A study of 1,640 adults (ages 18-29) with disabilities examined factors associated with employment outcomes. Several factors were significantly associated with employment outcomes, including the following: gender, race, family income, educational attainment, activity limitation, health status, hospitalization, and Supplemental Security Income…

Describes the program, administrative implications, and lessons learned from the Advanced Technology Program, a welfare-to-work program developed by Oakland Community College in Michigan. Stresses that welfare recipients need full-time work in high-paying jobs, skills training and continuing education, and training that meets the labor demand…

This paper uses data from the 1970, 1980, and 1990 Censuses to investigate the impact of welfare benefits across Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) on the incidence of single motherhood and headship for young women. A contribution of the paper is the inclusion of both MSA fixed effects and MSA-specific time trends to account for fixed and…

This paper uses data from 2 randomized evaluations of welfare-to-work programs--the Minnesota Family Investment Program and the National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies--to estimate the effect of employment on domestic abuse among low-income single mothers. Unique to our analysis is the application of a 2-stage least squares method, in…

This paper compares the incentives inherent in TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), the U.S. welfare system in place after the 1996 reforms, with those of TANF's predecessor, AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children), using the experience in one state, Wisconsin, as an example. Is the new program successful in avoiding the "poverty…

Recent changes in welfare policy have produced changes in parental work and welfare receipt. These factors are assessed in relation to investigated reports of child abuse and neglect using survey data on 1998 welfare recipients in nine Illinois counties, in conjunction with longitudinal administrative data on cash welfare benefits, employment, and…

Basic skills education has become a pressing need in the construction industry as jobs become more complex and fewer workers have needed skills. However, the construction industry lags in spending on training for entry-level workers. The Home Builders Institute (HBI) is testing a pilot basic skills program that it hopes will prove useful to the…

This pamphlet restates commonly held ideas about welfare and presents facts and figures in refutation. (1) The myth that welfare is the good life--color TV's and Cadillacs; argues that welfare is the "good life" only for those who have not experienced it. (2) The myth that most welfare recipients are cheaters; studies are said to show that only…

Argues that the federal government is the only funding source of the magnitude needed to create an adequate early care and education system. Urges the early childhood community to unite behind a long-term strategy for creating and financing an effective national early care/education system. Presents three such proposals that differ in priorities…

Describes current approaches to child care subsidies and identifies several issues and opportunities facing those who want to integrate a stronger child development focus into the subsidy system. Concludes with a discussion of important questions for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to help the subsidy system achieve a better balance…

This fantasy looks back from 1999 to chronicle the imagined scenario of welfare reform in the presidency of Forrest Gump (and the vice-presidency of William Bennett). The decline in government assistance is matched by an increase in private sources of aid and a heightened sense of personal responsibility among Americans. (SLD)

Examines the stresses and strengths that define daily negotiated life experiences for women who are poor or working-class and African-American in urban America. Interviews with individuals in these communities show that these women see themselves as constantly negotiating borders of home/family/life and, at the same time, constantly carry…

Describes a qualitative study examining the educational experiences of eight women mandated into college by the Job Opportunity and Basic Skills Program, a welfare-to-work initiative. Indicates that social service representatives fostered feelings of oppression in the women, whereas college personnel provided encouragement and positive guidance.…

Summarizes the legislation upon which the current welfare-to-work transition is based and describes characteristics of the former welfare population. Discusses current program emphases and presents directions for future program development including academic programs, situated cognition programs, integrated literacy/occupational skills programs,…

Examined differences in divorced (n=1,916) and never-married (n=878) single mothers' decisions to participate in Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). Divorced mothers were twice as likely to receive AFDC benefits as never-married mothers. Discusses differences in AFDC decision-making processes and suggests ways to move single mothers…