This three-year longitudinal study investigated whether low-wage employment was associated with improved psychological and parenting outcomes in a sample of 178 single mothers who were employed and unemployed current and former welfare recipients both before and subsequent to the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity…

Notes that, although early approach to welfare encouraged women to remain at home and raise their children, emphasis is now on moving adult welfare recipients into labor market. Provides brief historical development of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), along with specific policy recommendations that address the child care needs of…

Describes how, through support of private philanthropy, welfare recipients have been involved in implementing welfare-to-work policy, including Job Opportunities in Business Sector provisions of Family Support Act, in Illinois since 1986. Describes client roles in problem formulation, model program development, policy development, and policy…

Notes that today's public welfare environment is driven by nation's most recent variation on welfare reform as embodied in Family Support Act of 1988. Reviews this act, focusing on welfare-to-work programs, and discusses implications for social work roles in public welfare. Delineates roles in direct practice, management, policy analysis, staff…

Federal policy has reduced public responsibility for families receiving AFDC and shifted responsibility for dependent children to their parents. Discusses how fostering parents' obligation to support their children can benefit families. Explores how an awareness of these benefits on the part of workers can improve social work practice. (Author)