Examines the policy implications of welfare reform on the Asian-immigrant community, beginning with a systematic analysis of the relationships between Asian immigrants and the public-welfare system since 1965. The dismantling of welfare that has coincided with immigration reform has left naturalization as the only protection in the current…

L. Ku supports the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program as effective in improving children's health. D. Besharov and P. Germanis reiterate their earlier criticisms that the program is less effective than commonly believed and that research evidence about its effectiveness is flawed. (SLD)

Costs and the likely effects of assured child-support benefits on poverty and welfare participation are estimated under two scenarios: with and without incorporating the labor supply changes of custodial parents. Results indicate reductions in poverty rates, poverty gap, welfare caseloads, and expenditures. Changeable hours will increase costs.…

Rigorous evaluations of welfare-to-work programs have had a major impact on the formation of policy in the area of welfare reform, but it is not clear whether the high level of evaluation, especially with regard to randomized experiments, and impact can continue. Evaluators must strive for research methodologies that provide results for policy…

Guided by the conceptual frameworks of social support appraisal mechanisms and cultural variant perspectives, the reported experiences of 23 Black grandmothers parenting grandchildren who receive cash assistance under the current welfare program, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), were used to integrate macro- and micro-level…

Wisconsin's Learnfare program requires 13- to 19-year-old recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) to maintain good school attendance or risk losing a portion of their families' grants. The program offers those with attendance problems the opportunity to work with case managers to identify causes of their poor attendance, as…

This report reviews the progress of demonstration projects that reduce refugee welfare dependency, promote earlier refugee employment and self-sufficiency, and foster coordination among public and private agencies that work with refugees. The projects used the following three methods: (1) removing welfare provisions that took away some cash…

This country has long debated the question of how to design the welfare system, particularly the federally supported Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program which provides cash assistance to families headed primarily by female single parents. A pressing issue is whether welfare programs should continue to be broad entitlements or…

This testimony on unemployed disadvantaged youth given before the Senate Subcommittee on Labor focuses on the condition of Hispanic and other disadvantaged youth in the labor force. The experiences of these youth with the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) are discussed, and the following problems are elucidated: (1) failure to meet the…

About 1.5 million uninsured children in California are eligible for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families, the state's primary public health insurance programs for children. The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides a natural entry point for reaching these eligible families. This briefing report was written for WIC…

Among the signs of recovery in Washington, D.C. is a decline in the number of homeless families in shelters. However, the unemployment rate remains over 8% in the District of Columbia, and the reduction in shelter use is explained by a reduction in shelter financing rather than a decreased need for shelters for homeless families. Interviews with…

This report reviews the literature on the prevalence, treatment, and consequences of depression in low-income women with an emphasis on the relationship between depression and employment. Recent changes in welfare policy, such as the five-year lifetime limit on assistance and requiring recipients to obtain jobs after two years of continuous…

Noting that a central tenet of the 1996 welfare reform law was that work was the best way to improve the lives of single parents and their children, this fact sheet summarizes research on the impact of parental work on children in families receiving welfare. The fact sheet delineates key research findings from experimental studies of the effects…

Since Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in 1996, Kansas has dramatically reduced its welfare roles. Noting that achieving self-sufficiency is the real measure of success in combating poverty, this study examines welfare reform efforts in Kansas. To gather information, United Way member agencies and…

Presents results of a study using national survey data that indicates that maternal employment in families that had previously received welfare does not hurt children's social or cognitive development and may improve their situations. Outcomes were better for those whose mothers earned higher wages. (SLD)