This paper examines conflicting evidence regarding the impacts of welfare reform on children's wellbeing. Research shows that poverty rates, teen crime and fertility, and child maltreatment are down. Lack of appropriate state-level data on indicators of child wellbeing precludes serious analysis of the role of welfare reform for most indicators.…

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…

A new study of parents' health, medical care, and health-related behavior finds that large numbers of parents at all income levels take part in risky behaviors that are harmful to their own health and are likely to harm the health of their children. These behaviors include smoking, heavy drinking, and being overweight and sedentary. Risky…

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…

This 1999 study assessed whether laws protecting low-income people's rights were being followed and whether people on public assistance were receiving appropriate information about child care. Surveys of 92 parents, predominantly women, indicated that most were concerned about being sanctioned if they were unable to work (often because their…

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…

Marin City is an isolated African American community located in mostly affluent Marin County, California. Thirty-six percent of households in Marin City fall below the poverty line. This report provides three case studies from the Marin City Families First (MCFF) program, an intervention that aims to develop a model comprehensive child and family…

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…

Using estimates drawn from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF), this brief examines variations in the receipt of dental care services and in unmet need for dental care across different subgroups of children aged 3 and over, both nationally and across 13 states. The NSAF is a household survey that provides information on more than…

This collection of selected reminiscences of a volunteer teacher in the Pennsylvania prison system recounts her experiences teaching illiterate and near-illiterate prisoners (and others) how to read. The collection describes several different individuals (in and out of prison), their diverse reactions to reading, and their understanding and use of…

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…

As a condition of receiving federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds, states are required to operate Child Support Enforcement (CSE) programs. Families receiving TANF are required to participate in the CSE program; families not receiving TANF may also request CSE services. However, since 1994, an increasing number of states…