The centerpiece of the 1988 Family Support Act (FSA) is the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Act, which directs states to provide a broad range of educational, training, and employment services. FSA offers states an opportunity to design humane and effective programs to assist welfare recipients to move out of poverty. FSA also has…

Noting the while there may be much support for the principle that families on welfare should have access to 2 years of education and training and then be expected to work, this paper contends that it will be extremely difficult, perhaps impossible, to design a coherent and constructive program within the probable federal budget constraints. In…

Single mothers on welfare were recruited for a program at Trinity College of Vermont using a variety of methods: newspaper advertisements, admission office applicants, and welfare office solicitation. Eligible for the program were single mothers on welfare meeting all Trinity College entrance requirements and having an interest in and commitment…

The extent to which the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) has been successful in preparing welfare recipients for employment may indicate the level of success to be expected from more comprehensive "welfare to work" programs now under Congressional consideration. In program year 1984, there were 542,000 adult JTPA-IIA participants; of…

The Social Welfare History Archives at the University of Minnesota were established with the intent of gathering the records of the diverse agencies and national associations that make up the private or independent social welfare sector. The collection documents life in urban settings and focuses on social behavior that is often neglected in…

This study used descriptive data from the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Child Outcome Study to identify predictors of involvement among nonresident fathers of young children who receive welfare, and the relationship of father involvement to child outcomes. Participating were 693 mothers and children ages 3 to 5 in Fulton County,…

This paper outlines the elements of the federal welfare reform legislation and the most important child welfare reforms currently being implemented. Some of the common themes of child welfare reforms are identified. The paper also discusses why new child welfare systems should be designed by child welfare and workfare authorities in collaboration…

Welfare reform is unavoidably related to children. The importance of considering children's well-being when governments change the rules of support for poor families cannot be overestimated. Findings in the welfare reform proposal contained in the "Contract with America," and elsewhere, are deeply disturbing because they seek to: deny…

New York City's Transitional Child Care (TCC) program, for families exiting Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), has an application rate of 20 percent. This study sought to determine both the causes of the low rate and possible solutions. The situation was evaluated by means of surveys, interviews, analysis of data collected by the…

This paper describes preliminary results from a study at the Crisis Control Ministry, a poverty relief organization in Winston-Salem (North Carolina). The intent of the study was to explore the nature of and influences on contemporary urban poverty by having the investigator serve as a volunteer interviewer at the Crisis Control Ministry. Another…

Some observers believe that welfare programs have an urban bias; however, the rate of poverty is higher in rural than in urban areas. This study establishes metro and nonmetro differences in the use of welfare and the degree to which it reduces poverty. Data from the U. S. Census Bureau's March 1987 Current Population Survey are analyzed using…

The impact of population density on the likelihood of Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) clients becoming economically self-sufficient was examined through a study of 2,647 ADC recipients referred to a total of 8 comprehensive vocational assessment centers (CVACs) for ADC clients that were established in Ohio in 1992. Of the CVACs, two were from each…

Little research has been directed at the psychological development of poor women. So as to better understand this group, the results of a qualitative study of 20 white, semi-rural women receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (welfare) are reported in this paper. All of the women were completing a two-year college degree. Their process…

This study of Utah single welfare parents attempts to respond to several questions. What are the characteristics of this population, especially with respect to self-sufficiency? For instance, what percentage of the population requiring child care, has completed job training, etc.? What segments exist in the population? What are the clusters of…

Child welfare services would benefit from a radical rethinking of methods of delivery. As matters now stand, stigmatized services are provided for stigmatized groups (specifically, the children of poor and minority ethnic groups). It is useful to differentiate the social provisions relating to children in need into three categories: (1) truly…