This special report reviews key aspects of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and its implications for Illinois. The report describes the major stipulations in the federal welfare bill and summarizes the impact on Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); food stamp, child care, Medicaid, and…

As a result of federal legislation aimed at welfare reform, states have been transforming welfare in new ways. Critical questions remain, however, and policymakers must continue to develop new ideas and implement programs from other states. This book contributes to the learning process among states by sharing program innovations and analyses to…

This brief examines state-level data on social, economic, and child well-being measures at the outset of welfare reform, highlighting 13 states being studied in-depth. The National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) reveals that social and economic conditions relevant to welfare reform are quite diverse among the 13 states. State differences in…

This brief summarizes information collected during visits to Hennepin County (Minnesota's largest urban county) in 1999 and 2000 to document changes and progress since 1997. It updates a 1997 report that reviewed the benefits and services in the state and described the economic and political context shaping Minnesota's agenda for serving…

Provides an overview of Family Support Act child care programs and highlights the successes and missed opportunities of the programs' first years. Areas discussed include child care for parents in training programs; child care for working parents receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); the At-Risk Child Care program; and welfare…

Summarizes Children's Defense Fund report: 84 of the 100 poorest counties for children are in the South; 79 of those are rural. Discusses racial differences in child poverty; child hunger; lack of health insurance; harsh state welfare policies; the working poor; lower southern educational levels; estimated costs of child poverty; and needs for…

This paper reviews the key issues and methodologies involved in the replication of social programs, as they pertain to non-profit sector development in the United States and in international development. The related process of knowledge transfer and dissemination, as well as the more specific strategies involved in replication and going-to-scale…

As federal and state officials consider the reauthorization of the block grants at the center of the 1996 federal welfare reform law, it is critical that they use findings from research regarding the impact of welfare reform to guide their decisions. This special report examines the impact of welfare reform on children and youth, drawing on…

Low-income mothers and fathers often share a desire to support their children, but current government policies may pit parents against each other, often to the detriment of their children. This report sets out a shared public policy agenda for newly elected leaders at all levels of U.S. government as part of the Common Ground Project, designed to…

Children eligible for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) were found to have substantially higher mortality rates than non-AFDC children, based on data from 3,679 child death certificates. The disparity appears greater for whites than non-whites. Results suggest social class differentials in health care and risks. (SLD)

This publication is the text of the House of Representatives bill, H.R. 5600 introduced to the U.S. Congress and titled "Children's Initiative." This legislation is designed to promote family preservation and the prevention of foster care with emphasis on families where abuse of alcohol or drugs is present, to improve the quality and…

Drawing on census and survey data from 1940 to 1990, this book offers an overview of the dramatic transformations in American childhood over the past 50 years and presents the case for overhauling national child welfare policies. The first chapter examines the life course of children and provides an introduction to the remainder of the book.…

The purpose of this survey and report is to gain information about parental planning for child-rearing when the mother is employed. This study is intended to explore mothers' perceptions of possible delegation of some basic child-rearing functions during the mothers' absence for employment. Comparison of the child care arrangements which the…

This issue of "The Future of Children" examines whether programs implemented by the federal welfare reform law accomplished the goal of reducing the number of children growing up in poor, single-parent families and whether these programs benefited children. This examination coincides with debates in Congress on the reauthorization of the…

Children are among the poorest of Maine's residents. Nearly 1 in 5 children under the age of 18, 19.3%, lived in families below the federal poverty line in the early 1990s. Most of these poor children lived in working families. The working poor are often missing from policy debates, but their numbers are likely to increase with welfare reform…