Abstract
According to the House Report that urged adoption of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, commenting on the predecessor to the current welfare system, the Report noted the "greatest tragedy of the welfare system is how it harms the Nation's children." Under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in support of which the Report was written, it is now anticipated that 1.3 million additional children will join the children already living in poverty in this country. There are more children in inadequate daycare and housing and more children are hungry. As the number of people finding themselves without the basic necessities of life increases, advocates will be looking to our federal and state constitutions for protections. While the PRA, on its ace, threatens procedural protections, analysis of federal constitutional precedent suggests that procedural due process protections may remain. Many state constitutions are rich with text that may provide a basis for additional procedural and substantive protections for children in poverty. The development of federal and state constitutional protections for children in poverty will play an important role in the new federalist revolution, and hopefully, will assist in the prevention of human suffering.
Recommended Citation
Land, April
(2001)
"Children in Poverty: In Search of State
and Federal Constitutional Protections
in the Wake of Welfare "Reforms","
Utah Law Review: Vol. 2000:
No.
4, Article 2.
Available at:
https://dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol2000/iss4/2