LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Welfare Reform: Families
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Welfare caseloads have dropped 60 percent since the passage of welfare reform. Was that just the result of a strong economy? No. Caseloads didn’t decline significantly in any of the eight periods of economic expansion from the 1950s to the mid-1990s. From 1953 to 1994, the number of families on welfare dropped in only five of those years, and dropped two years in a row only once. By 2005, welfare caseloads had been declining for a stunning 11 straight years.
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Welfare Reform and Family Formation is a collaborative research project examining the impacts of welfare reforms on marriage, childbearing, and related attitudes and behaviors. The project represents the most systematic and rigorous investigation of this subject to date. Principal analyses will utilize a round of surveys conducted for random assignment welfare reform evaluations in Delaware, Florida, Indiana, and Minnesota.
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THE INITIAL IMPACTS OF WELFARE REFORM on the Economic Well-Being of Single Mother Families by Wendell Primus, Lynette Rawlings, Kathy Larin, Kathryn Porter, 8/22/99 -- Average Incomes of Very Poor Families Fell During Early Years of Welfare Reform. "A new study finds that the income of some of the nation's poorest children and families declined in recent years despite strong growth in the economy, raising questions about the effects of welfare reform." From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
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While it is not yet clear what effects the 1996 welfare reform law will have on children, it is clear from past research that poverty does have a direct impact on child abuse and neglect. Among families with incomes below $7,000 per year, the incidence of abuse and neglect is 10 times higher than in families with incomes of $25,000 or more. If welfare reform is not successful in helping families to move out of poverty, there is an increased risk of abuse and neglect.
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Certain provisions of this welfare reform could be implemented under existing federal regulations and did not need federal approval. These changes were implemented in July and November 1995. The July changes included elimination of a $50 excess rent special need payment for families whose shelter costs were equal to or greater than 50% of their income; reduction in the basic benefit amount by six and a half percent; and treating a portion of a housing subsidy as income. The November changes focused on the redesign of the Job Connection policy which emphasizes quick placement into employment.
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Since welfare reform became law in 1996, welfare rolls for families have declined by 62 percent, with the most recent caseload numbers showing 1,672,355 families currently on the TANF rolls. The regulations announced today follow up on an interim rule announced in June 2006 after TANF was reauthorized.
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