Income Security and Public Assistance for Women and Children provides a progressive perspective on social, political, and economic inequalities in relation to women and children and their income security. Most of the contemporary discourse on income security and public assistance comes from people who have no awareness of what it means to live in poverty. This volume, in contrast, offers those who are in poverty an opportunity to present what they believe they need to have in order to become independent. It also provides pragmatic and politically viable options to ensure the income security of poor women and children, particularly on the federal level. Income Security and Public Assistance for Women and Children challenges prevailing conceptions--that government assistance creates dependency and exacerbates the position of poor women and children--of public assistance and social welfare in American society. You'll gain new perspectives on the “welfare reform” debate as you read informative chapters about: expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit for income security for children inter-state inequities in children's income security feminist methodology welfare mothers’identified needs for becoming economically self-sufficient family caregiving and public assistance health care and the poor poverty and child placement federal protection of vulnerable children possible negative impacts of potential legislative changes The goal of Income Security and Public Assistance for Women and Children is to bring to task the mean-spirited ideas that many politicians are espousing as “welfare reform.” You'll see how recent legislative developments make the situation even more desperate for many women and children who are barely above the poverty level as the book reviews the nature of recently enacted changes, such as block grants, and makes proposals for establishing a national income security program for children. Academics in the fields of sociology, social work, women's studies, and political science; policymakers in social agencies and public welfare organizations; and advocates for women and children will find this book gives invaluable insight and direction for ensuring income security and public assistance for women and children in the future.

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.