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This study on health care and health and illness of low income families is based on findings from interviews with 301 low-income families in the state of Maine. The findings show that a majority of the families have various health or medical problems which need immediate attention. These problems range from dental care and chronic medical conditions to inadequate physical and sanitary conditions. These families lack access to medical services and facilities and show a low utilization of existing services. Many of the families use folk-medicines and remedies for health care. Lack of financial resources is the primary reason reported for lack of accessibility to a doctor. A direct relationship was found between socio-economic status and health and illness behavior patterns. A very high proportion of the families appear to be receptive to proposed services and facilities such as health screening programs and community health centers or clinics. (Author/WS)

The study's primary purpose was to identify and evaluate the relative importance of factors responsible for the generally low labor force participation rates observable in the Ozark Low-Income Area, and variations in rates within the area itself. The study focused on 108 contiguous, rural-oriented, low-income counties in the states of Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, an area with income growth lagging behind that of the nation. Data for the analysis were taken from censuses and other published data. The authors felt the study's contributions to the general body of labor force participation analyses were to be found in its geographic setting and in its methodology focusing on the family as a decision-making unit regarding labor force participation. A crude model was developed in which the key factors affecting labor force participation were classified as need variables, opportunity variables, and family structure variables. The data were then analyzed using a stepwise multiple regression program which revealed that two variables, precent of personal income from nonwork sources and percent nonwhite account for about 50 percent of the variation in standardized male participation rates. Other findings and specific directions for further research are also discussed. (ET)

The monograph by the National Association for Retarded Citizens (NARC) examines issues relevant to the involvement of low income and minority groups in mental retardation programs. It is stressed that a child in a low income family is more likely to be retarded than a child from a higher income family and that this interrelationship perpetuates a cycle of poverty. Previous experience is said to have taught that traditional enlistment approaches discourage participation in ARC programs by low income groups. Emphasized is the need to find out what low income residents desire in mental retardation programs. Provided are sociological facts and statistics from the federal poverty guidelines useful for persons dealing with low income families. Suggested are ways to contact families through churches, schools, clinics, recreation areas, and social agencies. Contacts are seen to serve as bridges between local ARC chapters and the poor. Recommended are local ARC projects such as providing a service not previously available to demonstrate ARC effectiveness in dealing with problems of low income families. Suggestions for involving low income members in ARC chapters include helping meet transportation needs and simplifying parliamentary procedure at meetings. Encouraged is the participation of youth in ARC chapters. A major function of ARC is thought to be service as a catalyst to broaden existing services to the retarded. (DB)

In May 1971 the regional coordinators of colleges funded in the Program With Developing Institutions met in Washington to plan activities for the 1971-72 fiscal and school year. They asked the national office of the American Association of Junior Colleges to develop a series of workshops on problems of, and programs for low-income students in the junior college. Using a questionnaire, it was determined what the colleges themselves felt were the main problems faced in meeting the needs of low-income students. Five fall workshops were set up, involving 330 persons from close to 100 colleges. The workshops dealt with the following subjects: (1) problems faced by the community college in dealing with low-income students; (2) the world of the low-income student; (3) recruiting and testing the "new student"; (4) financial resources for the low-income student; (5) motivating the new student; and (6) developing more effective learning systems. (Author/AL)

A study was conducted to determine the influence of selected characteristics, family patterns, economic standards and clothing problems of the low-income homemakers in Macon County on their participation in a clothing construction workshop. Changes in homemakers' sewing skills brought about by attendance at the workshop were also determined. Data were collected by means of two questionnaires and through personal group interviews. A contingency Table Analysis Program was used to analyze data. Findings include: (1) Participation in the workshop was not influenced by the personal characteristics of the homemakers; (2) Participation was influenced by the sources of homemaking information used, homemakers' knowledge and involvement in community organizations, and ownership of sewing equipment; and (3) Low-income homemakers participating in the workshop make a significant improvement in clothing construction skills. (Author/CK)

The range of cognitive gains made by low-income preschool children in the home-based Mother-Child Home Program is discussed as to the causes of the wide variability found. At the end of one year (October 1967 to May 1968) in the program, 33 low-income preschoolers made an average Stanford-Binet IQ gain of 17 points. The varibility within this group ranged from a gain of 33 points to a loss of 7 points. The average IQ gain for 26 similar children new to the program in the following year (October 1968 to May 1969) was approximately 11 points, with a variability ranging from a gain of 24 points to a loss of 4 points. The first group was divided, at the 17 mean point gain in IQ, into High Gainers and Low Gainers (from -7 to 8 points). The seven children who were identified as Low Gainers evidenced a common pattern of verbally related behavior within the intervention itself, which appears to be characterized by social and cognitive immaturity and by a relatively frequent negative affective tone; six of the seven were also related by an indication of unhappiness in family relationships. It is felt that the factors, beside the program itself, which are associated with high and low cognitive gain, should be identified. Nine case studies of children in the first year of the program are given as illustrations. (DB)

About 25.6 million persons were below the low-income level in 1971, according to the results of the Current Population Survey conducted in March, 1972, by the Bureau of the Census. The sex of the family head continues to be an important factor in the poverty status of families. Families with a female head in 1971 accounted for only 12 percent of all families, but 40 percent of the low-income families. White families headed by a female accounted for about one-third of all white families in the low-income category; the corresponding figure for Negroes was about three-fifths. Although the total number of low-income families did not change over the past year, the proportion headed by a woman increased from 37 percent in 1970 to 40 percent in 1971 with a corresponding decrease in the percent of low-income families which were headed by a man. In 1971, one-tenth of all white persons were in the low-income category as compared to about one-third for Negroes. There are significant differences in the age composition of the white and Negro low-income groups. In 1971, children under 18 years accounted for about 36 percent of all white persons below the low-income level as compared to 52 percent of all low-income Negroes. In contrast, aged family heads (65 years and over) and aged unrelated individuals comprised about 17 percent of all low-income whites, but only about seven percent of the low-income Negroes. (Author/JM)