In 1964 the War on Poverty began with the passage of President
Lyndon Johnson’s Economic Opportunity Act. This was the start of
many anti-poverty programs that provided access to health care,
nutritional assistance and educational support that continue
today.
The Center for Poverty Research War on Poverty Conference, held
on January 9-10, 2014 at UC Davis, hosted top poverty scholars
who look closely at the War on Poverty, including its legacy 50
years later.
In these pages we have gathered conference presentations with
additional work related to the War on Poverty including:
Audio recordings of conference presentations and slides
New research studies and policy briefs on safety net programs
Facts and figures, as well as links to outside sources, that
provide a clearer picture of the U.S. safety net
New articles that explore different aspects of poverty
Central to our mission is the dissemination of poverty research.
We hope you will consider these pages a useful, ongoing resource.
The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 included the Job Corps, the
college Work-Study Program and Head Start, but the following two
year period also saw the creation of cornerstone programs such as
Food Stamps, Medicare/Medicaid, HUD and others that today remain
integral parts of the U.S. safety net.
The War on Poverty launched two major health and nutrition safety
net programs. The Food Stamps program (today known as SNAP) was
established in 1964. A year later, Medicare and Medicaid were
established as amendments to the Social Security Act. These are
only two programs designed to combat the impact poverty has on
health.
Research has found that education increases the chances of
leaving poverty. Today’s school poverty programs still include
Head Start, which was an original part of the 1964 Economic
Opportunity Act. They also include school lunches, Federal Pell
Grants and other programs intended to increase access to
education.
