Making Welfare Work

Policy Backgrounders | Welfare

No. 143
Thursday, December 04, 1997
by Dr. Merrill Matthews & Kristin A. Becker


Notes

  1. "Change in Welfare Caseloads, As of July 1997," Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services.
  2. An important new study by Thomas L. Gais, Donald J. Boyd and Elizabeth L. Davis analyzes some of this spillover effect; "The Relationship of the Decline in Welfare Cases to the New Welfare Law: How Will We Know If It Is Working?" Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, State University of New York, Albany, N. Y., August 19, 1997.
  3. Christopher Georges, "U.S. Tightens Grip on States' Ability to Run Their Own Welfare Programs," Wall Street Journal, November 18, 1997; and James Bennet, "Clinton Urges Companies to Hire Off Welfare Rolls," New York Times, November 18, 1997.
  4. A September 1997 survey by the Associated Press found that only 17 states expected to meet the federal law's work requirement for two-parent families by the deadline. Jason DeParle, "Half the States Unlikely to Meet Goals on Welfare," New York Times, October 1, 1997.
  5. "Change in Welfare Caseloads, As of July 1997."
  6. For example, Gais et al. suggest that there is "general agreement that a 1 percent increase in the unemployment rate could lead to a caseload increase of between 2 - 5 percent." While that relationship is significant, it could not explain the wide variations experienced by several states.
  7. "Summary of Selected Elements of State Plans for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families as of August 12, 1997," NGA Center for Best Practices, National Governors Association.
  8. For example, Oregon's Administrator of Adult and Family Services, Sandie Hoback, credits "bipartisan support for the state's unique brand of welfare reform" as a primary reason for the state's success. Statement from the Oregon Department of Human Resources, August 7, 1997.
  9. Robert Rector, "Wisconsin's Welfare Miracle: How It Cut Its Caseload in Half," Policy Review, Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C., March/April 1997.
  10. Tommy Thompson and William J. Bennett, "The Good News About Welfare Reform: Wisconsin's Success Story," Heritage Foundation, Heritage Lectures No. 593, Washington, D.C., March 6, 1997.
  11. Ibid.
  12. Merrill Matthews Jr., "Does Welfare Reform Cost More?" National Center for Policy Analysis, NCPA Brief Analysis No. 210, August 23, 1996.
  13. Statistics provided by the welfare office in Beaverton.
  14. Statistics from the American Institute for Full Employment. Each case represents a welfare family, not the total number of people on welfare.
  15. Clarence Carter, Denise Dumbar et al., "Virginia: Promoting Independence and Employment," Public Welfare, Summer 1997.
  16. Ibid.
  17. Statistics from the American Institute for Full Employment. Each case represents a welfare family, not the total number of people on welfare.
  18. Dana Milbank, "Vermont Credits Sharp Drop in Teenage Births to Tougher Welfare Rules, Crackdown on Dads," Wall Street Journal, November 24, 1997.
  19. While a strong economy can be helpful, it also can be a hindrance to real welfare reform. In a good economy states experience a certain decline in their caseloads even if they do nothing - which lets politicians take credit for the declining caseload without suffering the political pain of reform.
  20. Carol Jouzaitis, "Cities Say Jobs Lacking for Ex-Welfare Clients," USA Today, November 24, 1997.
  21. "Summary of Selected Elements of State Plans for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families as of November 6, 1997," NGA Center for Best Practices, National Governors Association.
  22. See, for example, Jason DeParle, "Newest Challenge for Welfare: Helping the Hard-Core Jobless," New York Times, November 20, 1997.
  23. See Christopher Georges, "GOP Drive to Deny Workfare Benefits Sputters in States," Wall Street Journal, October 7, 1997.
  24. On attempts to undermine welfare reform, see Robert Rector, "Washington's Assault on Welfare Reform," Heritage Foundation, Issue Bulletin No. 244, August 14, 1997.
  25. General Accounting Office, "Welfare to Work: Most AFDC Training Programs Not Emphasizing Job Placement," GAO/HEHS-95-113, Washington, D.C., May 1995; and General Accounting Office, "Welfare to Work: Measuring Outcomes for JOBS Participants," GAO/HEHS-95-86, Washington, D.C., April 1995.
  26. Rachael L. Swarns, "Hawaii Bucks the Trend on Welfare Reform," New York Times, September 28, 1997.
  27. Ibid.
  28. Michael Tanner, The End of Welfare: Fighting Poverty in the Civil Society (Washington D.C.: Cato Institute, 1996), Table 2.3, p. 66.
  29. All Alaskans also receive about $1,000 a year as part of the "permanent fund" dividend, providing some cash to low-income populations and making work less necessary.
  30. Tanner, The End of Welfare: Fighting Poverty in the Civil Society.
  31. John C. Liu, "The Overlooked Facts about Welfare in California," Pacific Research Institute, San Francisco, Calif., May, 1997.
  32. Ibid.
  33. Rachel L. Swarns, "Analysis: Giuliani's Grade on Welfare Reform - Incomplete," New York Times, October 29, 1997.
  34. Ibid.
  35. "Workfare in New York: The New Slavery?" Economist, October 5, 1996.
  36. See "Excerpts from Mayor's Conversation with Editors and Reporters," New York Times, November 1, 1997.

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