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Although rates of childhood obesity among the general population are alarmingly high, they are higher still in ethnic minority and low-income communities. The disparities pose a major challenge for policymakers and practitioners planning strategies for obesity prevention. In this article Shiriki Kumanyika and Sonya Grier summarize differences in childhood obesity prevalence by race and ethnicity and by socioeconomic status. They show how various environmental factors can have larger effects on disadvantaged and minority children than on their advantaged white peers—and thus contribute to disparities in obesity rates. The authors show, for example, that low-income and minority children watch more television than white, non-poor children and are potentially exposed to more commercials advertising high-calorie, low-nutrient food during an average hour of TV programming. They note that neighborhoods where low-income and minority children live typically have more fast-food restaurants and fewer vendors of healthful foods than do wealthier or predominantly white neighborhoods. They cite such obstacles to physical activity as unsafe streets, dilapidated parks, and lack of facilities. In the schools that low-income and minority children attend, however, they see opportunities to lead the way to effective obesity prevention. Finally, the authors examine several aspects of the home environment—breast-feeding, television viewing, and parental behaviors—that may contribute to childhood obesity but be amenable to change through targeted intervention. Kumanyika and Grier point out that policymakers aiming to prevent obesity can use many existing policy levers to reach ethnic minority and low-income children and families: Medicaid, the State Child Health Insurance Program, and federal nutrition "safety net" programs. Ultimately, winning the fight against childhood obesity in minority and low-income communities will depend on the nation's will to change the social and physical environments in which these communities exist.

The paper describes a range of evidence-informed strategies that a Historically Black, Colleges and University (HBCU) work readiness program adopted to increase the engagement of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program successfully engaged half of the program participants through two-generational (2Gen) approach. The 2Gen approaches target low-income children and parents from the same household and combine parent and child interventions to interrupt the cycle of poverty. These approaches emphasize early childhood education, economic supports, postsecondary education, social capital and health and well-being to create a legacy of economic security. The paper highlights the human services delivery strategies utilized to engage individuals into work readiness training activities during the pandemic. The paper presents data where certain 2Gen activities engaged TANF participants more than other 2Gen activities. The data reveals that half of the participants completed online digital literacy courses and earned training certifications. The intent of the paper is to offer state and local human service agency policymakers' guidance on strategies to increase TANF participant engagement.

This paper assesses the risk factors for neonatal mortality (0–28 days of life) for full-term singleton live births. The study sample comprised 1,011 ever-married women who were residents of four multi-ethnic, multi-religious low-income areas of Karachi, Pakistan during 1995. The analysis sample was restricted to 4,488 live births to 912 women. Results showed that 4.8% (n = 217) of all births ended in death in the neonatal period, and 76% (n = 164) of these neonatal deaths occurred in the first week of life. While neonatal mortality rates had declined appreciably over time, a large proportion of neonatal deaths were clustered in a small group of women. The univariate analysis showed a statistically significant association between a number of maternal-level parameters (e.g., mother's age at birth, level of formal education, employment status, religious affiliation, and consanguinity) and child-level parameters (e.g., birth order, birth interval, survival status of the preceding child, sex of the neonate, year of death). At the multivariate level, consanguinity, birth order and year of death were found to be statistically significant risk factors for neonatal mortality analyses despite adjustment for death clustering. The study highlights the importance of inbreeding as a determinant of early offspring death, and points to the need for better understanding of why deaths are clustered in certain families. Given the widespread practice of close cousin marriages in Pakistan across all socio-economic groups, there is a need to validate the findings in less economically disadvantaged population subgroups within the country.

Relationship and marriage education has been primarily developed for and offered to middle‐class committed couples. Increasing government funding of these programs raises questions about the extent to which these curricula and programs need to be adapted for low‐income populations. We review the limited body of relevant research and program experience to identify the challenges and guiding principles that need to be addressed when offering these programs to more diverse populations.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program's (SCHIP) efforts to make dental care more available to low-income people, focusing on: (1) factors that explain low dental service use by Medicaid and SCHIP beneficiaries; and (2) the role of other federal safety-net programs in improving access to dental care."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the: (1) dental health status of Medicaid beneficiaries and other vulnerable populations; and (2) extent to which these groups have dental coverage and use dental services."