Since its creation, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has changed from an antihunger program to an income-supplementation program. Because the program (and its predecessor Food Stamp Program) was not designed for this purpose, the result is a program that has many unintended and, many believe, negative effects. The key challenge…

Between 2000 and 2005, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, until recently, the Food Stamp Program) caseload increased by half. As the Great Recession unfolded, the SNAP caseload grew even more rapidly. Further, over the past two decades the composition of the caseload has shifted sharply away from families combining food and cash…

Current government and business policy has forced regional Australia to adjust to the national deregulation of industries on which regional communities have become highly dependent. Adjustment is proving difficult with many regional communities struggling as the economic, social and educational core of the town and district falters. This paper…

This report highlights the interconnectedness of welfare reform and broader strategies concerning the economy, education, and the conditions of work. Recommendations are presented for policies that would help working poor families avoid dependence on welfare. The report is divided into five chapters. Chapter I summarizes major findings and…

This hearing before the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources focuses on national goals for employment and poverty reduction. Testimony was heard from government officials, union representatives, economists, and other interested persons. Excerpts from articles and publications were submitted for review. The testimony included the following…

Assesses the major claims and counterclaims in the debate on the desirability of attaching work-related obligations to the receipt of welfare benefits. Attempts to reach a balanced judgment on whether labor policy should continue moving in that direction. (JOW)

During the 1990s, the federal government promised low-income families that work would pay. Parents moved into jobs in response to new welfare rules requiring work, tax credits and other work supports that boosted take-home pay. Unfortunately, the record shows that low-income families have not progressed much. Many do not bring home enough to cover…

Because female heads of families tend to have less continuity of employment than their male counterparts do, they are twice as likely to face unemployment without unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. If Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), which is the primary income support program for impoverished single mothers and their children…

Using findings of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), this report discusses how people become poor and why they stay that way. The PSID reveals that the requirements for getting out of poverty in the United States are so minimal that it takes a mutually reinforcing cluster of behaviors to remain in poverty, even for blacks and females. The…

This document includes the testimony of 52 witnesses at the subcommittee hearings on work, education, and training opportunities for welfare recipients. Topics covered in the testimony include the following: (1) state differences in welfare services; (2) problems in current welfare policies; (3) programs to address teenage pregnancy and parenting;…

The poverty rate in America has increased during the Reagan Administration. Real welfare benefits have fallen sharply and people with jobs have been disqualified from government assistance. Using lessons from the public and private sectors, legislators are attempting to change the regulations of public assistance and welfare work programs to…

This report presents testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee on issues affecting low-income children and their families, offered by the executive director of a nonprofit organization that conducts research and analysis on a range of public policy issues affecting low- and moderate-income Americans. The testimony reviews recent trends…

Describes provisions, implementation processes, and successes of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Welfare-to-Work grants to promote employment of the least employable welfare recipients, including many in rural poverty areas. Addresses other welfare modifications concerning legal immigrants, disabled children, food stamp recipients,…

Addresses the relationship of education and training to employment and how this discourse shapes policy and programs for public assistance recipients and dislocated workers. Problematic assumptions about how education and training affect employment are discussed, along with statistical data that raise questions about these assumptions. Race,…

The hearings reported in this document focused on the need to reform the welfare system and the effects those reforms could have on welfare recipients. Issues addressed by the subcommittee members and the witnesses were the following: (1) why do one-fifth of the nation's children live in poverty in spite of welfare programs; (2) can the…