This paper uses new survey data on employers in four large metropolitan areas to examine the determinants of employer demand for welfare recipients. Data come from a telephone survey of approximately 750 establishments. Results suggest a high level of demand for welfare recipients, although such demand appears fairly sensitive to business cycle…

This report presents key findings from a review of data focusing on child care arrangements among people who have left welfare. Most states have conducted studies of former welfare recipients using administrative data, surveys of welfare leavers, or a combination of the two. Data from these surveys indicate that most people who have left welfare…

U.S.-born children of immigrants may be less likely to receive some social services than are children of native-born immigrants, if foreign-born parents who are themselves ineligible are less likely to apply on their children's behalf. Researchers used retrospective data from a sample of about 2,400 low-income, predominantly Hispanic households in…

This brief examines changes in the number of naturalized citizens in the United States and the rate of naturalization, also exploring the size and characteristics of the pool of immigrants now or soon to be eligible to naturalize. Analysis of data from the Current Population Survey indicates that beginning in the mid-1990s, the number of…

In May 2000, a conference on the rural dimensions of welfare reform and food assistance policy brought together researchers, welfare policy experts, and rural scholars. This issue brief summarizes some major findings of the conference and suggests future policy options to better address the differing needs of rural and urban families. Between 1994…

The dramatic decline in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) caseloads in the 1990s has focused attention on the process of exit from, and, to a lesser extent, entry into, the welfare system. This paper charts the process of turnover in the TANF program in three major U.S. cities over an 18-month, post-PWORA period and documents its…

This report uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study (a nationwide survey that collects data on married and non-married parents at the time of the child's birth) to determine how much marriage could reduce poverty among couples who are not married at the time of birth. To determine the impact of marriage on children's and…

This report examines what states have done with their new responsibilities under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). Although Congress has gone a long way toward undoing the initial immigrant restrictions of the PRWORA, it has left the devolution of authority from the federal government to the states to…

This report provides interim findings from a study of families leaving welfare in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. The study is designed to monitor the status of families leaving cash assistance at multiple times and to compare the experiences of exit cohorts drawn at quarterly intervals throughout the process of welfare reform implementation. The report…

An important question related to welfare reform is: "What has happened to the earnings and incomes of families who were receiving public assistance when the new policies took effect?" This question is addressed by examining the impacts of early state-level welfare waivers on the earnings and income growth of welfare recipients. Analysis…

Considerable research has been done on the relationship between Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) benefits and family structure. Evidence based on cross-state variation in welfare benefits and family structure indicates some nonzero effect of those benefits on marriage and fertility. It shows that time-series trends in family…

Parents on welfare as well as middle class parents took part in a training project designed to help them modify problem behaviors in their children. The guidelines developed in this project for group training and for the evaluation of outcome can be applied in various types of agencies. (Author)

Unlike American proposals for welfare reform which are concerned primarily with reducing costs by altering work behavior among present recipients of public assistance, British attempts to devise an income transfer system are based on the rationale that scarce resources should be concentrated upon those in the greatest need. (Editor)

Using 1960 Census data for New York City, regression equations are developed to test empirically: (1) the relationship between the proportion of female-headed households and ADC incidence and (2) the effect of ADC incidence on male and female labor force participation rates. (Editor)

Critical analysis of Roger Starr's contention that welfare recipients, particularly those households headed by females, are especially guilty of contributing to the welter of public housing problems. (RJ)