book on the current achievements and future promise of MLPs." -- Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Marshall B. Kapp, J.D., M.P.H., Director of the Florida State University Center for Innovative Collaboration in Medicine & Law "[This book] is an invaluable compendium of collective wisdom concerning the theory and practice of MLP--a gift. Those new to the field, whether practitioners, students, academics or bureaucrats, will scarcely believe their luck that such an impressive resource now exists; an exhaustive treatment of MLP from the foundations up. But Poverty, Health and Law isn''t just an edited collection of pieces from legal and medical practitioners from around the States--it is a thoughtful and strategic treatment of the subject with a unified structure and consistent educative approach. Intended as both a teaching tool and a resource for those engaged or interested in MLP, the book boasts numerous valuable features...[w]hether you are beginning to explore MLP or wanting to supercharge an existing partnership or alliance, Poverty, Health and Law will prove to be an indispensible reference." -- Peter Noble, Advocacy Health Alliances blog "Poverty, Health and Law is a valuable resource to enhance understanding of the non-medical factors that affect health. Garnering the expertise of authors from healthcare and law, Poverty, Health and Law is intentionally written to be accessible to students across disciplines of medicine, law, social work and public health. It is a crucial step in advancing the medical-legal partnership model and will also serve as a catalyst to stimulate further research about addressing the social determinants of health." -- David R. Williams, Ph.D., M.P.H., Florence Sprague Norman and Laura Smart Norman Professor of Public Health, Professor of African and African American Studies and of Sociology, Harvard University "This ground-breaking work shows how doctors and lawyers across the country can work together to protect the health of our most vulnerable populations. A comprehensive collection of compelling essays written by national experts, this volume is an invaluable teaching tool for the next generation of legal and health professionals to help guide and inspire such innovative interdisciplinary collaborations in the future. It is also a must-read for practitioners and policy-makers alike who want to understand how real health reform can happen at the grass-roots level." -- Charity Scott, J.D., Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Law, Health & Society, Georgia State University College of Law "Medical-legal partnerships unite the medical and legal professions in a common goal and create the ideal team to serve the healthcare and legal needs of vulnerable populations including children, cancer patients, senior citizens, and HIV/AIDS patients. Not only do they provide critical direct services to patients, they also promote systemic advocacy efforts that have an enormously positive impact on healthcare policies and practices. Poverty, Health and Law is an important guide that could not have been published at a more vital time." -- Steven B. Scudder, J.D., Committee Counsel, ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service

Examines the economic underworld of migrant farm workers, the aged, minority groups, and other economically underprivileged groups.