Evaluating welfare reform in an era of transition / Panel on Data and Methods for Measuring the Effects of Changes in Social Welfare Programs ; Robert A. Moffitt and Michele Ver Ploeg, editors.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Moffitt, Robert A.

Ver Ploeg, Michele.

National Research Council (U.S.). Panel on Data and Methods for Measuring the Effects of Changes in Social Welfare Programs.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Public welfare--United States--Evaluation.

Public welfare.

Public welfare administration--United States--Evaluation.

Public welfare administration.

Social surveys--United States--Evaluation.

Social surveys.

Physical Description:

xii, 253 p. : ill.

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Welfare reform

Place of Publication:

Washington, DC : National Academy Press, c2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Reform of welfare is one of the nation's most contentious issues, with debate often driven more by politics than by facts and careful analysis. Evaluating Welfare Reform in an Era of Transition identifies the key policy questions for measuring whether our changing social welfare programs are working, reviews the available studies and research, and recommends the most effective ways to answer those questions. This book discusses the development of welfare policy, including the landmark 1996 federal law that devolved most of the responsibility for welfare policies and their implementation to the states. A thorough analysis of the available research leads to the identification of gaps in what is currently known about the effects of welfare reform. Evaluating Welfare Reform in an Era of Transition specifies what-and why-we need to know about the response of individual states to the federal overhaul of welfare and the effects of the many changes in the nation's welfare laws, policies, and practices. With a clear approach to a variety of issues, Evaluating Welfare Reform in an Era of Transition will be important to policy makers, welfare administrators, researchers, journalists, and advocates on all sides of the issue.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: I

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Panel, 1

Findings, 2

Key Questions of Interest, 3

Evaluation Methods for the Questions of Interest, 7

Data for Monitoring and Evaluating Social Welfare Programs, 8

1 INTRODUCTION

The Panel, 14

Policy Background, 16

Structure of the Report, 23

2 WELFARE REFORM MONITORING AND EVALUATION:

THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE

Descriptive and Monitoring Studies, 26

Studies of Welfare Leavers and Related Groups, 28

Randomized Experiments 30

Caseload and Other Econometric Models, 3I

Process, Implementation, and Qualitative Studies, 33

R Other Welfare Reform Studies, 34

Studies on Topics Related to Welfare Reform, 34

3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND POPULATIONS

OF INTEREST

Populations of Interest, 37 xi

Outcomes of Interest, 39

Questions of Interest, 41

Nationwide Versus Individual State Assessments, 49

Assessment, 50

4 EVALUATION METHODS AND ISSUES

Overview of Evaluation Methods, 55

Evaluation Methods for the Questions of Interest, 63

Issues in Evaluation Methodology, 73

Assessment of Current Evaluation Efforts, 93

Next Steps, 99

5 DATA NEEDS AND ISSUES

Survey Data, 104

Administrative Data, 128

Data Access and Confidentiality, 138

Program Description Data, 141

Qualitative Data, 144

Summary and Assessment of the Current Data Infrastructure, 146

6 ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES FOR MAINTAINING THE

DATA INFRASTRUCTURE

The Current System, 150

A Proposed System, 154

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

A Major Current Welfare-Related Research Sponsored

by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

B Summary of Current Welfare Reform Projects

C The Statistical Power of National Data to Evaluate Welfare Reform

John Adams and V. Joseph Hotz

D Summaries of National-Level Survey Data Sets Relevant to

Welfare Monitoring and Evaluation

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF

PANEL MEMBERS AND STAFF INDEX.

Notes:

"Committee on National Statistics, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786610210107

9780309171342

0309171342

9781280210105

1280210109

9780309565011

0309565014

OCLC:

697596982