U.S. Social Welfare Reform - Policy Transitions from 1981 to the Present (International Series on Consumer Science) (eBook)

U.S. Social Welfare Reform - Policy Transitions from 1981 to the Present (International Series on Consumer Science) (eBook)

U. S. Social Welfare Reform examines pivotal changes in social welfare for low-income families in the United States between 1981, the advent of the Reagan administration, and 2008, the end of the G.W. Bush administration. It focuses on the change from the Federal-state open entitlement Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program to the time-limited state run Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program which Congress authorized with passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996. The book also focuses on the development of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program, enacted in 1975 against the backdrop of failed efforts to nationalize AFDC which aimed at providing a basic income to all poor families, but which blossomed with continued bipartisan support in the 1990s. This book also explores alternative strategies to assist low-income families, including job training programs. It present original research on the educational and economic well-being of youth from low-income families who participated in government sponsored job training programs in the late 1970 and early 1980s. The book seeks a middle ground between general and technical social policy texts. It provides more depth than is available in the more general social policy texts. Further, while the more comprehensive texts often rely on government documents and reports relying on Current Population Survey data to profile program use, this book relies on panel data from the National Longitudinal Surveys and presents original research that builds upon prior related research and scholarship about the role of the federal government in social welfare provisioning in general and AFDC/TANF and EITC use in particular and on school-to-work transition programs. It presents related technical material in a narrative style better suited to professionals and policy makers who may lack expertise in quantitative analysis.

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Richard K. Caputo, Ph.D. has authored four books, including the two-volume Welfare and Freedom American Style on the role of the federal government in social welfare provisioning in the United States from 1941 through 1980. He served as editor of the book, Challenges of Aging on US Families: Policy and Practice Implications, in which he also has a chapter "Inheritance and intergenerational transmission of parental care." He is also the guest editor for the special issue of Families in Society on social justice, of Marriage & Family Review on challenges of aging on US families, and of the Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare on contemporary history of social policy. Dr. Caputo currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Family & Economic Issues, the Journal of Poverty, Families in Society, the Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, and Marriage & Family Review. He has also published original research on several aspects of social welfare provisioning in the United States in these and other peer-reviewed journals.

