The new world of welfare / Rebecca M. Blank, Ron Haskins, editors.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Blank, Rebecca M.

Haskins, Ron.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Public welfare--United States.

Public welfare.

United States.

United States--Social policy.

Social policy.

United States--Economic policy.

Economic policy.

Physical Description:

xiii, 514 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : Brookings Institution Press, [2001]

Summary:

On August 22, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed a revolutionary welfare reform, bill, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. While the legislation passed Congress with a bigger bipartisan majority than the one that enacted Medicare in 1965, its passage was met with controversy and criticism. Several administration officials who urged the president to veto the bill resigned in protest when he approved it. Now Congress must act to reauthorize welfare reform legislation. Most of the major provisions of the 1996 law will come under scrutiny before the reauthorization deadline of October 1, 2002, including the five-year time limit for benefits, provisions to reduce out-of-wedlock births, the adequacy of child care funding, Medicaid and food stamp eligibility, and work requirements. Funding levels are also certain to be controversial.

In this comprehensive volume, a diverse set of welfare experts -- liberal and conservative, academic and nonacademic -- examine the major issues that will play a role in the reauthorization process. Contributors engage in rigorous debate on topics ranging from work experience programs, to job availability, to child well-being, to family formation. They examine how the reforms have been implemented and their effects on employment, income, poverty, family composition, and children's well-being. The contributions in this volume go beyond a simple discussion that prepares for reauthorization. They are an assessment of where we are as a nation on the issues of welfare, poverty, and work. The New World of Welfare will inform the debate at the federal level, as well as ongoing efforts to design and implement effective welfare and work programs by states and localities.

Contents:

Part I: Overview and policy recommendations. Welfare reform : an agenda for reauthorization / Ron Haskins and Rebecca M. Blank

Part II: The bigger issues. Implementation of the Personal Responsibility Act of 1996 / Thomas L. Gais, Richard P. Nathan, Irene Lurie, and Thomas Kaplan. Work, wages, and welfare / Rebecca M. Blank and Lucie Schmidt. Effects of welfare reform on family income and poverty / Ron Haskins. Family formation / Charles Murray. The politics of welfare reform / Hugh Heclo. The politics of conservative welfare reform / Lawrence M. Mead

Part III: Specific issues and policies. Improving employment outcomes under TANF / Julie Strawn, Mark Greenberg, and Steve Savner. State sanctions and time limits / LaDonna Pavetti and Dan Bloom. Financial work incentives for low-wage workers / Charles Michalopoulos and Gordon Berlin. Work experience under welfare reform / Jason A. Turner and Thomas Main. Will TANF work for the most disadvantaged families? / Sheila R. Zedlewski and Pamela Loprest. Supporting work through Medicaid and food stamps / Robert Greenstein and Jocelyn Guyer. Welfare reform and immigration / George J. Borjas. Welfare reform and children's well-being / Greg J. Duncan and P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale.

Part IV: Associated program reforms. Fathers, marriage, and welfare reform / Wade F. Horn and Isabel V. Sawhill. Child support in the new world of welfare / Irwin Garfinkel. Child care after welfare reform / Douglas J. Besharov with Nazanin Samari. Effects of the 1996 welfare reform changes on the SSI program / Lynn A. Karoly, Jacob Alex Klerman, and Jeanette A. Rogowski.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0815710100

0815710119

OCLC:

49688711