Summarizes themes of welfare reform in America and policy shifts that have resulted in the introduction of state-focused workfare programs. (MW)

This report discusses the impact of child care and welfare reform legislation under consideration by the Senate Republican leadership in the United States 104th Congress, based in part on a national survey of how states are coping, or not coping, with current child care needs and how prepared they are to cope with new demands for child care…

This paper discusses the nature and availability of early childhood care and education in Illinois and advances recommendations to improve the current system. It argues that current multiple federal, state, and local funding streams, with different eligibility requirements and administrations, divide families and programs into artificial and…

This report describes problems West Virginia State has experienced in serving children, especially those in poverty-stricken areas, and recommends ways to overcome these problems. In confronting these issues, the task force made recommendations in four topic areas: Reorganization and System Change, Education and Child Care, Teen Pregnancy, and…

It is becoming increasingly clear that "work first" solutions to welfare reform such as Wisconsin Works (W-2) are problematic for families with a disabled parent or child. Wisconsin's existing policies are especially ill-tailored to meet the special needs of the following broad categories of low-income families: (1) W-2 families that…