This paper examines conflicting evidence regarding the impacts of welfare reform on children's wellbeing. Research shows that poverty rates, teen crime and fertility, and child maltreatment are down. Lack of appropriate state-level data on indicators of child wellbeing precludes serious analysis of the role of welfare reform for most indicators.…

Using data from a longitudinal sample of former and current welfare recipients in Michigan spanning 1997 through 1999, the Womens Employment Study, this analysis examined how transitions from welfare to work affect parenting behavior and child behavior problems. Researchers used a fixed-effects regression design to control for all time-invariant…

This study presents findings from an ongoing study of urban childhood on public assistance. The study used interviews with aldermen, social workers, police, public housing and ghetto neighborhood residents, and medical personnel as well as the collection of field study data from local institutions and their representatives. The results appear in…

Creation of a parent license would validate parental rights, establish parental responsibility, and provide a basis for societal support of parenting through financial benefits, parent education and training, and protective services for children. Government has played an increasing role in family life through laws defining and mandating parental…