Suggests that social welfare policy focus on household assets. Asset distribution is less unequal than income distribution. Assets cushion income shocks, reduce household transaction costs, and provide a stake in the future. Reviews the current policy debate. Discusses policy directions in direct financial transfers, housing, and support for…

Bergen Community College, Middlesex County College, and Union County College are setting up (1) counseling programs to help welfare recipients determine their job interests and skills, (2) job-training courses, and (3) day-care centers for participants children. (MLW)

Critics who advocate encouraging pregnant teenagers to marry are mistaken. Teen marriages are distinctly less stable than marriages that occur after age twenty. Later marriers are less likely to be on welfare and are likely to have more education and fewer children. A hasty marriage makes a bad situation worse. (BJV)

Describes the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, which has followed the economic fortunes of a nationally representative sample of American families since 1968. Presents data on and analysis of sex-based differences in wages, the relationship between family composition and economic well-being, poverty, and welfare dependency. Discusses implications…

Problems of today's displaced homemakers overlap with those of women in the 1960s. Problems of women seeking employment are similar to those of minority groups, older workers and welfare recipients. Recent legislation has expanded to fulfill some of the needs of women returning to the labor force. (Author/BEF)

Discusses current welfare reform focus on state-level funding for child care, offering implications for early childhood professionals. Notes that with temporary assistance, low-income mothers must move into the work force, resulting in increased reliance on center-based child care. Urges professionals to work with local and state policymakers to…

Interviews with service providers and welfare recipients on 15 Arizona American Indian reservations indicated that low levels of education and work experience were barriers to employment, and employment was scarce. In remote areas, the lack of support services, paved roads, transportation, and communication made it impossible for many residents to…

Presents the results of an evaluation of a family support program for female, long-term recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Findings show that program participants perceived that training had given them greater self-efficacy and competence, but not increased self-confidence, when compared to control group members. (RJM)

Interviews with low-income, American Indian, single parents on the Rosebud Reservation in Todd County, South Dakota, included families who were on and who had left Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Welfare reform issues discussed included transportation problems; access to affordable, quality child care; food insecurity; and the scarcity of…

The need for good child care in the South will increase dramatically when the 1988 Family Support Act (FSA) takes effect. The FSA requires mothers receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children or welfare payments to enroll in the Jobs Opportunities and Basic Skills program and calls for states to pay for child care for mothers in the program.…

Welfare reform must include reform of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, which is more costly and faster growing than Aid to Families with Dependent Children. SSI allows growing numbers of disabled citizens to depend on the government in spite of new employment opportunities for the disabled and protective legislation. (SLD)

Surveyed 207 parents who were using the Transitional Child Care subsidy 6 months after leaving welfare to examine their characteristics and demographics and illustrate the life circumstances they faced. Findings suggest that income, erratic schedules, and ages of children contribute to the complexities parents face in accessing and using child day…

Describes a prototype, computer-based, decision support system for eligibility determination for Food Stamps, and other support services, based on the regulations of various programs. Illustrates decision-tree structures for analysis and synthesis of client information. Argues that tree structures can help rehabilitation counselors see how human…

Addresses issues of early intervention with young children with disabilities in the context of poverty as a risk factor for disability and recent welfare-to-work legislation. Concepts developed by Uri Bronfenbrenner and Peter Neville are reviewed to show the need to integrate concepts of risk and ecological support into the contexts of caregiving…

Explores the new mission outlined by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and the efforts of the federal government to help the working poor. The review of welfare reform proposals suggests that real solutions will depend on comprehensive plans for a broader sense of well-being for all citizens. (SLD)