679 Poverty Law in Theory and Practice (3)

Examines how law and legal systems impact poor people. Federal and state laws and the agencies and organizations that define and regulate the lives of poor individuals and families are studied. Covers the history of legal services for the poor, societal and political responses to poverty and competing public policy perspectives over issues of welfare, welfare reform and ways to address income disparity and the lives of poor people in the United States. Subject matter is analyzed from both historical and sociological perspectives. Public benefits, education, and the impact of gender, race, ethnicity and immigration status are reviewed in the context of constitutional and administrative law.