Describes the impact of Wisconsin Works (W-2), a work-first welfare reform effort that has created significant welfare enrollment reduction. While critics claimed it would devastate inner cities, poor families are faring better. W-2 built on diversion and incentives, opening up welfare administration to competition. Despite many successes, W-2 has…

The Life Skills for Independence class at Chemetketa Community College aims to move people from welfare to work and self-sufficiency. The college works with Oregon's Adult and Family Services agency to mainstream students in the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills program. (JOW)

Identifies key characteristics of indigenous sole-parent families relative to other such Australian families and analyzes the factors associated with their ongoing levels of economic disadvantage. Raises issues about the efficacy of job-skill-development programs. (Author/JOW)

Life histories of 74 young black women were examined for direct and indirect transmission of values. Values about work and welfare were associated with employment and perceptions of future self-sufficiency. When such transmissions were unidimensional, limited, or absent, women were more likely to be unemployed and to perceive future economic…

Provides an overview of federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) legislation and describes features of state TANF programs that are relevant for appreciating the need for evaluation and interpreting evaluations. Also describes some features of the "culture" of local welfare offices. (Author/SLD)

Explores the implications of the rapid influx of low-income mothers into the work force and the new federal work requirements for the well-being of young children. Reviews data about welfare policy provisions from the 1990s, but notes that such data was generally collected before the influx of low-income mothers into the workforce. (SLD)

Discusses the conditions that promote evaluation and their applicability to the current welfare situation. Outlines a welfare reform evaluation agenda, focusing on core activities and investments in evaluation. The major focus should be finding out what is effective for which individuals. (SLD)

Used data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine the effects of living in public housing as a child at some point between 1968-1982 on four young adult outcomes. Results indicated that having lived in public housing increased employment, raised earnings, and reduced welfare use but had no effect on household earnings relative to the…

Adults with limited financial literacy skills must cope with understanding the interrelationship among wages, social security, and welfare systems. Radical adult education can help them make informed decisions about the financial consequences of moving from welfare to work. (SK)

Describes the Linking Individuals to New Careers (LINC) program at Great Plains Technology Center, part of a state network that moves welfare recipients out of poverty through career and technical education. Discusses LINC workshops on job preparation. (JOW)

Reviews recent court rulings that have upheld the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act and examines court decisions in light of two constitutional principles (Equal Protection and Supremacy clauses), which traditionally have been applied to the issue of aliens' eligibility for welfare benefits. Policy changes, designed…

Tested assumptions about welfare dependency and work by waiving a rule allowing primary wage-earners to work more than 100 hours a week without losing welfare eligibility. Results from an impact analysis that considered 3,591 experimental and control families indicate that the rule waiver had no effect on primary wage earners' work activity and…

We address how childcare subsidies help in the welfare-to-work transition relative to other factors. We examine how the policy operates, whether childcare problems differ by subsidy receipt, and the effect of subsidy on work. Data are from a random sample panel study of welfare recipients after 1996. Findings show that subsidy receipt reduces…

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, changed the philosophical ground and rules and regulations that apply to low-income families with children who seek federal income support. TANF recipients have less flexibility in charting their life courses than…

The issue of providing individual services historically has been a major dilemma for social action, Alinsky-style community organizations. Empirical evidence suggests that most action organizations that moved into service provision lost mass-based participation, militant tactics, and a power-building orientation. The author presents a case study…