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Inhaltsangabe

1;U.S. Social Welfare Reform
;3
In Memory ... 7
Preface ... 9
Contents ... 11
1.4;Part I Historical Overview of Select Federal Cash Assistance Programs
;17
Chapter 1: Historical Benchmarks Prior to the 1980s ... 18
1.1 Overview ... 18
1.2 Origins and Development of AFDC ... 18
1.2.1 The Social Security Act of 1935 and Related Amendments Through the Early 1960s ... 19
1.2.2 The Johnson Administration and America’s War on Poverty ... 21
1.3 Nationalizing Welfare by Linking Public Cash Assistance to Work ... 26
1.3.1 Guaranteed Annual Income Schemes ... 26
1.3.2 The Nixon Administration’s Family Assistance Plan ... 28
1.3.3 Additional Benchmarks: SSI, WIN Enhancements, and the EITC ... 34
1.3.3.1 The Supplemental Security Income Program ... 34
1.3.3.2 WIN Amendments ... 34
1.3.3.3 The Earned Income Tax Credit ... 35
1.4 The Carter Administration and the Program for Better Jobs and Income ... 36
1.5 Summary ... 39
References ... 39
Chapter 2: The Reagan Administrationand Public Assistance ... 44
2.1 Overview ... 44
2.2 The Welfare State Under Siege: Theoreticaland Empirical Underpinnings ... 44
2.3 The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 ... 46
2.3.1 Implementation of Workfare Demonstration Programs Prior to Passage of the Family Support Act of 1988(P.L. 100-485) ... 46
2.3.2 MDRC and Assessment of Workfare Programs Priorto the Family Support Act of 1988 ... 47
2.4 Cementing the Link Between Welfare Reform and Work ... 48
2.4.1 The Emerging Consensus ... 48
2.4.2 The Empirical Base Underpinning the Consensus ... 51
2.5 The Family Support Act of 1988 ... 52
2.5.1 Provisions of FSA ... 52
2.5.1.1 Title I of FSA: Child Support ... 52
2.5.1.2 Title II of FSA: Creation of the JOBS Program ... 52
2.5.1.3 Remaining Provisions Regarding Child Care, AFDC-UP,Retaining the Entitlement Nature of AFDC, and Fundingof De ... 53
2.5.2 Critique of the Family Support Act of 1988 ... 53
2.6 Public Assistance Under Siege During the G.H.W. Bush Administration ... 54
2.7 Summary ... 56
References ... 56
Chapter 3: Welfare Reform in the Clinton Administration ... 59
3.1 Overview ... 59
3.2 Welfare Reform and the Clinton Administration ... 59
3.2.1 Framing the Issue and the Use of Waivers ... 59
3.2.2 Competing Administration and CongressionalWelfare Reform Plans ... 61
3.2.3 The Tide Turns ... 63
3.2.3.1 Republicans Take Control of Congress ... 63
3.2.3.2 The Republican Contract with America ... 63
3.2.3.3 Other Legislative Initiatives Indicative of EndingWelfare as then Known ... 64
3.2.4 The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 ... 65
3.2.4.1 The End of the AFDC Program, Welfare as It Was Known ... 65
3.2.4.2 Provisions of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 ... 66
Title I: Creation of TANF ... 66
Title I: Work Requirements ... 66
Title I: Provisions Reflecting the Political Clout of the Christian Right ... 67
The Remaining Eight Titles Tangentially Related to TANF Provisions ... 67
3.3 The Impact of PRWORA on Welfare Caseloads ... 68
3.4 TANF Reauthorization ... 69
3.4.1 Planning for the Reauthorization from the Get-Go ... 69
3.4.2 Salient Issues Under Consideration for Reauthorization ... 70
3.4.3 G.W. Bush Administration Goals for Reauthorization ... 70
3.4.4 Reauthorization Delays ... 71
3.4.5 TANF Reauthorized with Modest Changes ... 72
3.5 Summary ... 73
References ... 74
Chapter 4: Women’s Employment and EITC Expansion ... 78
4.1 Overview ... 78
4.2 Women’s Employment ... 78
4.2.1 Labor Force Participation and Marital Status ... 78
4.2.2 Labor Force Participation Among Mothers ... 79
4.2.3 Labor Force Participation Among Mothers with Very Young Children ... 80
4.3The Earned Income Tax Credit Program ... 80
4.3.1 Expansion of the EITC Program ... 80
4.3.2 How the EITC Works ... 81
4.3.3 The Earned Income Tax Credit Program Compared to Other Federal Welfare Programs ... 85
4.3.3.1 Distinguishing the EITC from Other Means-Tested Programs ... 85
4.3.3.2 Comparing the EITC to Other Tax Expenditure Programs ... 85
4.3.3.3 Refinements Reflecting Interaction of EITC with Other Federal Welfare Programs ... 86
4.4The Role of Direct vs. Tax Expenditures in Social Policy ... 86
4.4.1 Allocating Government Largesse Via the Tax Code: Competing Theories ... 86
4.4.2 Tax Expenditures and the U.S. Budget ... 87
4.4.3 Contrasting Tax-Expenditure to Direct Expenditure Programs ... 88
4.4.4 Use of Tax Expenditures to Achieve Social Policy Objectives ... 88
4.5 Summary ... 89
References ... 90
Chapter 5: TANF and EITC: A Literature Review ... 93
