Report Federal Formula Grants: TANF and Welfare Programs By Tim Ransdell, Shervin Boloorian Dec 15, 2002 This report reviews the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, pending reauthorization issues, and a number of formula-related aspects of federal welfare laws, with a specific focus on California outcomes.
Report Does California’s Welfare Policy Explain the Slower Decline of Its Caseload? By Thomas E. MaCurdy, Margaret O’Brien-Strain, David C. Mancuso Jan 1, 2002 Since Congress enacted welfare reform in 1996, states have had more flexibility in designing their own welfare programs. With this flexibility has come an increased interest in accountability at the state level. Although California’s caseload rate fell 43 percent between 1996 and 2000, that decline lags the national average. This report examines the variation in recipiency rates among the five largest states both before and after the welfare reforms of 1996. Its authors find that between 1989 and 1996, economic and demographic factors accounted for most of the variation in welfare recipiency rates; after 1996, however, policy decisions at the state level were the most important factor in explaining caseload variations.
press release Not Married, But Not Single – Surprising Numbers of Unmarried Parents Report Living Together Jul 24, 2001
Report Expensive Children in Poor Families: The Intersection of Childhood Disabilities and Welfare By Marcia K. Meyers, Henry E. Brady, Eva Y. Seto Oct 1, 2000 Although disabilities affect children of all income groups, poor children are far more likely to suffer from them. In this study, Marcia K. Meyers, Henry E. Brady, and Eva Y. Seto provide important new estimates of the private costs and public effects of childhood disabilities among welfare recipients. Based on over 2,000 interviews with household heads in Los Angeles, Alameda, San Joaquin, and San Bernardino Counties, their estimates cover direct expenditures by families and indirect costs due to employment reductions. They also examine participation rates in public assistance programs and estimate the likelihood that families with disabled children will exit these programs to independence. They conclude that public assistance may be an essential part of an income-packaging strategy for many of these families.
press release Surprising Surge In “Child-Only” Cases Slows Decline In California’s Welfare Rolls Jun 22, 2000
Report Reform Reversed? The Restoration of Welfare Benefits to Immigrants in California By Thomas E. MaCurdy, Margaret O’Brien-Strain Dec 1, 1998 The 1996 federal welfare reform legislation called for many substantial changes in the welfare system. However, some of these changes were not carefully considered, and subsequent legislation has already modified or reversed several of the original reforms. In this report, the authors examine one such instance—the denial and reinstatement of benefits to noncitizen immigrants under the federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Food Stamps programs. The authors argue that the lack of thoughtful program design was the most disturbing feature in both the denial and restoration of benefits to immigrants. If legislators are to accomplish the stated goals of welfare reform, they must develop their strategies more carefully as other opportunities for rethinking and revising the welfare system arise in the future.
