The U.S. social safety net changes continuously, as do the problems it addresses. Changes in the economy, politics, and society as a whole all affect the specific details of programs discussed in this volume. Radical change may also stimulate significant program reorientation and give birth to entirely new programs. As this book goes to press, the United States faces the most serious challenges to its economy and to the well-being of its people since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It also has a new presidential administration in the beginning phases of what many believe will be a watershed change in social policy. Many of the serious national policy challenges facing President Barak Obama fall squarely within the purview of this book, even though it was written before he took office. The volume should thus provide a useful historical and operational context for a range of programs and policies affecting the lives of poor and vulnerable persons, as well as a baseline for documenting changes pursued by the Obama administration.
