Children in Poverty

The numbers of children living in poverty in the United States increased dramatically during the 1980s and remains high. Why are so many children growing up in poor families? What are the effects of poverty on children's physical, cognitive, social and emotional development? What role can public policy and policy research play in preventing or alleviating the damaging effects of poverty on children? This book examines these questions, focusing on the child, rather than on parents income or self-sufficiency. The contributors come from diverse fields - economics, sociology, public health, psychology, child development, and education affording depth and wide coverage of the topic, and displaying an even mix of research and applications. This book should appeal to policy makers, advocates and scholars; although the contributors use a data-driven approach, the text is accessible to a range of people interested in policy issues.