Child poverty and the well-being of children is an important policy issue throughout the industrialised world. Some 47 million children in 'rich' countries live in families so poor that their health and well-being are at risk. The main themes addressed are: · the extent and trend of child poverty in industrialised nations; · outcomes for children - for example, the relationship between childhood experiences and children's health; · country studies and emerging issues; · child and family policies. All the contributions underline the urgent need for a comprehensive policy to reduce child poverty rates and to improve the well-being of children. Findings are clearly presented and key focus points identified for policy makers to consider.

This chapter provides a brief overview of the book highlighting the modest progress from child welfare to child well-being re?ected in these chapters, and the parallel movement in Kahn’s career and research, as his scholarship developed over the years. It then moves to explore the relationship between two overarching themes, child and family policy stressing a universal approach to children and social prot- tion stressing a more targeted approach to disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals including children and the complementarity of these strategies. Introduction To a large extent Alfred J. Kahn was at the forefront of the developments in the ?eld of child welfare services (protective services, foster care, adoption, and family preservationandsupport). Overtimehisscholarshipmovedtoafocusonthebroader policy domain of child and family policy and the outcomes for child wellbeing. His work, as is true for this volume, progressed from a focus on poor, disadvantaged and vulnerable children to a focus on all children. He was convinced that children, by de?nition, are a vulnerable population group and that targeting all children, empl- ing a universal policy as a strategy would do more for poor children than a narrowly focused policy targeted on poor children alone, As we ?rst argued more than three decades ago (Not for the Poor Alone; “Universalism and Income Testing in Family Policy”), one could target the most disadvantaged within a universal framework, and this would lead to more successful results than targeting only the poor.

Escape from Poverty addresses the recent increase of child poverty within the USA and suggests specific modes of change.

By age 30, between 68 and 75 percent of young men in the United States, with only a high school degree or less, are fathers. This volume provides practical, policy-driven strategies to address the national epidemic of disadvantaged young fathers and the challenges they face in raising and supporting their children. National experts discuss the issues of immediate concern to those working to reconnect disengaged dads to their children and improve child and family economic and emotional well-being. Each chapter was presented at a working conference organized by Institute for Research on Poverty director, Tim Smeeding (University of Wisconsin–Madison), in coordination with the Columbia University School of Social Work's Center for Research on Fathers, Children, and Family Well-Being, directed by Ronald Mincy, and the Columbia Population Research Center, directed by Irwin Garfinkel. The conference brought together scholars, many in public policy, to examine strategies for reducing barriers to marriage and fathers' involvement, designing child support and other public policies to encourage the involvement of fathers, and addressing fathers who have multiple child support responsibilities. This volume will appeal to researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners dedicated to improving the lives of low-income families and children.

Since their historic high in 1994, welfare caseloads in the United States have dropped an astounding 59 percent--more than 5 million fewer families receive welfare. Family and Child Well-Being after Welfare Reform, now in paperback, explores how low-income children and their families are faring in the wake of welfare reform. Contributors to the volume include leading social researchers. Can existing surveys and other data be used to measure trends in the area? What key indicators should be tracked? What are the initial trends after welfare reform? What other information or approaches would be helpful? The book covers a broad range of topics: an update on welfare reform (Douglas J. Besharov and Peter Germanis); ongoing major research (Peter H. Rossi); material well-being, such as earnings, benefits, and consumption (Richard Bavier); family versus household (Wendy D. Manning); fatherhood, cohabitation, and marriage (Wade F. Horn); teenage sex, pregnancy, and nonmarital births (Isabel V. Sawhill); child maltreatment and foster care (Richard J. Gelles); homelessness and housing (John C. Weicher); child health and well-being (Lorraine V. Klerman); nutrition, food security, and obesity (Harold S. Beebout); crime, juvenile delinquency, and dysfunctional behavior (Lawrence W. Sherman); drug use (Peter Reuter); mothers' work and child care (Julia B. Isaacs); and the activities of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Don Winstead and Ann McCormick). When welfare reform was first debated, many people feared that it would hurt the poor, especially children. The contributors find little evidence to suggest this has occurred. As time limits and other programmatic requirements take hold, more information will be needed to assess the condition of low-income families after welfare reform. This informative volume establishes a baseline for that assessment.

The Oxford Handbook of Children and the Law presents cutting-edge scholarship on a broad range of topics covering the life course of humans from before birth to adulthood, by leading scholars in law, medicine, social work, sociology, education, and philosophy, and by practitioners in law and medicine. An international collection of authors presents and analyzes the law and science pertaining to reproduction; prenatal life (including fetal exposure to toxic substances and abortion); parentage (including biology-based rights, background checks on birth parents, adoption, the status of gamete donors, and surrogacy); infant development and vulnerability; child maltreatment (including corporal punishment and religious defences to abuse and neglect); child protection policy and systems; foster care; child custody disputes between parents or between parents and other caregivers; schooling (including financing, resegregation, religious expression in public schools, at-risk students, special education, regulation of private schools, and homeschooling); delinquency; minimum-age laws; and child advocacy. Most chapters follow a format wherein they first describe the most debated or dynamic issues in each topical area, then explain in depth the law and/or science pertaining to the author's particular focus, and finally offer arguments and recommendations as to law and policy in that area. The normative component aims to advance discussions and debates in vital areas of contemporary child welfare law and policy. The Handbook is an essential resource for scholars and professionals interested in the intersection of children and the law.

Presents the results of the research studies conducted by the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch over the past few years and the trends in funding for the Branch. Research areas covered are factors affecting fertility, family demography, child care, female employment and fertility, adolescent fertility-related behavior, population movement, composition and distribution, factors affecting mortality, and STDs including HIV infection and AIDS.

To design, implement and monitor effective child well-being policies, policy-makers need data that better capture children’s lives, measure what is important to them and detect emerging problems and vulnerabilities early on. Despite improvements in recent decades, there are still important gaps in both national and cross-national child data. Countries can achieve progress if the right actions are taken.