Welfare Reform: Legacy In Addition To Adjacent Steps

Back inwards 1996, President Bill Clinton signed into constabulary the Personal Responsibility too Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), usually known every bit "welfare reform."  The Winter 2018 number of Pathways, published past times the Stanford Center on Poverty & Inequality, offers ix curt too readable essays past times social scientists too a few politicians on what happened, too what should come about next. Although the welfare reform legislation gets much of the attention, a number of the authors betoken out that it was part of a grouping of legislative changes carried out at roughly the same fourth dimension too intended to encourage work, including a ascension inwards the Earned Income Tax Credit. Here are some tidbits:

Welfare reform led to a substantial too long-lasting driblet inwards the number of welfare recipients

Robert A. Moffitt too Stephanie Garlow write:

"The welfare rolls indeed plummeted nether the influence of welfare reform. If anything, some of the early on studies underestimated the causal number of welfare reform itself (as against the effects of economical expansion). Did it increase employment? Although at that topographic point remains some ambiguity on the relative importance of the EITC too welfare reform inwards accounting for changes inwards employment, it is clear that welfare reform played an of import role. In the initial years subsequently reform, many to a greater extent than women joined the task forcefulness than fifty-fifty the reform’s most ardent supporters had hoped. Did it cut down poverty? There are 2 sides to the response to this question. It would appear that, patch welfare reform assisted families amongst incomes merely about the poverty threshold, it did less to assist families inwards deep or extreme poverty. Under the electrical flow welfare regime, many unmarried mothers are struggling to back upwards their families without income or cash benefits. Even women who are willing to operate oftentimes cannot uncovering good-paying, steady employment."

Here's i figure showing the alter inwards welfare recipients subsequently 1996. The next figure shows that subsequently the welfare reform, the operate charge per unit of measurement of never-married mothers converged amongst the operate charge per unit of measurement of unmarried women who had never had children.

Welfare reform was part of an overall a shift toward greater world back upwards for the working poor, but less back upwards for the non-working poor

The broader world oftentimes isn't much inwards favor of back upwards for the nonworking poor. Without contention the betoken i means or another, I'll merely annotation that children inwards such families convey a crude oil time. H. Luke Shaefer too Kathryn Edin convey been looking at USA families amongst rattling piddling cash income, although they may have assistance inwards noncash forms similar Medicaid too nutrient stamps. They write:

"The total of federal dollars flowing to pitiable families grew every bit a outcome of the changes made to social welfare policy during the 1990s, but non uniformly so. More assist is at in i trial available to working pitiable families via refundable taxation credits too expanded eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). But the total of assistance for non-working families has decreased, too what remains has shifted away from cash too toward in-kind benefits."

This figure shows the number of household amongst children receiving nutrient stamps that study no other cash income at all.

This figure shows the number of children living inwards households amongst less than $2/day per someone inwards cash income.

Children inwards low-income families are ameliorate off since 1996 

Janet Currie writes:

"[W]elfare reform involved to a greater extent than than merely PRWORA. Indeed, at that topographic point convey been many changes to security internet programs since PRWORA, including expansions of Medicaid too the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). In this article, nosotros pose the next question: Has the overall prepare of changes to the security internet since PRWORA improved outcomes for children? To response that question, nosotros await at several measures of kid well-being—mortality rates, teen pregnancy, drug use, too high schoolhouse graduation rates—and uncovering that across all these measures, pitiable children are much ameliorate off today. ...

"It is hard to disentangle the effects of welfare reform from the economical too other changes that convey occurred since the 1990s, too nosotros volition non stimulate to produce thence here. However, nosotros volition render a brief overview of some of the most important policy changes that were intended to address children’s well-being. 

"First, starting inwards the slow 1980s too continuing through the 1990s, Medicaid was expanded to encompass all pitiable children too many children inwards lower-income working families, rather than solely roofing the children of welfare recipients. In addition, the creation of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) inwards 1997 expanded world wellness insurance for pitiable important women too children. ... Second, Congress expanded the EITC inwards 1993, amongst the finish of eliminating poverty for those who operate full-time. In the same year, Congress added to a greater extent than coin for the Food Stamp Program (now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), which has continued to expand over time. ... Finally, inwards response to growing evidence almost the importance of preschool environments, many states developed or expanded their world kid attention too preschool programs, too such programs at in i trial serve to a greater extent than children than Head Start. Of course, many of these programs are effectively modeled on Head Start, too both Head Start too acre preschool programs convey been shown to improve the short- too long-term outcomes of pitiable children." 

Welfare reform had no clear number on long-term rates of spousal human relationship or single-parent families

Daniel T. Lichter writes:

"Across an array of indicators, at that topographic point is piddling demonstrable evidence of large or important effects of the 1996 welfare reform legislation on spousal human relationship too identify unit of measurement formation. Since its enactment xx years ago, nosotros haven’t seen a render to marriage, a reduction inwards out-of-wedlock pregnancies, or a strengthening of two-parent families."

Final thoughts

The number starts amongst a useful interview amongst Bruce Reed, who was the caput of President Clinton's Domestic Policy Council inwards 1996, too Newt Gingrich, who was Speaker of the House of Representatives at the time. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they both believe the 1996 legislation was a goodness idea, but possibly to a greater extent than surprising, they both combat that a novel circular of welfare reform would live appropriate to address the issues that stay too convey emerged. 

Reed says: 

"The experts all told us it couldn’t work. They said people wouldn’t larn to operate or await for work. They said employers wouldn’t hire them or hold them. They said welfare offices couldn’t assist people uncovering work. I cry upwards the experts were proven incorrect past times the people on welfare who left for work."

Gingrich says: 

"You shouldn’t run across the 1996 human activity every bit the concluding dance. Let’s say it solely worked for three-quarters of people who were on welfare. That’s a pretty goodness victory. ... Now nosotros quest a novel welfare reform neb for the one-fourth who weren’t met past times the concluding bill."

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