Uses time-series analyses to examine "culture-of-poverty" argument behind rising poverty levels. Discusses alternative views. Finds welfare benefits reduce poverty, modestly relate to increasing female headship, and strongly relate to rising unemployment among young minority males. Calls for more comprehensive model to explain poverty.…

Implementation is the challenge facing any attempts to reform the U.S. welfare service system. Without consideration of an implementation strategy, a reform plan will be destined to fail. Because many planners of welfare reform may be unfamiliar with program initiation, planners need a guide to assist implementation. This report provides planners…

This second edition of "Poverty Profile", published by the Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle as part of their Campaign for Human Development, updates the data examined in the earlier (1972) edition and examines some of the current social welfare programs designed to alleviate the affects of poverty. The extent to which poverty…

This report chronicles the history of the Federal role in welfare programs and training and employment programs since the New Deal. Part I presents a chronological summary of legislative action since 1935 and briefly discusses some major issues the Congress has tried to resolve, including: whether Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)…

At the 1987 Winter Meeting of the National Governors' Association, the Governors adopted a policy program calling for a major reorientation and reform of the nation's welfare system. This document addresses how the welfare system can be reformed to better encourage the self-sufficiency of recipients and reduce their dependency, and how to use…

Five papers which criticize Charles Murray's book, "Losing Ground: American Social Policy 1950-1980" are presented in this report. In general, the papers dispute Murray's thesis that the poor did not benefit from social policies but were, instead, substantially harmed by these programs. The papers (and their authors) are: (1)…

This publication is the text of the House of Representatives bill, H.R. 5600 introduced to the U.S. Congress and titled "Children's Initiative." This legislation is designed to promote family preservation and the prevention of foster care with emphasis on families where abuse of alcohol or drugs is present, to improve the quality and…

Suggests ways to improve child support enforcement. Getting the child support system out of the courts to the extent possible and providing government guarantees of child support are two types of proposals that must be considered. A final necessity is increasing welfare benefits to a subsistence level. (SLD)

This book asserts that public assistance programs--particularly in countries in Western Europe--have been demonstrated to relieve deprivation and ensure an acceptable standard of living for those nations' families. Contrasting the extensive child welfare programs offered by France with those of the United States, this book describes in detail an…

This book analyzes how welfare reform can improve the lives of children, based on a study of successful programs that provide services to needy children and their families. The study looked at programs that operated in conjunction with the welfare department before the enactment of the Family Support Act and that operated successfully. Chapter 1…

This book analyzes the responses of five states (Florida, Mississippi, New York, Washington, and Wisconsin) to challenges posed by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to alter state welfare programs and management systems. Using case studies, the book highlights similarities and differences in the states'…