Through a one year-long, qualitative study of welfare-to-work students, this study investigates the developing epistemologies of women enrolled in a community college CalWORKs program. We investigate how poverty as a macro-environment and the community college as a micro-environment influence participants' epistemological development. Findings…

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…

Although substantial numbers of women seeking Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) report domestic violence, few receive mandated services through the Family Violence Option (FVO). This study used transcripts of interviews between welfare caseworkers and their clients to identify and classify the responses made by workers to client…

Delaware was in the first group of states to receive a federal grant in 2012 to improve early care and education services and increase the number of infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children in high-quality programs. One component of the state's grant is a rigorous validation process for Delaware Stars for Early Success, a voluntary quality…

The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act requires welfare recipients to look for work and has made it more difficult for nonworking recipients to remain on the welfare rolls. In addition, the economic boom of the 1990s and changes in federal and state policies have raised the net income gain associated with moving…

In the 5 years since welfare reform was enacted, the Watching Out for Children in Changing Times initiative in Philadelphia has been meeting with families receiving welfare and listening to their experiences. This report is the third in the series and details the experiences of 40 families. Information for the report was based on interviews…

With the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (P.L. 104-193) of 1996, also known as the Welfare-to-Work Act, Aid to Families with Dependent Children was abolished and replaced with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). A new system of block grants to states for TANF was created, changing the…

Recent changes in welfare policy have produced changes in parental work and welfare receipt. These factors are assessed in relation to investigated reports of child abuse and neglect using survey data on 1998 welfare recipients in nine Illinois counties, in conjunction with longitudinal administrative data on cash welfare benefits, employment, and…

This report discusses the outcomes of a study that examined the impact of welfare reform on individuals with disabilities in Massachusetts and Wisconsin. New welfare reforms required individuals to develop marketable skills and acceptable work behaviors and move along a path to employment. For individuals with disabilities in the Temporary…

We present our findings on the current well-being of 125 adolescent girls living in families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) in terms of their health, mental health, and substance abuse status, academic performance, and teenage behaviors. This mixed-method study included separate structured face-to-face interviews…

The initial client assessment procedures used by case managers in the Wisconsin Works (W-2) program in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, were examined. Data were collected through the following activities: (1) observations of 100 financial and employment planner (FEP)-applicant intake interviews; (2) an examination of administrative data to learn how…

In this report, the General Accounting Office (GAO) examined how different states are implementing the work requirements and time limits called for by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Data were collected from site visits in 4 states, telephone interviews with TANF officials in 8 additional states, and a survey…