Examines the financial impact of divorce on children and their families. The preponderance of evidence suggests that women and children experience substantial declines after divorce whereas the relative income of divorced men remains stable or increases. The impact of public assistance is also considered. (SLD)

Contends that welfare reform should be focused on the well-being of children. Indicates the kinds of concerns that the new welfare reform act should consider. Examines each title of the Family Support Act of 1988. Discusses the implications of each for children. (JS)

Much of the literature on welfare dynamics has focused on the effects of recipient characteristics and state-level characteristics such as welfare benefits and economic conditions; there has been very little analysis on the effects of child support. This paper, using the 1979-1996 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, examines whether child…

Findings from recent evaluations of welfare-to-work programs and child development research suggest that welfare reform can affect children in multiple ways. These studies focused on three welfare-to-work programs that differ from those that will be implemented under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996…

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…

This policy brief describes children from "Welfare, Children and Families: A Three-City Study," using data from the first wave of the study which involved a random-sample survey of about 2,400 low-income children and their caregivers (mainly mothers) in low-income neighborhoods. Researchers collected information from mothers on their…

This report examines the potential impact of federal welfare legislation, Public Law 104-193, The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, on vulnerable families already in or at risk of entering the child welfare/child protection systems. The report includes an overview of the challenges states face; questions for state…

To assist states in easing the burden of Medicaid application procedures and verification requirements for families, the Southern Institute on Children and Families conducted a regional meeting to discuss child health coverage verification issues in September, 1998. Participating in the dialogue were Medicaid and state child health insurance…

As policymakers have sought to balance the goal of fostering poor children's well-being with that of encouraging adult's self-sufficiency, public assistance has become more predicated on custodial parents' involvement in work or mandatory welfare-to-work programs activities. This report examines the effects of welfare-to-work programs on the…

Concludes that at worst, welfare states should be regarded as only one of the unwelcome aspects of poverty, not as a cause of disability. (Author/AM)

Discusses current welfare reform focus on state-level funding for child care, offering implications for early childhood professionals. Notes that with temporary assistance, low-income mothers must move into the work force, resulting in increased reliance on center-based child care. Urges professionals to work with local and state policymakers to…

This report represents a synthesis of research conducted on the consequences of adolescent childbearing for adolescent mothers, their children, the fathers of their children, and the United States. Each year, nearly one million teenagers in the United States become pregnant. About one-third of these 15- to 19-year-old females abort their…

This report takes an in-depth look at the evidence of family well-being since the 1996 federal welfare legislation drawing on new national survey data, a review of studies by states and research institutions, and a compilation of findings from informal community-based monitoring projects. Disturbing findings include: Only a small fraction of…

The paper summarizes the results of an analysis of recently issued Census data. Examining the anti-poverty effectiveness of cash and non-cash benefit programs from 1979 to 1986, the analysis focuses on the impacts of those programs on families with children, the group whose poverty rate has risen most rapidly since 1979. The data reveal that…

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…