Welfare, Work, and Poverty Status of Female- Headed Families with Children: 1987-2013
The report focuses on welfare dependency and work engagement among single mothers, a major dynamic that welfare reform and accompanying policy changes have attempted to affect. It also examines the role of programs other than Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in providing support to single female-headed families with children.
Social Policy Report Children , Families and Poverty Definitions , Trends , Emerging Science and Implications for Policy
N ow, more than ever, it is crucial to address the topic of children and poverty in the U.S., given current scientific knowledge about poverty’s influence on children and ef fective strategies to mitigate its negative impact. In this report, we summarize the best available information on definitions and trends in child poverty, policy responses to child poverty and the impact of poverty on children’s health and development. Research suggests that various factors exert upward and downward pressure on child poverty rates. Upward pressure is exerted by declining work rates for men, stagnant wages for low-wage workers, increasing rates of children raised in female-headed households, and growing gaps in educational attainment. Downward pressure is exerted by the U.S. system of antipoverty policies and programs, which appears to be cutting “pre-transfer” poverty rates by more than 50%. Nonetheless, child poverty rates in the United States are high by both historical and international comparison. We then review the emerging science on biological and ecological processes by which poverty af fects child development and key findings regarding the ef ficacy of comprehensive strategies to reduce poverty and to promote the human capital development of poor children. In the final section, we reflect on implications for moving forward in science and policy.
Policy Watch: The 1996 Welfare Reform
Welfare reform legislation was passed in the summer of 1996. Four key research questions that the new law presents to social scientists are as follows: (1) Can states design and operate better programs than AFDC? This includes questions about the ability of AFDC women to work a significant number of hours; the legislation's effect in areas of concentrated urban poverty; and the extent to which women will be able to improve their families' economic status under the legislation. (2) Will jobs be available? (3) How will the new block grant affect states' fiscal situation? and (4) What new research methodology questions does this legislation introduce?