Shrinking the Public Safety Net or Helping the Poor Play by the Rules? The Changes in the State-Level Policies That Affected Low-Income Families With Children in the Welfare Reform Era

Abstract

Despite the claimed success of the 1996 Welfare Reform, little research using multivariate regression has examined changes in multiple public safety-net programs. Thus, we still do not know whether public safety-net programs for the poor have shrunk or increased nationwide, along with the sharp declines in cash assistance. Using state-level data between 1994 and 2002 and state fixedeffects model, this study examines changes in nine safety-net programs designed for low-income families with children along with decreases in support from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)/Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the results indicate that the decline in AFDC/TANF support was not associated with increases in support for the economic self-sufficiency of low-income families; safety-net programs for the poor shrunk during the 1996 reform. As there is an increasing need for an effective use of public dollars to assist the poor in the present recession, future researchers should turn their attention to the study of multiple safety-net policies.

Concurrent Participation in Federally-Funded Welfare Programs and Empowerment Toward Economic Self-Sufficiency

“…Although heralded as the most significant piece of welfare legislation since the Social Security Act (SSA) of 1935, TANF has constantly been the subject of vehement controversies among researchers as studies of its effectiveness have yielded mixed results. Despite early success claims (Bitler, Hoynes & Kuka, 2014), there has been a growing concern in the literature about the effectiveness of the program in helping lowincome families reach self-sufficiency (Aratani & Aber, 2014;Ozawa & Yoon, 2005;Sheely, 2012).…”

“…In Furthermore, the American welfare state is bifurcated into a two-tiered system: an upper-tier and a lower-tier (Howard, 1999;Sherraden, 1991, p. 53 Recipients of these benefits are often stigmatized in the eyes of the public (Howard, 1999;Sherraden, 1991, p. 53) This chapter pinpointed the most significant antipoverty policy prescriptions designed and implemented under the auspices of the federal government. (Aratani et al, 2014;Banerjee & Damman, 2013;Bitler et al, 2014;Bloom, Loprest, & Zedlewski, 2011;Rodgers & Tedin, 2006;Sheely, 2012;Siegel, Green, Abbott, Mogul, & Patacsil, 2004). A similar trend is followed with studies related to the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and…”

The War on Poverty Then and Now: A Plan Toward Ultimate Victory

“…Indeed, TANF leavers struggled to find and maintain well‐paying jobs. The vast majority of them had been unemployed since leaving welfare and had to rely on less stringent safety net programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for survival (Aratani, Lu, & Aber, ; Blank & Kovak, , ; Loprest & Nichols, ; Murray & Primus, ; Ozawa & Yoon, ; Sheely, ).…”

Concurrent Participation in Federally-Funded Welfare Programs and Empowerment toward Economic Self-Sufficiency

“…Families program [TANF] program (Aratani et al, 2014;Banerjee & Damman, 2013;Bitler et al, 2014;Bloom, Loprest, & Zedlewski, 2011;Rodgers & Tedin, 2006;Sheely, 2012;Siegel, Green, Abbott, Mogul, & Patacsil, 2004). A similar trend is followed with studies related to the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and…”

“…For this reason, proponents of this approach recommend a strong labor market as the main poverty reduction policy (Moffitt, 1987 (Bitler, Hoynes & Kuka, 2014), there has been a growing concern in the literature about the effectiveness of the program in helping lowincome families reach self-sufficiency (Aratani & Aber, 2014;Ozawa & Yoon, 2005;Sheely, 2012).…”