Background: Previous research has demonstrated that children growing up in poor communities have limited access to high-performing schools, while more affluent neighborhoods tend to have higher-ranking schools and more opportunities for after-school programs and activities. Therefore, many researchers and policy makers expected not only that the…

The Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, previous efforts to increase the employment of recipients, and the rationale for providing Supported Work to those on AFDC are discussed. The evaluation design, characteristics of those in the sample, and the initial results are also included. (CT)

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, changed the philosophical ground and rules and regulations that apply to low-income families with children who seek federal income support. TANF recipients have less flexibility in charting their life courses than…

Surveyed 207 parents who were using the Transitional Child Care subsidy 6 months after leaving welfare to examine their characteristics and demographics and illustrate the life circumstances they faced. Findings suggest that income, erratic schedules, and ages of children contribute to the complexities parents face in accessing and using child day…

This report is the first in a series documenting the actual results of welfare reform, examining changes in the welfare and work participation of single mothers. Data come from the annual March supplement to the U.S. Current Population Survey. Results find that the number of families on welfare declined by 50 percent between passage of welfare…

The validity of the notion that welfare receipt is equivalent to "dependency" and work represents "self-sufficiency" was examined in a qualitative study during which 214 recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and 165 low-wage single mothers in 4 U.S. cities were interviewed. The women were contacted…

The second-year impacts of Texas' Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program for early participants were analyzed. A quasi-experimental study design was used to analyze data about 13,396 JOBS participants and 13,303 comparison group members. The analysis focused on the labor market outcomes of JOBS participants and their exits from and…

The potential effects of raising the minimum wage on the earnings of mothers moving from welfare to work were examined by analyzing the differences that existed in the late 1980s in the various states' minimum wage rates and data from three waves of the Survey of Income and Program Participation for the years 1985-1990 (during which time 13 states…

Connecticut's Jobs First program, which began operating in January 1996, combines a time limit on welfare receipt with generous financial work incentives and requires recipients to participate in employment-related services targeted toward rapid job placement. The impacts of the Jobs First program were examined by following several thousand…

This book traces the development of public assistance programs in the United States from the 1930s to the present. Throughout the book, the differences between workfare and fair work programs and the role of workfare programs in the growing impoverishment of women are emphasized. The following topics are examined: women, welfare, and government…

Structured work and training activities for welfare recipients in West Virginia began in 1962 when the state's entire caseload of two-parent families receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children was enrolled in mandatory work and training activities. In 1980s-1990s, the Community Work Experience Program became an important tool in…

The Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) began in 1994 as a major welfare initiative that differed from the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) by featuring the following elements: financial incentives to work; participation requirements for long-term welfare recipients; and simplification of welfare rules and procedures. In…

The impacts of 20 welfare-to-work programs across the United States were evaluated to determine which clients derive the greatest benefits from different approaches to moving individuals from welfare to work. Of the 20 programs examined, 7 were characterized as employment focused, 5 provided a mix of first activities without an employment focus, 4…

Five years after the massive overhaul of the nation's welfare system, 21 Maine families receiving public assistance spoke about their lives during welfare reform. The following were among the key themes that emerged throughout the conversations: (1) those leaving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) often remain poor or very nearly poor;…

Surging demand for workers, growing income inequality, and passage of welfare reforms have made work force development one of the United States' key national concerns. Public/Private Ventures has been working with various states to design work force development strategies that seek to address the concerns of many work force development specialists…