Some welfare experts and policymakers advocate providing education and training to prepare welfare recipients for jobs that will eventually help them leave poverty (the "work first" approach), whereas others advocate placing welfare recipients in jobs immediately whenever possible. Although the Personal Responsibility and Work…

The erosion of marriage has caused enormous difficulties for children, parents, and society. Compared to children born within marriage, those born outside of marriage are overwhelmingly more likely to live in poverty, depend on welfare, and have behavior problems. They also may suffer depression and physical abuse, fail in school, abuse drugs, and…

As welfare programs have grown more costly, it has become obvious that they merely treat the symptom, poverty, instead of the problem, unemployment. Jobs increasingly require higher levels of skills and better educated workers. Since the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 has ended the federal guarantee of…

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 passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996 has ushered in a new era of welfare reform. A work-first approach emphasizes self-sufficiency designed to move welfare recipients into the workforce as quickly as possible. The first of two issues related to the current context of welfare-to-work…

A study focused on the effect of welfare reform legislation on literacy or social service providers and families participating in the programs. Program staff and participants in Wisconsin and California were surveyed and interviewed to determine how welfare reform impacted what they do programmatically or personally. Findings indicated receipt of…

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), which establishes work-focused, time-limited welfare benefits. TANF permits tribes to receive funds directly from the federal government to administer their own…

A Senate committee hearing received testimony on the implementation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 in American Indian and Alaska Native tribal communities. The act provided authority for tribal governments to administer welfare programs formerly administered by the states but did not provide funds to…

This sixth annual report provides welfare dependence indicators through 2000, reflecting changes since enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act in 1996 and highlighting benefits under Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), now Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); the Food Stamp program; and Supplement…

Older teens living in families receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) face serious sociodemographic disadvantages. When combined with the characteristic risk-taking behaviors of adolescence, these disadvantages pose a threat to TANF teens' immediate and future physical, psychological, and emotional health and to their long-term…

A study requested by the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs examined tribal implementation of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Questionnaires were returned by TANF program directors in 34 states and by 148 American Indian tribes. Meetings were conducted with tribal leaders, program officials, and TANF officials in five states,…

Researchers assembled a database of current and projected information on the following: welfare recipients; other female participants in the labor market; employment, occupational availability, and job openings; and occupational characteristics. The database was used in a multistep process to project the number of women forced to leave welfare…

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…

In its 2019 report, "Beyond the Border: Family Separation in the Trump Era," UnidosUS demonstrates how the current trajectory of the nation's immigration policies is threatening the future of an entire generation of American children. This issue brief on Illinois is part of a series that builds on this analysis by exploring the stakes at…

The 16 chapters in this five-part book, each by different authors, trace the effects of welfare reform (mandated by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996), upon poor people in rural areas of the United States. The book begins with an introduction called "As the Dust Settles: Welfare Reform and Rural…