Asserts the importance of changing welfare policies to allow postsecondary education as a work activity. Discusses the history of welfare reform and the benefits of postsecondary education for welfare recipients; describes services provided to welfare recipients by several TRIO-sponsored Educational Opportunity Centers (EOCs); and offers…

Several factors contribute to a disproportionately lower Latino participation in college education. Foremost among those factors are policies that encourage quick job placement over career development, lack of understanding of the benefits of a college degree, lower expectations for Latino students, poor financial planning, and lack of guidance. A…

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 led to an increase in the percentage of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients seeking more immediate employment and a decline in the percentage pursuing postsecondary education or degree programs. Since TANF's enactment, several legislative bills have…

The Illinois Child Care Collaboration Program promotes collaboration between child care and other early care and education providers, including Early Head Start (EHS), by creating policies to ease blending of funds to extend the day or year of existing services. While no funding is provided through the initiative, participating programs may take…

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) placed a lifetime capitation of five years on welfare benefits. This Bill consolidated welfare and employment programs into the block grant known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The benefit package allows operation of programs in accordance with…

As described in earlier articles, children whose parents have higher income and education levels are more likely to grow up in stable two-parent households than their economically disadvantaged counterparts. These widening gaps in fathers' involvement in parenting and in the quality and stability of parents' relationships may reinforce disparities…

Time limits on benefit receipt became a central feature of federal welfare policy in the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). Proponents of welfare reform argued that the time limits in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, would send a firm message to recipients that welfare is…

Research Findings: This study investigated parents' experiences using Child Care and Development Fund and other state-dispersed child care subsidies, reasons for choosing their current child care program, and perceptions of the quality of child care received from their current program. A telephone survey of 659 parents receiving child care…

The ability of individuals to gain mastery over their environment is considered empowerment. However, empowerment often is assessed without attention to the historical, social, or political context the individual is embedded within. This context often is contingent upon social policies that enhance or limit the choices an individual has to behave…

To inform policymakers as they deliberate over the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) reauthorization, this guide reviews what states have done with the flexibility afforded them by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. The first section examines how states have shaped their welfare reform strategies…

The 1997 Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) place an emphasis upon improved results for students with disabilities. A coordinated services system is encouraged in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of service delivery and accountability for results. To coordinate services with other agencies, state…

This handbook is a guide to creating and managing citizenship programs for the elderly learner; a task made more urgent by the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, which denies many federal and state benefits for non-citizen elderly people. The handbook brings together insights and observations…

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 paper uses Current Population Survey data to evaluate the initial effects of welfare reform on the economic well-being of low-income and vulnerable families (defined as those with low levels of education or with single mothers). To do so, it examines the changes in New York City policies and administrative procedures, comparing receipt of…

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…