Many welfare programs give greater benefits to unmarried individuals than to a married couple of otherwise identical income. The resulting marriage penalty discourages marriage and rewards single parenthood. Combined marriage penalties across federal and state welfare programs can reach tens of thousands of dollars per year for a given family. One…

This collection of essays makes some attempts to define the humanities and explore the social role they might play. Part 1 examines the role of the humanist in society and suggests that the humanist can perform a function when "justification" (the determination of what is right and wrong) is necessary. In part 2, the topic "the…

As a supplement to an analysis of the devolution of policymaking for immigrants from the federal government to the states, this report provides a one-page summary of each state's immigrant eligibility rules for cash, food, and health assistance programs. It also notes state naturalization initiatives begun or expanded in the wake of welfare…

Examined how interest group struggles affect the formulation and implementation of a statewide long-term care system by using California's experience to illustrate the competition that can develop between senior citizens and disabled groups. (Author)

Adult educators and associations must know how public policy is made, be familiar with policy issues in the field, and organize and work together to effect policy developments at the state and Federal levels. (SK)

Fearing a federal court in Oklahoma might end a state-financed merit-scholarship program targeted by a discrimination lawsuit, black legislators passed a bill making the program race and gender neutral. State regents are criticized for failing to develop effective policy to remedy past discrimination. (MSE)

Because social policy making continues to devolve to the state level, social workers should understand how advocacy and policy making occur at that level. Interest groups active in the human services arena were surveyed and data were used to test a model of interest group effectiveness in four states. The independent variables were amount of…

This article reports the results of policy research survey examining U.S. government strategies to obtain data on counts of children who are deaf-blind and the issues related to this effort and its outcomes. Problems frequently cited were varying definitions of deaf-blindness among states and lack of accurate data on etiology and severity. (JDD)

Rigorous evaluations of welfare-to-work programs have had a major impact on the formation of policy in the area of welfare reform, but it is not clear whether the high level of evaluation, especially with regard to randomized experiments, and impact can continue. Evaluators must strive for research methodologies that provide results for policy…

Wisconsin's Task Force on Early Education, Child Care, and Family Involvement identified the early education, child care, and family support services that will be needed in coming years and determined how these services should be implemented and coordinated. The task force began its work with an invitational conference involving about 100…

This report is the sixth and final report in a series designed to help states, local government, and the voluntary sector, as they respond to the social policy debates and changes precipitated by the 104th Congress through its welfare reform efforts. This final report draws on the lessons the project learned from commissioned papers, six…

The national Nontraditional Employment for Women Act, passed in 1991, was intended to expand employment opportunities and access for women into nontraditional occupations. The New York State Job Training Partnership Council (JTPC) worked toward implementation of the act in the state by convening a subcommittee, with representatives of state…

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 presents states with new opportunities and flexibility to design programs for teen parents. This report summarizes how welfare reform has changed the environment for teen parents dependent on welfare. The report presents research findings on the costs of supporting teen…

Years of categorical funding have led to fragmented service delivery systems related to children and families. States have had to devise mechanisms to coordinate the variety of funding streams which finance the array of children's programs. Creation of a single focal point for children's policy at the national level is recommended. Attempts to…

The major goal of a project was to increase the effectiveness of vocational education funds by determining what policies could be effected to improve the quality and increase the quantity of vocational education. Five meetings were held with representatives from five States for the purpose of developing and reaching a consensus on those policies…