Nearly 80 means-tested programs for low-income persons and families have been created by the federal government to help meet the needs of various groups. In fiscal year 1992, the federal government spent about $208 billion through these programs. Evaluation of these programs was based on reports by the General Accounting Office (GAO) and others.…

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…

Smart Start is a statewide initiative to ensure that all of North Carolina's children arrive at school healthy and ready to learn. A formative evaluation assessed, from the perspective of local participants in the original twelve Smart Start sites, how well these process goals are being met in the implementation process. Focus group and individual…

This guide focuses on these two key challenges that states and localities have identified as important for the long-term success of welfare reform and work force development efforts: helping low-income parents sustain employment (steady work) and advance in the work force (better jobs). The guide consists of five parts and is structured to…

Reviews evolution of workfare programs during the past 25 years. Summarizes both positive and negative outcomes of such programs, and identifies some key issues and unanswered questions resulting from these outcomes. Suggests a more viable direction for welfare reform in the areas of child care responsibility, balance of rights and obligations,…

The New Hope Project in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was developed to reduce poverty and reform welfare by providing adults who are willing to work least 30 hours per week with the following: help obtaining a job, including time-limited, minimum wage community service jobs (CSJ) if full-time employment was not otherwise available; a monthly earnings…

This document details the 2-year results of the New Hope Project, which was conducted in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to reduce poverty, reform welfare, and improve the overall well-being of poor people by providing a mix of incentives and services, including supplemental income, child care subsidies, guaranteed affordable health insurance, and…