Conditional cash transfer programs (CCTs) have two main objectives: reducing poverty and increasing the human capital of children. To reach these objectives, transfers are given to poor households conditioned on investments in their children's education, health, and nutrition. Targeting mechanisms used by CCTs have been generally successful in…

Discusses why antipoverty programs intended for the really poor usually help only those who can help themselves. Suggests ways of combating the process of creaming the poor." (RJ)

This document discusses the status, impact, and administration of the following programs implemented under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987: (1) the Emergency Food and Shelter Program; (2) the Emergency Shelter Grants Program; (3) the Supportive Housing Demonstration (SHD) Program; (4) the Supplemental Assistance for…

This country has long debated the question of how to design the welfare system, particularly the federally supported Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program which provides cash assistance to families headed primarily by female single parents. A pressing issue is whether welfare programs should continue to be broad entitlements or…

This report provides an overview of the poverty problem and possible solutions. The available statistics and their limitations are summarized. The complementary roles of income-maintenance and employment policies are discussed. Because employment policies are limited to those who can be made employable, the report concludes that liberal changes in…

This booklet contains the proceedings of a Congressional hearing held to review the broad policy implications involved in defining poverty and income, and to gather information on the relationship of the poverty definition and eligibility for public assistance, revenue sharing, block grants, and other programs. Addressing the general question of…

Nearly 80 means-tested programs for low-income persons and families have been created by the federal government to help meet the needs of various groups. In fiscal year 1992, the federal government spent about $208 billion through these programs. Evaluation of these programs was based on reports by the General Accounting Office (GAO) and others.…

This report examines the adequacy of the standard of need used by the State of Nevada to determine eligibility for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (ADC). Nevada's standard of $285 per month for a family of 3 ranked 49 out of 54 states and political entities. The current standard is reviewed in relation to the present cost of…

Homelessness among families is quickly reaching crisis proportions across the country. Over 30 percent of America's three million homeless people are members of families, and families are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population. Perhaps more disturbing, homelessness represents only the most extreme manifestation of a more…

In 2005, an estimated 48 million children aged 0-18 years--12 percent of all children in sub-Saharan Africa--were orphans, and that number is expected to rise to 53 million by 2010. One quarter of all orphans are orphaned because of AIDS, and about 2.6 million children are currently infected with HIV. Untreated, most children born with HIV will…

An evaluation of efforts by the Carter and Reagan Administrations to reduce fraud, error, and mismanagement in social programs is provided, examining the food stamp program as an example. Data available do not make it possible to say whether these administrative and political efforts actually decreased fraud and error. (SLD)

This report, along with its supplemental volumes, assesses the welfare system and its successes and failures, describes the frustrations felt by the poor in the United States, and proposes a basic change in public assistance policy. America's state and federal governments spend more than $150 billion a year on programs to alleviate poverty, yet…

This report provides an overview of the current welfare system. The number and size of federal public assistance programs have increased during the past 25 years, with particular growth in noncash benefit programs, which now constitute about three-quarters of all means-tested assistance. From mid-1983 to mid-1984, more than 52.5 million Americans…

Smart Start is a statewide initiative to ensure that all of North Carolina's children arrive at school healthy and ready to learn. A formative evaluation assessed, from the perspective of local participants in the original twelve Smart Start sites, how well these process goals are being met in the implementation process. Focus group and individual…

Reviews evolution of workfare programs during the past 25 years. Summarizes both positive and negative outcomes of such programs, and identifies some key issues and unanswered questions resulting from these outcomes. Suggests a more viable direction for welfare reform in the areas of child care responsibility, balance of rights and obligations,…