Women are the majority population in Texas that participate in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and public housing assistance programs. TANF focuses on mandatory work requirements with a time-limit on assistance and lack of education opportunities. This dissertation documents post-secondary education opportunities for Texas women…

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious, widespread problem that negatively affects women's lives, including their economic status. The current study explored whether the financial harm associated with IPV begins as early as adolescence. With longitudinal data from a sample of 498 women currently or formerly receiving welfare, we used latent…

As Congress considers reauthorization of the laws which provide funding for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), there is interest in understanding what accounts for recent trends in child care subsidy receipt among eligible families and what research says about subsidies' effects on parents' ability to obtain and maintain employment. The…

We developed a conceptual framework to examine the association between stigma, enrollment barriers (e.g., difficult application), knowledge, state policy, and participation in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and adult Medicaid programs. Survey data from 901 community health center patients, who were potential and actual…

The National Study of Child Care for Low-Income Families, conducted for the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is a 5-year research effort in 17 states and 25 communities that will provide information on the response of states and communities to the child care needs of low-income families,…

The costs of the Department of Labor's Welfare-to-Work (WTW) grants program were analyzed by studying 18 WTW programs from 9 in-depth evaluation sites. The programs differed from the standpoints of their service locations, target populations, and service emphasis, and their costs variations were consistent with those differences. The 18 programs…

Collaboration between welfare and workforce development agencies has increased since the implementation of welfare reform. Federal legislation, state and local policy-making environments, and the capacity of potential partners to serve an agency's clients affect agency collaboration. The following broad approaches to collaboration have been…

This document examines screening and assessment for physical and mental health conditions that impact Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients' ability to work. The document begins by defining screening and assessment and discussing their relevance for agencies serving TANF recipients. The next section answers policy questions…

The extent of coordination and integration of welfare and work force development systems was examined in a study that involved site visits to 12 localities in 6 states. The following factors were found to promote coordination: a previous history of coordination; a strong local economy and low unemployment; access to technology; greater financial…

In this report, employment retention and advancement under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) was examined by reviewing research findings regarding labor market development since 1996. According to the research, most of those moving from welfare to work have found employment in low-wage jobs and experienced frequent job losses and…

The General Accounting Office (GAO) examined progress in meeting work-focused goals of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The following issues were considered: (1) states' progress in implementing TANF; (2) the status of families who have left welfare; (3) the characteristics of adults currently receiving TANF; (4) states'…