American Poverty in a New Era of Reform

The U.S. poverty rate today is about 13.3 percent. This modest statistic translates to some 35 million people -- greater than the total population of California, almost twice the population of Texas.Clearly, American society has a stake in assisting as many of the poor as possible to become self-reliant, secure, and economically productive. This was the goal of the most comprehensive major public policy change in recent American history, the welfare reform plan enacted in August 1996.In this book Harrell Rodgers offers a carefully documented assessment of poverty in America and the initial impacts of welfare reform -- which, fortunately, has been implemented during a period of economic expansion and low unemployment. He also underscores the importance of backing up welfare reform with policies that support families' efforts to make genuine, sustainable, long-term improvements in their lives and the prospects of their children.Rodgers, Harrell R., Jr. is the author of 'American Poverty in a New Era of Reform ', published 2005 under ISBN 9780765615961 and ISBN 0765615967.