Tennessee has long recognized the importance of early childhood care and education (ECCE) that children receive prior to school entry. Access to high-quality early teaching and learning contributes to the Tennessee Department of Education's (TDOE) goal that all children become successful readers by third grade, and moreover, better prepares…

Background: This study assessed whether Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) were associated with higher rates of recommended primary care services for adult beneficiaries diagnosed with diabetes in Oregon's Medicaid program, the Oregon Health Plan (OHP). Methods: OHP claims data from 2002 to 2003 were used to assess quality of diabetic care for…

This research compares the likelihood of exiting TANF with and without employment and the effects of important state TANF rules on welfare exits in more disadvantaged (large Rustbelt cities and poor southern nonmetro) and less disadvantaged (other metro and other nonmetro) areas during the 1996-2003 post-welfare reform period. Hierarchical…

Context: Prescription opioid abuse has emerged as a public health problem, particularly in rural America. Purpose: To examine temporal and geographic trends in rates of controlled-release oxycodone (OxyContin) prescribing for Kentucky Medicaid recipients. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was completed in which the state was divided into 3…

Leaders of programs serving rural America need to act strategically to ensure the long-term success of their initiatives. This strategy brief describes the funding landscape of rural programs and highlights the unique challenges confronting rural program leaders. It describes the different public and private resources that can support…

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…

Interviews with low-income, American Indian, single parents on the Rosebud Reservation in Todd County, South Dakota, included families who were on and who had left Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Welfare reform issues discussed included transportation problems; access to affordable, quality child care; food insecurity; and the scarcity of…

Discusses the challenges that the federally-mandated shift from the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program poses for community colleges. Describes efforts undertaken by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to help states and communities manage the shift. (AJL)

The 1996 welfare reforms narrowed rural-urban differences in employment for both less-educated and more-educated single mothers, and raised the employment rate of single mothers, overall and for all racial/ethnic groups except nonmetro Hispanics. These findings suggest that the aggregate effects of obstacles to employment are no greater in…

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 gave tribal governments new authority to structure and administer their own cash assistance, employment and training, child care, and child support enforcement programs. This "Issue Notes" describes some current characteristics of tribal Temporary…

Single mothers' participation rates in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in rural Mississippi were influenced by community-level characteristics: educational attainment, racial composition, employment structure, civic engagement, and spatial concentration of poverty. Particularly, TANF participation rates were higher in the Delta and…

A Senate committee hearing received testimony on the implementation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 in American Indian and Alaska Native tribal communities. The act provided authority for tribal governments to administer welfare programs formerly administered by the states but did not provide funds to…

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 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…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of Pennsylvania's children. The statistical portrait is based on trends in 17 indicators of child well being: (1) birth weight; (2) early prenatal care; (3) infant mortality; (4) substantiated cases of child abuse or neglect; (5) out-of-home placements; (6) delinquent children…