The poverty rate for children in the United States exceeds that of all other Western, industrialized nations except Australia. Moreover, poverty among children has increased substantially since 1970, affecting more than one-fifth of U.S. children. These persistent high rates require new ideas in both research and public policy. This volume presents such ideas. Four arenas of possible change are addressed: mothers' employment, child care, fathers' involvement, and access to health care. These four types of change have each been brought under the umbrella of the Family Support Act of 1988, after several years of debate over welfare reform. The goal of this landmark legislation is to enable poor families to escape poverty by requiring education, employment training opportunities for mothers, and improving child support by noncustodial fathers. Escape from Poverty is designed to examine the implications of these new policy-driven changes for children. The editors have developed an interdisciplinary perspective, involving demographers, developmental psychologists, economists, health experts, historians, and sociologists - a framework essential for addressing the complexities inherent in the links between the lives of poor adults and children in our society. This book will appeal to both researchers and policy makers.

Our volume examines the potential for change during the life course and across generations. We address the possibilities for promoting healthy development from infancy to adulthood in three key domains: human capital, partnership behavior, and child and adolescent development. Drawing from the disciplines of economics, demography, sociology, psychology, and psychiatry, our volume takes a multidisciplinary approach to review relevant empirical work regarding aspects of change and continuity, and the ways in which policies and programs might bring about change. We feature chapters from leading researchers in five countries to address these important issues. The main purpose of our volume is to link and integrate the lessons learned from multiple disciplines about change and continuity in order to examine how our nations can improve life chances.

Our volume examines the potential for change during the life course and across generations. We address the possibilities for promoting healthy development from infancy to adulthood in three key domains: human capital, partnership behavior, and child and adolescent development. Drawing from the disciplines of economics, demography, sociology, psychology, and psychiatry, our volume takes a multidisciplinary approach to review relevant empirical work regarding aspects of change and continuity, and the ways in which policies and programs might bring about change. We feature chapters from leading researchers in five countries to address these important issues. The main purpose of our volume is to link and integrate the lessons learned from multiple disciplines about change and continuity in order to examine how our nations can improve life chances.

The poverty rate for children in the United States exceeds that of all other Western, industrialised nations except Australia. Moreover, poverty among children has increased substantially since 1970, affecting more than one-fifth of US children. These persistent high rates require new ideas in both research and public policy. Escape from Poverty presents such ideas. Four modes of possible change are addressed: mothers' employment, child care, father involvement, and access to health care. It examines the implications of these new policy-driven changes for children. The editors have developed an interdisciplinary perspective, involving demographers, developmental psychologists, economists, health experts, historians, and sociologists - a framework essential for addressing the complexities inherent in the links between the lives of poor adults and children in our society.