U.S. Social Welfare Reform - Policy Transitions from 1981 to the Present

U.S. Social Welfare Reform

In Memory

Preface

Contents

Part I Historical Overview of Select Federal Cash Assistance Programs

Chapter 1: Historical Benchmarks Prior to the 1980s

1.1 Overview

1.2 Origins and Development of AFDC

1.2.1 The Social Security Act of 1935 and Related Amendments Through the Early 1960s

1.2.2 The Johnson Administration and America’s War on Poverty

1.3 Nationalizing Welfare by Linking Public Cash Assistance to Work

1.3.1 Guaranteed Annual Income Schemes

1.3.2 The Nixon Administration’s Family Assistance Plan

1.3.3 Additional Benchmarks: SSI, WIN Enhancements, and the EITC

1.3.3.1 The Supplemental Security Income Program

1.3.3.2 WIN Amendments

1.3.3.3 The Earned Income Tax Credit

1.4 The Carter Administration and the Program for Better Jobs and Income

1.5 Summary

References

Chapter 2: The Reagan Administrationand Public Assistance

2.1 Overview

2.2 The Welfare State Under Siege: Theoreticaland Empirical Underpinnings

2.3 The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981

2.3.1 Implementation of Workfare Demonstration Programs Prior to Passage of the Family Support Act of 1988(P.L. 100-485)

2.3.2 MDRC and Assessment of Workfare Programs Priorto the Family Support Act of 1988

2.4 Cementing the Link Between Welfare Reform and Work

2.4.1 The Emerging Consensus

2.4.2 The Empirical Base Underpinning the Consensus

2.5 The Family Support Act of 1988

2.5.1 Provisions of FSA

2.5.1.1 Title I of FSA: Child Support

2.5.1.2 Title II of FSA: Creation of the JOBS Program

2.5.1.3 Remaining Provisions Regarding Child Care, AFDC-UP,Retaining the Entitlement Nature of AFDC, and Fundingof De

2.5.2 Critique of the Family Support Act of 1988

2.6 Public Assistance Under Siege During the G.H.W. Bush Administration

2.7 Summary

References

Chapter 3: Welfare Reform in the Clinton Administration

3.1 Overview

3.2 Welfare Reform and the Clinton Administration

3.2.1 Framing the Issue and the Use of Waivers

3.2.2 Competing Administration and CongressionalWelfare Reform Plans

3.2.3 The Tide Turns

3.2.3.1 Republicans Take Control of Congress

3.2.3.2 The Republican Contract with America

3.2.3.3 Other Legislative Initiatives Indicative of EndingWelfare as then Known

3.2.4 The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996

3.2.4.1 The End of the AFDC Program, Welfare as It Was Known

3.2.4.2 Provisions of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996

Title I: Creation of TANF

Title I: Work Requirements

Title I: Provisions Reflecting the Political Clout of the Christian Right

The Remaining Eight Titles Tangentially Related to TANF Provisions

3.3 The Impact of PRWORA on Welfare Caseloads

3.4 TANF Reauthorization

3.4.1 Planning for the Reauthorization from the Get-Go

3.4.2 Salient Issues Under Consideration for Reauthorization

3.4.3 G.W. Bush Administration Goals for Reauthorization

3.4.4 Reauthorization Delays

3.4.5 TANF Reauthorized with Modest Changes

3.5 Summary

References

Chapter 4: Women’s Employment and EITC Expansion

4.1 Overview

4.2 Women’s Employment

