Books in the Opposing Viewpoints Series present debates about current issues that can be used to teach critical reading and thinking skills. The opinions expressed in the selections in each series title examine many different aspects of a single issue. Detractors of the welfare system have long argued that the system promotes dependency. They…

Contributions to this book are based on presentations at a conference hosted by The Urban Institute in April 1994 to consider the challenges of achieving self-sufficiency for the nation's poor. Achieving long-term self-sufficiency for society's members is a fundamental social goal, but the problems involved, particularly those of finding enough…

As welfare programs have grown more costly, it has become obvious that they merely treat the symptom, poverty, instead of the problem, unemployment. Jobs increasingly require higher levels of skills and better educated workers. Since the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 has ended the federal guarantee of…

In response to congressional approaches to welfare reform, this report describes a study of the extent to which child care needs of welfare recipients in the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program are currently being met, whether any barriers exist to meeting the child care needs of JOBS participants, the effects of child care subsidies…

This document records the oral and written testimony concerning the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Act from a panel of witnesses representing health and human services and welfare departments in New Jersey, California, Wisconsin, and of program heads for employment development in those states. The witnesses, although having a variety of…

The National Center for Children in Poverty is developing a series of issue briefs on children and welfare reform to help policymakers, community leaders, and advocates use the opportunities afforded by welfare changes in ways that are most likely to benefit both children and adults. This second issue brief focuses on the impact of federal and…

This report describes the first 2 years of Connecticut's Jobs First program operation. Chapter 1 describes the following: the policy context; the program's three main features--time limit, earned income disregard, and mandatory "work first" employment services; the evaluation and implementation analysis; and the research sites and target…

This report asserts that college work-study programs have been very successful in creating wage-paying jobs for low-income students who need funds for college expenses. There are compelling reasons to build on this legacy of college work-study to create new work-study initiatives designed explicitly for welfare recipients. Some of the key program…

A study used data on the characteristics, Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) program activities, and quarterly earnings of about 6,500 adult female Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients who enrolled in JTPA programs in 11 states during Program Year 1986. The study tracked the experiences of the women in the JTPA programs and…

Welfare reform is directed toward development of programs that focus on work. Of major consequence to this move toward welfare reform are misconceptions about welfare recipients. While some can work, fewer than 10 percent of all recipients would be subject to any work requirement, and while many remain on welfare for extended periods, one-half of…

This report recommends that the Social Security Act Title XIX be amended to include a 24-month extension of Medicaid to families who become ineligible for cash assistance under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. This amendment accompanies the Family Welfare Reform Act of 1987 (H.R. 1720), which is proposed to replace the…

Federal welfare funding through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant gives states flexibility to help low income parents move into employment. However, the law discourages states from allowing welfare recipients to participate in education and training programs. These restrictions are at odds with recent research…

The 1996 welfare reform act forced many poor parents into the labor market, with little understanding of how the parents' workforce participation would affect family life in general and their children in particular. In this paper, researchers examine the relationship between parental workforce participation, welfare receipt, and children's…

Reauthorization of welfare reform legislation has focused attention on the effectiveness of short-term training as a means for welfare recipients to attain self-sufficiency. Its effects on employment and earnings have been one focus of recent evaluations of federal programs. Although some Job Opportunities and Basic Skills programs produced…

Since the 1996 passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (welfare reform), impoverished children in single-parent families receive less aid than under the previous system, and the most disadvantaged of these children have slipped deeper into poverty. This research brief summarizes a study that explored the economic well-being…