 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Stat house
Life after welfare reform
On August 22, 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, a welfare reform law that established the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program (TANF replaced the government's Aid to Families with Dependent Children [AFDC] program). Under this legislation, states are now responsible for implementing their own welfare programs to assist welfare recipients. However, the federal government has provisions for states related to moving families into work and self-sufficiency.
Some of the provisions:—A lifetime limit of five years on receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children.
—Requires an able-bodied adult to work after two years of receiving welfare assistance.
—Gives the states block grants to run the programs and lets them set many of the rules, such as terminating benefits sooner than five years.
—Requires that states require 90 percent of two-parent households receiving welfare to have jobs or be enrolled in job-readiness programs by 1999.
—Empowers states to cut Medicaid coverage to adults who lose welfare benefits through not going to work within two years.
—Requires that people ages 18 to 50 without children--including people laid off from jobs—work to be eligible for food stamps.
—Denies most federal benefits to noncitizens, even those here legally, on the assumption that their sponsors arranged work for them.
—Reduces Supplemental Security Income assistance to handicapped children.
Statistics and commentary
"We know welfare caseloads are dropping. We don't have precise data on where everyone is going." —U.S. Secretary Alexis Herman, speaking at the National Press Club, February 17, 1998
Between August 1996 and February 1988 2.4 million people have left the welfare rolls.—U.S. Secretary Alexis Herman, speaking at the National Press Club, February 17, 1998
Forty-six out of 50 states have seen their caseloads of welfare recipients decline in the last four years. Thirty states have dropped by more than 25 percent.—U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, April 1997
A Community Food Resource Center study of New York City's Work Experience Program estimated that just one-tenth of one percent of participants had found permanent employment directly after leaving the program.—In These Times, December 14, 1997
New York City, which claimed that 18 percent of Work Experience Program participants found jobs, turned out to have been counting people whose cases had been closed for missing an appointment as "successfully placed in employment."—In These Times, December 14, 1997
The only national welfare-reform study to date, released by the federal Council of Economic Advisers in May 1997, said a 44 percent decrease in caseloads was due to an improved economy.—In These Times, December 14, 1997
Two-thirds of new jobs are in the suburbs but 3 out of 4 welfare recipients live in rural areas or central cities. —U.S. Secretary Alexis Herman, speaking at the National Press Club, February 17, 1998
Eighty-four percent of New York City soup kitchens and food pantries report increased demand for services since welfare reform has gone into effect. And in Milwaukee the number of families in homeless shelters during the winter of 1996 was up 25 percent from the previous winter.--In These Times, December 14, 1997
The Government Accounting Office reports that in the three states with the most welfare terminations (Iowa, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin), many families lost their only income.—HandsNet, Welfare Law Center
Fewer than expected families received Medicaid and Food Stamps after welfare termination because administrative errors led to incorrect cut-offs and states had trouble providing necessary services to families.—HandsNet, Welfare Law Center
Forty-seven percent of welfare recipients had no job when they were terminated. Forty-three percent who had a job when they were terminated only had part-time work. And two-thirds received Food Stamps and/or Medicaid while they were ineligible for cash aid.—HandsNet, Welfare Law Center
Families reported an increase in relying on family members, neighbors, and friends for emotional, financial, and child care help.—HandsNet, Welfare Law Center
Those terminated without the support of families and friends rely heavily on community services such as food pantries.—HandsNet, Welfare Law Center
One-third of families terminated in Iowa, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin returned to welfare when they complied with welfare policies or had a case management error corrected.—HandsNet, Welfare Law Center
Most welfare terminations nationwide were for failure to meet enrollment requirements, such as the requirement to appear and sign up for a work program. And fewer than one-third of terminated families report earnings after termination.—HandsNet, Welfare Law CenterProfile of TANF recipients | More about welfare
Other welfare resources:
|
The
Employment and Training
Administration:
A division of
the U.S. Department of Labor, the ETA has posted a
general profile of the welfare population. |
The
Welfare Information Network:
This page provides information on welfare reform
including policy analysis and technical
assistance. |
| More stats |
| Capital punishment |
| Environment |
| Homelessness |
| Welfare reform |
| Misc. stats |