Anti-Poverty Timeline
Evolution of the Federal Response
1909 — A White House Conference on Care of Dependent Children calls for the creation of a Children’s Bureau. 1912 — President William Howard Taft signed legislation into law establishing the Bureau within the Department of Commerce and Labor. 1921 — Congress passes the Sheppard_Towner Maternity and Infancy Act, the Nation’s first Federal program of social welfare for women, initiating an array of maternal and child health programs. 1930 — Congress created the Veterans Administration, consolidating benefits previously administered by three different agencies. 1932 — The Emergency Relief Act supplements local relief efforts with $300 million in loan money available…
