Despite welfare reform initiatives emphasizing job training, the complexity of dealing with county, state, and federal agencies and regulations often forces low income women to choose between working/training and keeping child-care assistance. Adult educators can advocate for policy changes in financial aid, child care, and other support services.…

Reviews trends in Black male unemployment, out-of-wedlock births, and the number of Aid to Families with Dependent Children cases over the past 25 years. Argues that family breakdown is creating a state of urban social chaos that could lead to martial law. (FMW)

Discusses the limitations of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, and reviews the national and regional impact of immigration on the labor market and taxes and public services, and successful immigrant assimilation. Argues for reform of immigration policy based on a profamily, progrowth policy. (FMW)

Analyzes the impact of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 on labor markets, especially the low-wage labor market. Because family stability requires that someone do family work, cutbacks that have been justified by invoking traditional family values will almost surely contribute to the continued erosion of family life.…

Offers an overview of the explanatory factors of ethnic segregation and spatial concentration in modern welfare states. Traditional theories, behavioral theories, and theories in which restraints are central are reviewed, and restructuring processes are explored in light of economic change. The future of ethnic segregation is outlined. (SLD)

Explores the impact of the new welfare reform bill on female heads of households, arguing that the push for welfare recipients to end welfare dependency and enter the job market ill-prepared presents challenges in the home and the workplace. Suggests that adult educators' role in preparing low-skilled mothers for the workplace is central in…

Examines case management practices in welfare-to-work programs and the effects of these practices on participants' assessments of, and compliance with, the programs. Results suggest that establishment of voluntary and ongoing professional relationships of mutual trust is most effective in causing participants to make the transition from welfare to…

Uses data from an ethnographic study of two companies in which welfare recipients obtained employment to examine the move from welfare to work. The analysis of the transitions from welfare to work of 23 women and men highlights the necessity of additional education to upgrade job status. (SLD)

A 3-year study of welfare reform in Ohio's 29 Appalachian counties surveyed human services agencies, county commissioners, poor families, and employers and found that rural barriers to employment included lack of jobs, lack of child care, poor health, lack of education and job skills, and transportation problems. Many former welfare recipients…

Census Bureau data, 1970-90, indicate that families of nonmetropolitan poor children relied more heavily on parental earnings and less on public assistance than their metropolitan counterparts, but reliance on public assistance rose sharply during the period, especially for nonmetro children. Welfare's ability to ameliorate poverty was modest and…

Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used to examine the effects of welfare reform on children. Although effect sizes were generally small, the findings suggested the potential value of welfare-reform approaches that emphasized long-term human-capital development. Positive effects of support services on earnings were strongest…

Describes a child welfare program that used outcome information to support a learning organization to achieve better outcomes for children and their families. Considers factors that facilitate the use of outcome data and which should be included in an outcome orientation to management practice. (JPB)

We developed a conceptual framework to examine the association between stigma, enrollment barriers (e.g., difficult application), knowledge, state policy, and participation in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and adult Medicaid programs. Survey data from 901 community health center patients, who were potential and actual…

A common argument in support of work-based welfare reform is that exposure to work will lead welfare recipients to revise their beliefs about how they will be treated in the labor market. This paper explores the analytical and empirical basis for this argument. The difficulty in testing the assumption that work leads to a change in beliefs is that…

The passage of the Contract with America Advancement Act terminated the Social Security Administrations Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income benefits for persons diagnosed with drug or alcohol addiction (also known as DA&A recipients), effective January 1, 1997. From an evaluation standpoint, the law created the opportunity…