Poverty in the United States

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, alarmingly, the number of individuals living in poverty in the U.S. has grown, even during the economic boom of the 1990s, and has become more diverse now including families with children and single women. The author points out that the working poor may be unaware that they may be eligible for various types of aid such as food stamps. The paper relates that there has been no clear solution to this problem; however, some programs, such as the one in Los Angeles, which include social development skills, are producing results. The author stresses that these social programs, which bring together the public sector, nongovernmental agencies and local businesses and corporations, have been successful in other countries and should be implemented by the federal government to address the homeless situation in this country.

From the Paper:

"Welfare reform has played a large part in leaving families in the lurch. The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 is officially called the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. One of its stipulations was that no one could receive welfare for more than any five years in total, however, as indicated, each state could either adopt the new federal rules or use the money allotted for this program for non-welfare agendas. Additionally, it required recipients to participate in work activities for a certain number of stipulated hours per week."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Committee on Ways & Means, US House of Representatives. (2004). Background Material and Data on the Programs within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Pages 15.2-15.26. 2007 December 9 <http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/greenbook2003/FOODSTAMPS.pdf>.
• DeNavas-Walt, Carmen, & Proctor, Bernadette D., & Smith, Jessica. "Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2006." Current Population Reports United States Census Bureau, 1-67.
• Ferguson, K.M. "Implementing a social enterprise intervention with homeless, street-living youths in Los Angeles." Social Work 52.2 (2007): 103-112.
• Hafetz, J.L. "Homeless legal advocacy: New challenges and directions for the future." Fordham Urban Law Journal 30.3 (2003): 1215-1227.
• Henschen, Beth, and Sidlow, Edward. America at Odds. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2005.

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