Achieving Change for Texans (ACT) was a demonstration program designed to help participants achieve independence from welfare through employment, training, temporary assistance, and support services. The ACT included the following four primary components: Time-Limited and Transitional Benefits (TL); Responsibilities, Employment, and Resources…

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with block grants to states, called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Consistent with TANF's philosophy and goals, Los Angeles Jobs-First GAIN (Greater Avenues for Independence) emphasized job search…

A study focused on results from seven of the earliest state welfare reform initiatives with some form of welfare time limit. Four programs--Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, and Wisconsin--- included benefit-termination time limits triggering cancellation of a family's entire welfare grant. Arizona and Indiana imposed benefit-reduction time limits,…

The Connecticut Jobs First welfare reform initiative, implemented statewide in 1996, includes a 21-month time limit on cash assistance, generous financial work incentives, and other features. Its primary goal is to reduce welfare use and increase self-sufficiency through work. To facilitate evaluation of the program, between January 1996 and…

The Subcommittee on Human Resources of the House Committee on Ways and Means asked the General Accounting Office for information on who is currently receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and whether the characteristics of this population have changed in recent years. This report presents information from 1976 to 1992 about women…

This report documents a history of unintended pregnancy, premature motherhood, and failure to plan for the future. Research indicates that most homeless young women are aware of birth control, but few of those who became pregnant were able to translate this knowledge into practice. The failure of homeless mothers to engage in family planning is…

To learn more about how welfare reform affects children, a child-focused study was conducted as part of the larger Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) evaluation. This study assess the impacts of mothers' mandatory participation in welfare-to-work programs on outcomes for children using a sample of 790 participants. It provides an…

"Confronting the New Politics of Child and Family Policy in the United States" is an 18-month project designed to help states, local government, and the voluntary sector as they respond to the social policy debates and changes precipitated by the 104th Congress. The project's main vehicle, aside from exploratory and analytic work, is a…

"Confronting the New Politics of Child and Family Policy in the United States" is an 18-month project designed to help states, local government, and the voluntary sector as they respond to the social policy debates and changes precipitated by the 104th Congress. The project's main vehicle, aside from exploratory and analytic work, is a series of…

"Confronting the New Politics of Child and Family Policy in the United States" is an 18-month project designed to help states, local governments, and the voluntary sector as they respond to the social policy debates and changes precipitated by the 104th Congress. The project's main vehicle, aside from exploratory and analytic work, is a…

Many proposals for welfare reform center on the issue of marriage-based families versus single-parent families and oversimplify the relationship between single-parenting and poverty. Research done in upstate rural New York among low-income families showed that personal and economic characteristics of married and single mothers were similar as to…

The Self-Employment Investment Demonstration (SEID) is a test, designed to run from 1988 to 1992, of the feasibility of operating a program to encourage self-employment among welfare recipients. Challenges facing SEID included selecting sites, developing curricula, recruiting clients, getting clients through business training, completing business…

From July 1985 through September 1987, the County of San Diego, California, operated the Saturation Work Initiative Model (SWIM) as a demonstration project. The demonstration tested the feasibility and effectiveness of requiring ongoing participation in employment-related activities by a high proportion of persons on welfare. SWIM provided job…

California's Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) program requires that large numbers of welfare recipients receive job training and preparation for employment. A survey of the program analyzed early operations in 8 of the first 10 counties to implement it; data were gathered from program staff, case records, and field research of the first…

This report examines the effectiveness of employment and training programs in Minnesota and discusses the impact of the 1985 Jobs Bill state legislation. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to Minnesota's programs and to studies of employment and training programs conducted nationwide. Chapter 2 studies the use of Job Training Partnership Act funds…