5.1 Overview ... 93
5.2 Welfare-to-Work Initiatives and the Transition to TANF: 1988–1996 ... 94
5.2.1 State Variation in Workfare Programs ... 94
5.2.2 Assessing Workfare Programs in Light of the Family Support Act of 1988 ... 95
5.2.3 The Clinton Administration and Use of Waivers ... 98
5.3 The Socioeconomics of the Post-TANF Years:1997 to the Present ... 99
5.3.1 Caseload Reduction ... 99
5.3.1.1 Work Requirements ... 99
5.3.1.2 Caseload Reduction Credits ... 100
5.3.1.3 Diversion Benefits ... 101
5.3.2 Sociodemographic and Other Changes Accompanying Implementation of TANF ... 101
5.3.2.1 Poverty and Labor Force Attachment ... 101
5.3.2.2 Use of (Dependency on) Public Assistance ... 102
5.3.2.3 Sociodemographic Profile of TANF Entrants & Users ... 103
5.3.2.4 Profile of TANF Exits ... 104
5.4 Earned Income Tax Credit Participation ... 105
5.4.1 Take-Up Rates ... 105
5.4.2 Prevalence and Patterns of EITC Use ... 107
5.4.3 Effects of EITC Participation ... 109
5.5 Summary ... 110
References ... 110
Chapter 6: TANF and EITC Use: A Study ... 116
6.1 Overview ... 116
6.2 Study Objectives and Questions ... 116
6.3 Method ... 117
6.3.1 Data ... 117
6.3.1.1 The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 Cohort ... 117
6.3.1.2 The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort ... 119
6.3.2 Measures ... 121
6.3.2.1 The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 Cohort ... 121
6.3.2.2 The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort ... 122
6.4 Procedures ... 124
6.5 Limitations ... 124
6.6 Findings ... 125
6.6.1 Descriptive Statistics ... 125
6.6.1.1 The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 Cohort ... 125
Program Use by Number of Years of Participation ... 125
Program Use by Year of Participation ... 128
Changes in Economic Well-Being ... 129
6.6.1.2 The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort ... 133
Program Use by Number of Years of Participation ... 133
Program Use by Year of Participation ... 135
NLSY97 Subjects Unaware of EITC ... 138
Changes in Economic Well-Being ... 139
6.6.2 Multivariate Statistics ... 142
6.6.2.1 The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 Cohort ... 142
Background Characteristics as Predictors of Ever-Filing for EITC (NLSY79) ... 142
Predictors of Filing for EITC by Survey Year (NLSY79) ... 143
6.6.2.2 The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort ... 146
Background Characteristics as Predictors of Ever-Filing for EITC (NLSY97) ... 146
Predictors of Filing for EITC by Survey Year (NLSY97) ... 147
6.7 Discussion ... 147
6.7.1 Program Use ... 149
6.7.1.1 EITC Take-up Rates ... 149
6.7.1.2 Patterns of EITC, Food Stamp, and TANF Program Use ... 149
6.7.2 Economic Well-Being ... 150
6.7.3 Predictors of EITC Use ... 151
References ... 151
1.5;Part II Employment and Training Initiativesin the Global Economy
;153
Chapter 7: Employment, Education, and Training Programs ... 154
7.1 Overview ... 154
7.2 Job-Training Initiatives Targeting Low-Income Persons ... 155
7.2.1 Overview ... 155
7.2.2 The Manpower Development and Training Act ... 156
7.2.3 The Comprehensive Education and Training Act Program ... 157
7.2.4 Youth-Related Training Programs ... 158
7.2.4.1 Job Corps ... 158
7.2.4.2 Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Project ... 159
7.2.5 The Job Training and Partnership Act Program ... 160
7.2.5.1 JTPA Titles ... 161
7.2.5.2 JTPA Eligibility ... 161
7.2.5.3 JOBSTART ... 161
7.2.5.4 JTPA and AFDC ... 162
7.2.5.5 Overall Assessment of JTPA ... 162
7.3 Workforce Development Initiatives ... 163
7.3.1 Overview ... 163
7.3.2 Dislocated Workers ... 165
7.3.2.1 Overview ... 165
7.3.2.2 The Economic Dislocation and Worker Adjustment Assistance Act ... 166
7.3.3 Educational and Training Initiatives to Keep America Competitive in the Global Economy ... 168
7.3.3.1 Overview ... 168
7.3.3.2 Early Academic and Vocational Education Initiatives ... 169
7.3.4 The School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 ... 171
7.3.5 The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 ... 174
7.3.5.1 Overview ... 174
7.3.5.2 WIA Titles ... 176
7.3.5.3 WIA Evaluation ... 177
7.3.6 The Trade Adjustment and Assistance Reform Act of 2002 (TAA) ... 179
7.4Summary ... 181
References ... 181
Chapter 8: An Outcome Study: NLSY79 ... 189
8.1 Overview ... 189
8.2 Vocational Education in Secondary and Postsecondary Schooling in USA ... 190
8.2.1 Vocational Education in High Schools in the 1980s and 1990s ... 190
8.2.2 Vocational Education and Postsecondary Schooling in the 1980s and 1990s ... 191
