This report helps state and local decision makers understand the range of services ordinarily needed and provided in alcohol and drug treatment programs serving women and families receiving welfare and how those services support the goals of welfare reform. The model programs profiled here tend to the needs of women on welfare and their families…

This paper presents data from a survey of all 50 states that examined specific programs and policies being pursued at the state level to discourage teenage and nonmarital childbearing. Overall, the teen childbearing rate has continued to fall, and in 1999 it was the lowest on record. Some research points to a relationship between welfare policies…

At Congressional request, the General Accounting Office examined states choices for providing child care assistance to families and states' proposed changes to child care assistance programs for fiscal year 2004. Information was obtained through a survey of child care administrators of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Findings revealed…

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program work requirements, part of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) drastically limit women's opportunities to participate in postsecondary education programs while receiving TANF funds. Unlike previous laws governing Aid to Families with Dependent…

As part of the Assessing the New Federalism project, this report describes the child care assistance system in place just before the implementation of the Personal Responsibility and Work opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) and provides some early indications of how states will use the increased freedom of the Child Care and…

This paper synthesizes what is currently known about providing education and training after an individual is employed and provides suggestions on models and strategies that can be effective in promoting occupational mobility and career advancement for welfare recipients. Among the rationales for considering education and training after an…

In 1996 the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program was replaced with a federal block grant program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which imposed time limits and work requirements on welfare recipients. The welfare legislation placed a lifetime ban on TANF and food stamp benefits for convicted drug felons, although…

H.R. 4678, the Child Support Distribution Act of 2000, was scheduled for debate and a vote in the House of Representatives in September 2000. This bill would help poor children escape poverty, strengthen families, and build on and enhance welfare reform. The support changes in this bill would allow more of the child support collected from…

Examines the feasibility of "workfare," a key feature of welfare reform. Uses Current Population Survey (1986) and Bureau of Labor Statistics (1988) to estimate the ratio of potential workfare workers to available jobs. Concludes that, at best, this ratio is 6.2:1 in nonmetro areas and 11.0:1 in metro areas. (SV)

Provides important information to better prepare advocates participating in the welfare reform debate. Presents excerpts from reports by the General Accounting Office and the Advisory Committee of the Department of Health and Human Services. Suggests that virtually all of the reform proposals require much more stringent work participation by…

This article describes how microsimulation analysis was used to help design a social experiment in two Canadian provinces. The microsimulation was used to choose among alternative program models, to refine the selected model, and to project costs for the Canadian government's program of financial incentives for leaving welfare. (SLD)

Examines the policy implications of welfare reform on the Asian-immigrant community, beginning with a systematic analysis of the relationships between Asian immigrants and the public-welfare system since 1965. The dismantling of welfare that has coincided with immigration reform has left naturalization as the only protection in the current…

Rigorous evaluations of welfare-to-work programs have had a major impact on the formation of policy in the area of welfare reform, but it is not clear whether the high level of evaluation, especially with regard to randomized experiments, and impact can continue. Evaluators must strive for research methodologies that provide results for policy…

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 establishes mandatory work requirements. This review article describes the child care provisions of the welfare reform act, addressing some of the issues related to these provisions and highlighting selected state initiatives in this area. (Author)

In response to congressional efforts to assess the potential impact that various welfare reform proposals might have on child care availability, continuity, and subsidy programs, this report examines the difficulties parents have trying to identify and secure child care while they work or attend school. The four child care programs created by the…