'This is a timely and important book … It is an intelligent book that provides perhaps the most comprehensive single source available today on the subject.' American Journal of Sociology

• Preface; 1. Children in poverty: developmental and policy issues; 2. The economic environment of childhood; 3. The role of mother-only families in reproducing poverty; 4. The association between adolescent parenting and childhood poverty; 5. The strain of living poor: parenting, social support, and child mental health; 6. The health of poor children: problems and programs; 7. With a little help: children in poverty and child care; 8. Poverty, early childhood education, and academic competence: the Abecedarian experiment; 9. Educational acceleration for at-risk students; 10. Cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses of interventions for children in poverty; 11. Effective progras for children growing up in concentrated poverty; 12. Antecedents, consequences, and possible solutions for poverty among children; Author index; Subject index.