8.3 NLSY79 Government Training and Jobs Programs, 1979–1987 ... 192
8.3.1 Overview ... 192
8.3.1.1 “On Jobs” Section of the 1979–1987 Questionnaires ... 192
8.3.1.2 The 1979–1986 “Government Training” Sections ... 193
8.3.1.3 NLSY79 Descriptive Information About Enrollment in Government Training and Jobs Programs, 1979–1986 ... 193
8.4 NLSY79 Enrollment in Government and Other Training Programs, 1988–2006 ... 194
8.4.1 Overview ... 194
8.4.2 NLSY79 Descriptive Information About Training Enrollment Between 1988 and 2006 ... 194
8.5 Study Questions and Methods ... 195
8.5.1 Overview ... 195
8.5.2 Study Questions ... 196
8.5.3 Study Methods ... 197
8.5.3.1 Data and Sample ... 197
8.5.3.2 Measures ... 197
8.5.3.3 Procedures ... 199
8.6 Findings and Implications ... 199
8.6.1 Findings ... 199
8.6.1.1 Descriptive Statistics ... 199
8.6.1.2 Bivariate Statistics ... 200
8.6.1.3 Regression Statistics ... 204
Economic Well-Being ... 204
Human Capital ... 209
EITC-Related ... 213
8.6.2 Study Implications ... 216
8.6.2.1 The Modest Impact of Enrolling in Government and School-Sponsored Job Training Programs ... 216
G-P-S Enrollees: Less Income, Less Work, More Additional Training ... 216
School-Only Enrollees: More Additional Training, Less EITC Eligible ... 217
8.6.2.2 The Importance of Background and Sociodemographic Characteristics ... 218
The Significance of Class, Race/Ethnicity, and Sex ... 218
The Impact of Staying Single and Urban Residence ... 218
References ... 219
Chapter 9: An Outcome Study: NLSY97 ... 220
9.1 Overview ... 220
9.2 Career and Technical Education in USA in the 1990s to the Present ... 221
9.2.1 Overview ... 221
9.2.2 Career and Technical Education in the NLSY97 ... 223
9.2.2.1 Overview ... 223
9.2.2.2 Prior School-To-Work Studies that Relied on NLSY97 ... 223
9.2.2.3 NLSY97 Descriptive Information about Participationin All Career and Training Programs ... 225
9.3 Study Questions and Methods ... 240
9.3.1 Overview ... 240
9.3.2 Study Questions ... 241
9.3.3 Study Methods ... 242
9.3.3.1 Data and Sample ... 242
9.3.3.2 Measures ... 242
9.3.3.3 Procedures ... 244
9.4 Findings and Implications ... 244
9.4.1 Findings ... 244
9.4.1.1 Descriptive Statistics ... 244
9.4.1.2 Bivariate Statistics ... 246
9.4.1.3 Regression Statistics ... 250
Economic Well-Being ... 250
Human Capital ... 253
EITC Related ... 261
9.4.2 Study Implications ... 262
9.4.2.1 The Mixed Impact of Participation in Career and Vocational/Technical Training Programs ... 262
JTPPS Category 1 and 2 Participants: Higher Income from Wages, More Additional Training, and Less Work ... 262
JTPPS Category 4 Participants: Additional Training ... 263
9.4.2.2 The Importance of Background and Sociodemographic Characteristics ... 264
The Significance of Class, Race/Ethnicity, and Sex ... 264
The Impact of Marital Status, Presence of Children Under 18 Years of Age in the Household, and Urban Residence ... 264
References ... 265
Chapter 10: Policy Challenges Ahead ... 266
10.1 Overview ... 266
10.2 Universal Strategies: Education and Workforce Development ... 267
10.2.1 Overview ... 267
10.2.2 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ... 268
10.2.3 The American Graduation Initiative and the Roleof Community Colleges ... 270
10.2.4 Challenges Facing ARRA and AGI ... 274
10.3 Additional Labor-Market Policies Benefitting Low-Income Working Individuals and Families ... 277
10.3.1 Overview ... 277
10.3.2 Increasing the Minimum Wage ... 277
10.3.3 Living-Wage Ordinances ... 278
10.3.4 Wage Subsidies to Employers ... 281
10.4 Rejected Policy Paths Warranting Reconsideration ... 282
10.4.1 Overview ... 282
10.4.2 The Need for Family Allowances and Related Caregiving Provisions ... 283
10.4.3 The Illusive Quest for a Guaranteed Income Stream ... 285
10.5 Summary ... 288
References ... 289
Index ... 299

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Inhaltsangabe

I. Historical Overview of Select Federal Cash Assistance Programs

- Historical Benchmarks Prior to the 1980s

- The Reagan Administration and Public Assistance

- Welfare Reform in the Clinton Administration

- Women's Employment and EITC Expansion

- TANF and EITC: A Literature Review

- tANF and EITC Use: A Study

II. Employment and Training Initiatives in the Global Economy

- Employment, Education, and Training Programs

- An Outcome Study: NLSY79

- Economic Well-Being, Human Capital, and EITC-Related Outcomes among NLSY97 Participants in Government-Sponsored Job Training and Other Vocational Education Programs

- Policy Challenges Ahead