This analysis examines poverty in families headed by working single mothers, addressing whether and to what degree their economic situations have improved. It investigates the effect of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which moved single mothers from welfare to work. Poverty data from the annual Census…

This paper argues that the U.S.'s experience during the economic boom of the 1990s, together with its choices concerning social welfare policies, imply that child poverty in the United States will be much higher than that in most European countries. It hypothesizes that Americans reveal their preferences about the extent of poverty they are…

Rural poverty among female-headed families with children has declined since 1996 welfare reforms. Moreover, the income of female-headed families has increased, while income from earnings has more than offset declines in public assistance income. Rural single mothers nevertheless continue to experience higher poverty rates than their urban…

The promotion of marriage and two-parent families became an explicit public policy goal with the passage of the 1996 welfare reform bill. Marriage has the putative effect of reducing welfare dependency among single mothers, but only if they marry men with earnings sufficient to lift them and their children out of poverty. Newly released data from…

Documents the new federal welfare policies' effects on single mothers and their children living in poverty in Michigan, focusing on family health and viability, work requirements and sanctions, postsecondary education restrictions, and access to child care. Critically questions public educators' role and raises social policy issues related to…

This report examines how state welfare-to-work programs have affected young children since the 1996 welfare reform act, which moved millions of women into low-wage jobs. Researchers followed a sample of 948 mothers and young children for 2-4 years after the women entered new welfare programs in California, Connecticut, and Florida. After…

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 purports to reform welfare policy and encourage parents to achieve self-sufficiency, but the legislation raises many problems for children and their families. This guide is designed to highlight an array of decisions regarding the most important welfare and child care…

This digest, which is based on findings from a large variety of studies, reviews the known effects of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 on children to date and discusses the Act's possible future effects. Federal statistics show a positive trend in poverty reduction, though other sources are not optimistic…

This report presents data from research on New York state and city compliance with changes in federal welfare laws. It outlines how children and families are faring after 5 years of welfare reform (e.g., caseloads have dropped, but child poverty persists, families leave welfare for low paying jobs and unstable work, and family homelessness is…

This brief presents 10 key findings about welfare reform, using research from the Urban Institute's Assessing the New Federalism project. Welfare reform has taken hold, and, in the immediate aftermath of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), states have made major changes to their welfare systems that…

The issue brief describes the research base for the National Center for Children in Poverty's (NCCP's) framework to assess welfare changes from a children's perspective and points to lessons from current and past welfare-to-work evaluations. Many changes are now implemented in welfare policies due to new legislation titled the Personal…

At the time the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P. L. 104-193) was being debated, some child welfare advocates raised the concern that its effect on families at high risk of involvement in the child welfare system or on families already involved in the child welfare system would be negative. As the debate…

This document reports on a congressional hearing on the George W. Bush administration's proposals for welfare reform and legislation to reauthorize the 1996 welfare reform law. Testimony includes statements from United States (US) Representatives John Boehner and Patsy Mink; Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human…

This report examines the potential impact of federal welfare legislation, Public Law 104-193, The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, on vulnerable families already in or at risk of entering the child welfare/child protection systems. The report includes an overview of the challenges states face; questions for state…

Findings from recent evaluations of welfare-to-work programs and child development research suggest that welfare reform can affect children in multiple ways. These studies focused on three welfare-to-work programs that differ from those that will be implemented under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996…