4.2.1 Labor Force Participation and Marital Status

4.2.2 Labor Force Participation Among Mothers

4.2.3 Labor Force Participation Among Mothers with Very Young Children

4.3The Earned Income Tax Credit Program

4.3.1 Expansion of the EITC Program

4.3.2 How the EITC Works

4.3.3 The Earned Income Tax Credit Program Compared to Other Federal Welfare Programs

4.3.3.1 Distinguishing the EITC from Other Means-Tested Programs

4.3.3.2 Comparing the EITC to Other Tax Expenditure Programs

4.3.3.3 Refinements Reflecting Interaction of EITC with Other Federal Welfare Programs

4.4The Role of Direct vs. Tax Expenditures in Social Policy

4.4.1 Allocating Government Largesse Via the Tax Code: Competing Theories

4.4.2 Tax Expenditures and the U.S. Budget

4.4.3 Contrasting Tax-Expenditure to Direct Expenditure Programs

4.4.4 Use of Tax Expenditures to Achieve Social Policy Objectives

4.5 Summary

References

Chapter 5: TANF and EITC: A Literature Review

5.1 Overview

5.2 Welfare-to-Work Initiatives and the Transition to TANF: 1988–1996

5.2.1 State Variation in Workfare Programs

5.2.2 Assessing Workfare Programs in Light of the Family Support Act of 1988

5.2.3 The Clinton Administration and Use of Waivers

5.3 The Socioeconomics of the Post-TANF Years:1997 to the Present

5.3.1 Caseload Reduction

5.3.1.1 Work Requirements

5.3.1.2 Caseload Reduction Credits

5.3.1.3 Diversion Benefits

5.3.2 Sociodemographic and Other Changes Accompanying Implementation of TANF

5.3.2.1 Poverty and Labor Force Attachment

5.3.2.2 Use of (Dependency on) Public Assistance

5.3.2.3 Sociodemographic Profile of TANF Entrants & Users

5.3.2.4 Profile of TANF Exits

5.4 Earned Income Tax Credit Participation

5.4.1 Take-Up Rates

5.4.2 Prevalence and Patterns of EITC Use

5.4.3 Effects of EITC Participation

5.5 Summary

References

Chapter 6: TANF and EITC Use: A Study

6.1 Overview

6.2 Study Objectives and Questions

6.3 Method

6.3.1 Data

6.3.1.1 The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 Cohort

6.3.1.2 The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort

6.3.2 Measures

6.3.2.1 The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 Cohort

6.3.2.2 The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort

6.4 Procedures

6.5 Limitations

6.6 Findings

6.6.1 Descriptive Statistics

6.6.1.1 The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 Cohort

Program Use by Number of Years of Participation

Program Use by Year of Participation

Changes in Economic Well-Being

6.6.1.2 The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort

Program Use by Number of Years of Participation

Program Use by Year of Participation

NLSY97 Subjects Unaware of EITC

Changes in Economic Well-Being

6.6.2 Multivariate Statistics

6.6.2.1 The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 Cohort

Background Characteristics as Predictors of Ever-Filing for EITC (NLSY79)

Predictors of Filing for EITC by Survey Year (NLSY79)

6.6.2.2 The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort

Background Characteristics as Predictors of Ever-Filing for EITC (NLSY97)

Predictors of Filing for EITC by Survey Year (NLSY97)

