Youth who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits experience disparate educational, employment, and economic outcomes when compared to youth with disabilities who do not receive these entitlements. Promoting the Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE) was a 6-year national research demonstration project that…

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, previously "food stamps"), is the nation's largest federal entitlement nutritional assistance program which assists individuals and households living below the federal poverty level in order to reduce the amount of money they spend on food. With the conversion of food stamps coupons to…

This article examines the characteristics and income patterns associated with welfare entry and nonentry in the context of an extended application period for a sample of 1,664 women who applied for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families services in Wisconsin in the fall of 2006. The study uses data derived from the systematic review of caseworker…

SSDI beneficiaries lose their entire cash benefit if they perform work that is substantial gainful activity (SGA) after using Social Security work incentive programs. The complete loss of benefits might be a work disincentive for beneficiaries. We report results from a pilot project that replaces the complete loss of benefits with a gradual…

Wisconsin's influential Learnfare initiative is a conditional cash "penalty" program that sanctions a family's welfare grant when covered teens fail to meet school attendance targets. In the presence of reference-dependent preferences, Learnfare provides uniquely powerful financial incentives for student performance. However, a 10-county…

This study identified the employment and earnings trajectories of welfare recipients over six years for a sample of 14,150 women who entered the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF) in Wisconsin in its first year. Wisconsin longitudinal administrative data were used to examine differential patterns of mid-term (three years) and…

Employer subsidies such as the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) and the Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit (WtW) are designed to encourage employment by partially reimbursing employers for wages paid to certain welfare recipients and other disadvantaged workers. In this paper, I examine the effects of these subsidies on employment, wages, and job tenure…

Differences in administrative (UI) and survey (S) records on employment and earnings have substantial implications for assessing the impact of a variety of public interventions, such as welfare-to-work and employment training programs, and especially the state-oriented welfare reform legislation of 1996. We use data from the 1998 and 1999 waves of…

There is little research on knowledge of the policy rules that could affect individuals, either in general or in evaluations of new programs. The lack of research is surprising, given that knowledge gaps could limit the effectiveness of reforms or lead to incorrect inferences regarding the effects of a policy change. In this article, we use survey…

In 1996, the US Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, changing the culture of welfare from a system of dependency to one of personal responsibility and economic self-sufficiency through workplace participation. Through the expert views of case managers and area employers of Wisconsin, this research…

Examines gaps in child support among welfare recipients in Wisconsin. Documented is the extent to which breakdowns at various stages--including paternity establishment, support orders, and payments--contribute to the low rate of child support receipt. Few welfare recipients are able to successfully negotiate the child support system, and mothers…

This study used state administrative data to analyze employment, earnings, and public assistance receipt among former Wisconsin foster youth who exited out-of-home care between January 1992 and December 1998 and were at least 17 years old upon exit. Results suggest that former foster youth who had aged out of care or had been discharged to…

This study focuses on how Wisconsin built up work requirements in Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) prior to both Wisconsin Works (W-2) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). It suggests that Wisconsin is an example to other states and that Wisconsin provides a good test of the top-down hypothesis about the implementation…

This exploratory study examined the level of involvement of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) applicants in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin with the child welfare system both before and after their application for TANF assistance and inclusion in the study. The study found a high level of involvement of TANF applicants with child…

Describes the impact of Wisconsin Works (W-2), a work-first welfare reform effort that has created significant welfare enrollment reduction. While critics claimed it would devastate inner cities, poor families are faring better. W-2 built on diversion and incentives, opening up welfare administration to competition. Despite many successes, W-2 has…