Cites data from 214 welfare families to support the argument that tougher child-support enforcement can reduce welfare dependency. Suggests that the best way to mend the child-support system for welfare-reliant children is to create a system that takes into account the real-life situations of mothers and fathers, as well as norms regarding…

This study uses data from the U.S. Census' 1980 and 1990 Current Population Survey to examine characteristics of the underclass populations in rural and urban areas. The analysis assesses changes of metropolitan and nonmetropolitan underclass populations between 1980 and 1990, with special attention to race and geographic area. Underclass…

This study describes how poor people fared in the state tax and spending decisions made in 1991, a year marked by the most serious fiscal crisis for the states since the recessions of the early 1980s. These decisions primarily affected fiscal year 1992 state budgets, which typically began in July 1991. The report focuses on income support, medical…

This study was conducted to determine how many workers are in low-wage jobs; their characteristics and changes in their characteristics over time; the characteristics of the low-wage jobs; gender, sex, and racial factors influencing participation in low-wage jobs; and the relationship of low-wage work to family poverty and welfare receipt. The…

The bad economy, the eligibility controls of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, and state controlled Aid to Families with Dependent Children payment standards had different aggregate effects for different Medicaid eligibility groups between 1979 and 1983. Increases in the number of children and young women covered by Medicaid did not keep pace…

Current debates about welfare reform center on the upcoming reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) legislation. The provisions of TANF include the elimination of the entitlement to cash assistance, block grant funding to the states, mandatory work requirements, sanctions, a 5-year limit on cash assistance, and…

Describes the Public Assistance Comprehensive Education (PACE) program, a vocational training program established for individuals receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children. The PACE program was designed to assist public assistance recipients with many financial and personal problems in obtaining education and jobs. (TE)

Examines the consequences for children of life in families that receive at least part of their income from welfare. Suggests these children appear to complete less schooling, even after adjustment for other differences between recipient and nonrecipient families. Low family income and maternal employment are also found to reduce completed…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends from 1990 to 1994 in the well-being of Massachusetts' children. The statistical portrait is based on indicators of well-being in five areas: (1) economic well-being of children and their families, including child poverty rate, family income, job loss, earnings of male high school dropouts and…

This book brings together sources of material on poverty and family health and makes it accessible to health and welfare teams working with families with young children. It draws on a wide range of disciplines and uses both "hard" and "soft" data to provide facts and figures and first-hand accounts of how poverty affects family…

This is the final report of the National Council of La Raza's (NCLR) Focus Study examining the opinions, attitudes, and needs of Mexican American single women, relating to implementation of national welfare reform legislation. Over a 2-year period NCLR staff held focus groups with Mexican American women in four communities: Phoenix, Arizona; Mora,…

In 1991, the Adult Education for the Homeless (AEH) Program consisted of projects in 31 states; a total of $7.4 million was available to these projects. The projects provided instruction in basic and life skills, further assisted homeless adults through counseling and life planning activities, and coordinated efforts with other homeless…

As in the first year of the Adult Education for the Homeless (AEH) Program, a majority of second- and third-year projects tended to focus on either delivery of services in urban areas or on a statewide approach. A few states continued an approach that resulted in service primarily to women. The number of homeless adults served in year 2 increased…

A Senate committee hearing received testimony on the implementation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 in American Indian and Alaska Native tribal communities. The act provided authority for tribal governments to administer welfare programs formerly administered by the states but did not provide funds to…

This report details a study that sought to answer whether welfare reform was meeting its goals of reducing mothers' dependency and boosting children's futures, and whether these reforms were having discernable effects on young children. During the second half of 1998, the study randomly selected 948 single mothers with young children from 5…