Welfare Reform Temporary Assistance for Needy Families...

In August 1996, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) passed. This legislation ended the Family Aid with Dependent Children (AFDC) and replaced it with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Unlike AFDC, TANF is not an entitlement program. This means that states are under no obligation to provide cash assistance to eligible families. Instead the federal government gives block grants to assist poor families with the emphasis on moving them from welfare to work or deterring them from applying for welfare in the first place. States are no longer obligated to match federal funds, creating an incentive to eliminate their previous portion of the funding for critical programs. Now due to†¦show more content†¦When highly paid professional women leave jobs to stay home and take care of their children they are considered ?good mothers?. Also, when they do decide to work outside the home they are judged as ?selfish? and ?bad mother s?. However, the expectation of poor women is the exact opposite. Poor women are often criticized for staying home to take care of their children and are expected to leave the home and work for wage in order to receive the ?good mother? approval from society. One reform argument is centered on the ?burden? for taxpayers to support people who are not trying to help themselves. Gilens reported, ?The economic self-interest explanation of welfare reform is widely assumed to be true, and debates over public policy often remain on the assumption that the middle class resent paying for programs that benefit only the poor? (Gilens, p. 2, 1996). Reform efforts often focus on general stereotypes of welfare recipients not wanting to work and preferring to take advantage of taxpayer money. Conservatives and liberals refer to ?welfare spending? as excessive and unnecessary. However, prior to the popularity of welfare reform, the U.S. Bureau of Census reported actual money spent on AFDC was only 7% of the $613 billion spend on social welfare which included health care, veterans? programs, education, housing, and pubic aid (tables 579, 583, 1993). With government statistics contradicting claims of excessive spending, there isShow MoreRelatedMassach usetts And Kentucky s Temporary Assistance For Needy Families Post Secondary Reform Movements1634 Words   |  7 Pages Stephanie Steele Final Exam Amna Osman State and Local Government Upper Iowa University April 23rd, 2015 1. What led to the success of Maine and Kentucky’s Temporary Assistance to Needy families Post-Secondary Reform movements? Maine is a small state that is not terribly diverse in it s population. Ethnic and racial minorities make up just less that 2 percent of its population (U.S. Census Bureau). Maine has also been considered one of the more poorer states. Maine s economyRead More Management Issues of Implementing Welfare to Work Programs In California3087 Words   |  13 PagesManagement Issues of Implementing Welfare to Work Programs In California In August of 1996, our chief executive of the United States, President Clinton, changed the structure of welfare dependency. He signed into law, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. This act, with its entire new legislature, has come to be known as welfare reform. Our state leaders, administrators and managers face many challenges and constraints in their attempt to implement a law, whichRead MoreWelfare Reform Essay1456 Words   |  6 Pagesdebated about a systematical program called welfare. Some perceive it as dead weight to our nation and they question whether the programs offered are helping the community. As taxpayers, the American populous funds contribute to welfare for others. Due to the large number of people who receive government assistance, it is not that simple to monitor every individual. However, I propose that welfare should be reformed. Society is abusing the access to social welfare and to prevent the downfall sure to comeRead More Essay about Hcr 230 Week 3 Assignment the Welfare Reform Act1018 Words   |  5 PagesThe Welfare Reform Act HCR/230—Claims Prep II Jeana Timmcke University of Phoenix—Axia College The Welfare Reform Act Welfare has been a controversial issue since the 1960s, and continues to be a controversial issue. During the late 1980s, citizens were calling for reform of the Welfare System. Due to citizen concern the Personal Responsibility, Welfare and Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) came into effectRead MoreThe Welfare Policies And Welfare Programs1232 Words   |  5 Pagesdeciding who is eligible for welfare and for what amount of time, though federal funds can only be provided for five years of benefits over the lifetime of the recipient. Women currently have very few options when it comes to working and caring for their children. The next section of this paper will discuss the welfare policies aimed at alleviating the struggle of women to care provide for themselves and their children. Welfare Programs and Eligibility There are several welfare programs that are availableRead MoreThe Issue Of Drug Testing Welfare Recipients And Applicants1231 Words   |  5 Pageswill explore the pros and cons on the issue of drug testing welfare recipients and applicants. The journals and articles used to determine whether drug testing is necessary or a hindrance to public assistance applicants, recipients and the government vary in their argument on the effects of those who receive assistance. The study, completed by Anderson, Shannon, Schyb and Goldstein (2002) determined that, due to the change in Welfare reform in 1996, the disruption of benefits increased the risk homelessnessRead MoreEssay about Federal Welfare Reform1651 Words   |  7 PagesFederal Welfare Reform: A Critical Perspective Abstract: This project will examine â€Å"welfare reform,† which was signified by the signing of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWOA) in 1996. PRWOA replaced the original welfare act of 1935, titled Aid to Dependent Children (later changed to Aid to Families with Dependent Children), with the program Temporary Assistance to needy Families (TANF). Under PRWOA, TANF was instated as a system of block grants allocated to statesRead MoreThe Reforms Of Public Benefits For Needy Families1476 Words   |  6 PagesThe Reforms of public benefits for needy families in the U.S. and specifically single mothers, which took place in August of 1996, was an important step since its inception with FDR in 1935. Many requirements were imposed onto public benefits eligibility, such as work and income requirement and establishing a time limit for public aid. Effects of the reform were hard to ignore as it resulted in decreasing governmental expenditure and heavy program caseloads. However, the big debate about public benefitsRead MoreTemporary Assistance For Needy Families1567 Words   |  7 Pages Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Work-First, Time-limits and Sanctions. The Policy Effects on Citizens and Social Work Practice ADEBAYO ADEKUNLE L. KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITYâ€Æ' Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Work-First, Time-limits and Sanctions. The Policy Effects on Citizens and Social Work Practice Social Policy can refer to guidelines, principles, legislation and activities that affect the living conditions conducive to human welfare, such as a person s qualityRead MoreMandatory Drug Testing For Welfare Recipients1526 Words   |  7 PagesArann Ms. Holiday English 12 11/04/15 Mandatory Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients When the United States’ welfare program was created during the Great Depression, it was meant to temporarily relieve the burdens of the one-fourth of American families who were unemployed, and struggling financially. President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Social Security Act in 1935, then amended it in 1939 to create programs to assist families with unemployment compensation, and to create government agencies