"Volume 1: Families and Children" addresses policy and legislation that affects low-income families. One issue that is considered in this volume is the lack of a national housing policy in the United States. "Volume 2: Health and Medical Care" includes discussions on the status of Medicaid, the lack of mental health services available for low-income families, and the difficult-to-access healthcare for the rural poor. "Volume 3: The Promise of Education" discusses universal pre-kindergarten, Head Start, and the education of immigrant children. "Volume 4: Children and the State" explores the effects of welfare reform, especially the issue of childcare and the increased work expectations of parents. Other compelling topics in this volume include low-income families and the Family and Medical Leave Act, poor children and the Internet, and the increase in economic insecurity among low-income families who increasingly live on credit. Each volume contains original essays written by an interdisciplinary roster of contributors and elucidates major topics of concern in light of currently controversial economic, educational, and healthcare-related policies. Essays spotlights growing areas of concern, e.g., affordable housing for families with children, and compare U.S. policies for children and families to those of selected major industrialized countries. In a 2004 study by the Annie E. Casey, Ford, and Rockefeller Foundations, it was reported that a large number of American families are currently faring poorly in their struggle to provide for themselves. Low-income and poor families were found to contain one-third of all of the children in American working families. Low-wage jobs without benefits mean that families at or below the poverty line live a precarious existence. The purpose of this four-volume set is to reveal, explicate, analyze, and assess the effects of an inadequate income on children.