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2014-04-22
Oxfam GB;
For a second year in a row, benefits values have increased below prices. At the same time, council tax support and housing benefit have been cut for 1.75 million of the poorest families in the UK. This leaves affected families with even less money to pay for essentials such as food, heating and transport.
The UK government has introduced a number of changes to the benefit system in recent years. For each individual change, the government publishes an impact assessment, but it has not assessed how they overlap. This report identifies how many of the poorest families have seen their benefits cut by at least one of these changes, and how much worse off they are.
2007-05-23
Joyce Foundation;
Brings together the results of extensive research and other relevant studies on the effects of the 1996 federal welfare reform on Midwest families making the transition to work.
2009-03-24
Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina;
This paper reveals the use of refund anticipation loans, also known as RALs, from 2004 to 2006 in North Carolina. It highlights zip codes with the highest concentration of RAL use. It places a connection between the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and demand for RALs. The inference is that this successful federal anti-poverty program is undermined by tax preparation services seeking to capitalize on the financial problems of low-income North Carolinians. Four maps are included at the end of the paper to reveal the geography of RAL use in the state.
2005-03-16
Committee for Economic Development;
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), the landmark legislation that radically reformed the welfare system, has been in a state of legislative limbo since 2002, when the law expired. Congress has been unable to agree on reauthorizing legislation. Instead, the program has been temporarily extended several times. This lack of action hinders states and localities in their long-range planning because of uncertainty regarding funding levels and program changes that may be mandated. Congress must reauthorize PRWORA now so that the progress of welfare reform may be advanced.
The Committee for Economic Development (CED) issued proposals for reform that address the major issues in the current reauthorization debate in a report, Welfare Reform and Beyond: A CED Policy Update. That report updated a previous policy statement, Welfare Reform and Beyond: Making Work Work, which provided a comprehensive analysis of the progress of welfare reform.
CED argues that welfare reform is not only a matter of economic security to millions of families working their way out of poverty and into self sufficiency; it is vitally important to the strength of our workforce. Baby-boomers are nearing retirement age, and the U.S. native-born labor force will soon stop growing. Therefore, turning welfare recipients into skilled, productive workers able to meet our future labor needs is critical for economic growth, not solely social fairness. Prompt Congressional action is required to pass reauthorization legislation that will provide states and welfare families with the flexibility and resources they need to continue the success of welfare reform.
When making improvements to welfare, lawmakers must remember that the goals of welfare reform should be to increase personal responsibility and selfsufficiency, enhance job prospects, and help families out of poverty -- not simply to reduce welfare caseloads. Because welfare is such a vital part of efforts to reduce poverty and promote broad-based economic growth, and because states must know what budgetary and programmatic changes they need to make, it is imperative that Congress pass a full reauthorization of welfare now. Below are CED's recommendations for action on the key issues in the welfare reauthorization debate.
2003-08-28
New York City Labor Market Information Service;
For a representative democracy to function optimally, citizens from all walks of life should have equal chances to express their preferences through the electoral process. In practice, we know that the actual rate of electoral participation varies greatly depending on individual circumstances and social settings. Better off, better educated, non-Hispanic white citizens are more likely to vote; poor, less educated, and minority individuals are much less likely to do so. Gaining a better understanding of why and how this might be so is crucial for moving toward a more democratic polity.
2009-03-30
Hunger Solutions Minnesota;
Hunger Solutions Minnesota releases their first volume of a newly developed quarterly report. "Keeping Food on the Table", is a quarterly review of the state of hunger in Minnesota. This first issue is a 2008 review. The review looks at food shelf usage, food stamps, federal commodities, suburban hunger and other factors contributing to the rising issue of hunger in Minnesota.
2012-05-08
Public Policy Institute of California;
Examines the characteristics of beneficiaries of the state's cash assistance and welfare-to-work services for low-income families, including type of employment and factors associated with longer reliance on CalWORKS, such as low educational attainment.
2000-02-09
Committee for Economic Development;
The signing of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996 fundamentally changed the welfare system in America. The emphasis shifted from supporting low-income people who do not work to helping low-income people work to support themselves. This report examines the record of welfare reform in the wider context of the low-skill labor market. It asks how former welfare recipients have fared in finding employment, reducing dependency, and raising incomes. Recommendations are made for completing and improving the program for moving individuals from welfare to work.
1998-03-01
Public/Private Ventures;
Moving people into the workforce quickly may be the best first step to moving them out of poverty; but, by itself, rapid attachment is not likely to achieve the more important workforce development goals of enabling people to keep their jobs and leave poverty behind. This report explores the new challenges to building self-sufficiency brought about by the work first orientation of welfare reform, and the steps that practitioners, policymakers, and researchers may need to consider to keep their poverty alleviation strategies on track. The report includes descriptions of innovations in three key areas -- employer involvement, working with work first, and postemployment services -- which P/PV believes to be necessary to advance workforce development in the uncertain climate of welfare and education and training reform.
2011-05-26
Annie E. Casey Foundation;
Based on updated KIDS COUNT data, highlights the progress made on increasing placement of children in foster families rather than in institutions or group homes. Analyzes variations by age and state.
2011-08-18
Annie E. Casey Foundation;
Outlines the value of quality case service reviews in child welfare systems, requirements for building and sustaining a robust process and adapting it under limited state budgets, and recommendations for jurisdictions, initiators, and national leadership.
