Using a simple question-and-answer format, Helen Hershkoff and Stephen Loffredo provide a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the rights of the poor. They examine federal and state programs providing income support and medical services as well as federal programs providing food assistance and federally subsidized housing programs. They also discuss access to justice, rights in public places, and voting rights.

Hershkoff and Loffredo point out that given the present conservative political climate, it is now more important than ever for poor people to know their rights under law. To that end, they explain how poor people can use the law to obtain services necessary for basic living: income support, food assistance, health care, housing, and education. The eligibility requirements for all programs for the poor are complex and changeable. The Welfare Reform Act of August 1996 further complicates the rules and makes this ACLU guide even more essential.

Written for poor people and their advocates, as well as for anyone interested in the current status of the "War on Poverty," this book also describes how poor people can use the law to participate more fully in political and community life.