6.7 Discussion

6.7.1 Program Use

6.7.1.1 EITC Take-up Rates

6.7.1.2 Patterns of EITC, Food Stamp, and TANF Program Use

6.7.2 Economic Well-Being

6.7.3 Predictors of EITC Use

References

Part II Employment and Training Initiativesin the Global Economy

Chapter 7: Employment, Education, and Training Programs

7.1 Overview

7.2 Job-Training Initiatives Targeting Low-Income Persons

7.2.1 Overview

7.2.2 The Manpower Development and Training Act

7.2.3 The Comprehensive Education and Training Act Program

7.2.4 Youth-Related Training Programs

7.2.4.1 Job Corps

7.2.4.2 Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Project

7.2.5 The Job Training and Partnership Act Program

7.2.5.1 JTPA Titles

7.2.5.2 JTPA Eligibility

7.2.5.3 JOBSTART

7.2.5.4 JTPA and AFDC

7.2.5.5 Overall Assessment of JTPA

7.3 Workforce Development Initiatives

7.3.1 Overview

7.3.2 Dislocated Workers

7.3.2.1 Overview

7.3.2.2 The Economic Dislocation and Worker Adjustment Assistance Act

7.3.3 Educational and Training Initiatives to Keep America Competitive in the Global Economy

7.3.3.1 Overview

7.3.3.2 Early Academic and Vocational Education Initiatives

7.3.4 The School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994

7.3.5 The Workforce Investment Act of 1998

7.3.5.1 Overview

7.3.5.2 WIA Titles

7.3.5.3 WIA Evaluation

7.3.6 The Trade Adjustment and Assistance Reform Act of 2002 (TAA)

7.4Summary

References

Chapter 8: An Outcome Study: NLSY79

8.1 Overview

8.2 Vocational Education in Secondary and Postsecondary Schooling in USA

8.2.1 Vocational Education in High Schools in the 1980s and 1990s

8.2.2 Vocational Education and Postsecondary Schooling in the 1980s and 1990s

8.3 NLSY79 Government Training and Jobs Programs, 1979–1987

8.3.1 Overview

8.3.1.1 “On Jobs” Section of the 1979–1987 Questionnaires

8.3.1.2 The 1979–1986 “Government Training” Sections

8.3.1.3 NLSY79 Descriptive Information About Enrollment in Government Training and Jobs Programs, 1979–1986

8.4 NLSY79 Enrollment in Government and Other Training Programs, 1988–2006

8.4.1 Overview

8.4.2 NLSY79 Descriptive Information About Training Enrollment Between 1988 and 2006

8.5 Study Questions and Methods

8.5.1 Overview

8.5.2 Study Questions

8.5.3 Study Methods

8.5.3.1 Data and Sample

8.5.3.2 Measures

8.5.3.3 Procedures

8.6 Findings and Implications

8.6.1 Findings

8.6.1.1 Descriptive Statistics

8.6.1.2 Bivariate Statistics

8.6.1.3 Regression Statistics

Economic Well-Being

Human Capital

EITC-Related

8.6.2 Study Implications

8.6.2.1 The Modest Impact of Enrolling in Government and School-Sponsored Job Training Programs

G-P-S Enrollees: Less Income, Less Work, More Additional Training

School-Only Enrollees: More Additional Training, Less EITC Eligible

8.6.2.2 The Importance of Background and Sociodemographic Characteristics

The Significance of Class, Race/Ethnicity, and Sex

The Impact of Staying Single and Urban Residence

References

Chapter 9: An Outcome Study: NLSY97

9.1 Overview

9.2 Career and Technical Education in USA in the 1990s to the Present

9.2.1 Overview

9.2.2 Career and Technical Education in the NLSY97

9.2.2.1 Overview

9.2.2.2 Prior School-To-Work Studies that Relied on NLSY97

9.2.2.3 NLSY97 Descriptive Information about Participationin All Career and Training Programs

9.3 Study Questions and Methods

9.3.1 Overview

9.3.2 Study Questions

9.3.3 Study Methods

9.3.3.1 Data and Sample

9.3.3.2 Measures

9.3.3.3 Procedures

9.4 Findings and Implications

9.4.1 Findings

9.4.1.1 Descriptive Statistics

9.4.1.2 Bivariate Statistics

9.4.1.3 Regression Statistics

Economic Well-Being

Human Capital

EITC Related

9.4.2 Study Implications

9.4.2.1 The Mixed Impact of Participation in Career and Vocational/Technical Training Programs

JTPPS Category 1 and 2 Participants: Higher Income from Wages, More Additional Training, and Less Work

JTPPS Category 4 Participants: Additional Training

9.4.2.2 The Importance of Background and Sociodemographic Characteristics

The Significance of Class, Race/Ethnicity, and Sex

The Impact of Marital Status, Presence of Children Under 18 Years of Age in the Household, and Urban Residence

References

Chapter 10: Policy Challenges Ahead

10.1 Overview

10.2 Universal Strategies: Education and Workforce Development

10.2.1 Overview

10.2.2 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

10.2.3 The American Graduation Initiative and the Roleof Community Colleges

10.2.4 Challenges Facing ARRA and AGI

10.3 Additional Labor-Market Policies Benefitting Low-Income Working Individuals and Families

10.3.1 Overview

10.3.2 Increasing the Minimum Wage

10.3.3 Living-Wage Ordinances

10.3.4 Wage Subsidies to Employers

10.4 Rejected Policy Paths Warranting Reconsideration

10.4.1 Overview

10.4.2 The Need for Family Allowances and Related Caregiving Provisions

10.4.3 The Illusive Quest for a Guaranteed Income Stream

10.5 Summary

References

Index