Abstract
This chapter presents an overview of welfare reform efforts during the administration of President Bill Clinton. Section 3.2 discusses the politics associated with welfare reform and the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) which replaced the entitlement Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program with the time-limited, block grant Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The creation of TANF and work requirements are presented along with other PRWORA provisions influenced by the Christian right. Section 3.3 examines the impact of PRWORA on welfare caseloads. Section 3.4 highlights key components of efforts to reauthorize TANF.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Acts of Principle. (1996, September 13). New York Times. Opinion. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9801E7D6163AF930A2575AC0A960958260&scp=40&sq=David+Ellwood&st=nyt.
Armacost, M. H., Laracy, M. C., & Phillips, J. (2001). Forward. In R. M. Blank & R. Haskins (Eds.), The new world of welfare (pp. v–ix). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
As Economy Slides, More People Seek Assistance. (2008, December 17). The Washington Post, A10.
Bane, M. J. (1995). Reviewing the waiver process. Public Welfare, 53(1), 7–9.
Bernstein, J., & Greenberg, M. H. (2001). Reforming welfare reform. The American Prospect, 12(1), 10–16.
Bernstein, R. (1996, September 4). Grand themes, modest proposals: A Clinton mix. [Review of the book Between hope and history: Meeting America’s challenges for the 21st century]. The New York Times. The Living Arts, B4.
Blank, R. M., & Ellwood, D. T. (2001). The Clinton legacy for America’s poor (NBER Working Paper No. 8437). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Burke, V., & Falk, G. (2005). TANF reauthorization: Side-by-side comparison of current law and two versions of H.R. 4 (108th Congress). Congressional Research Report for Congress. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/assets/crs/RL32834.pdf.
Bush, G. W. (2000). Address to the National Republican Convention: Compassionate conservatism. Vital Speeches of the Day, 66(21), 642–646.
Bush, G. W. (2002, February 26). Remarks on the welfare reform agenda. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (pp. 295–299). Washington, DC: GPO. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_presidential_documents&docid=pd04mr02_txt-14.pdf.
Carlson-Thies, S. (2001). Charitable choice: Bringing religion back into American welfare. Journal of Political History, 13(1), 109–132.
CLASP (2001, November 30). Comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regarding the reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://www.clasp.org/publications/comments_regarding_reauthorization.pdf.
Clinton, B. (1995). Between hope and history: Meeting America’s challenges for the 21st century. New York: Times Books.
Clinton, B., & Gore, A. (1992). Putting people first: How we can all change America. New York: Times Books.
Clinton, W. J. (1993a, February 2). Remarks to the National Governors Association. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (pp. 125–128). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://frwebgate3.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/PDFgate.cgi?WAISdocID=31574313346+2+2+0&WAISaction=retrieve.
Clinton, W. J. (1993b, November 13). Remarks to the convocation of the Church of God in Memphis. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (pp. 2357–2362). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://frwebgate3.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/PDFgate.cgi?WAISdocID=55016911146+4+2+0&WAISaction=retrieve.
Clinton, W. J. (1994, June 21). Message to the Congress transmitting the “Work and Responsibility Act of 1994.” Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (pp. 1320–1321). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://frwebgate4.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/PDFgate.cgi?WAISdocID=739482470062+9+2+0&WAISaction=retrieve.
Clinton, W. J. (1995, August 9). Remarks to the progressive national Baptist convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (pp. 1401–1410). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://frwebgate5.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/PDFgate.cgi?WAISdocID=8138747723+0+2+0&WAISaction=retrieve.
Clinton, W. J. (1996a, January 9). Message to the House of Representatives returning without approval the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1995. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (pp. 30–32). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://frwebgate3.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/PDFgate.cgi?WAISdocID=19069333+0+2+0&WAISaction=retrieve.
Clinton, W. J. (1996b, July 27). Statement on welfare reform. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (pp. 1353–1354). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://frwebgate3.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/PDFgate.cgi?WAISdocID=19069333+7+2+0&WAISaction=retrieve.
CWA (2006). TANF reauthorization. Washington, DC: Communications Workers of America. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://www.cwa-legislative.org/fact-sheets/page.jsp?itemID=27482970.
DeParle, J. (2004). American dream: Three women, ten kids, and a nation’s drive to end welfare. New York: Penguin Books.
Edelman, P. (2001). Poverty & welfare: Does compassionate conservatism have a heart? Albany Law Review, 63(3), 1073–1085.
Ellwood, D. T. (1996). Welfare reform as I knew it: When bad things happen to good policies. The American Prospect, 7(26), 22–27.
Falk, G. (2005). TANF reauthorization: Side-by-side comparison of current law, S. 667 and H.R. 240 (TANF provisions). Congressional Research Report for Congress. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/permalink/meta-crs-9260:1.
Falk, G., Gish, M., & Solomon-Fears, C. (2005). Welfare reauthorization: An overview of the issues. Updated December 21, 2005. Congressional Research Report for Congress. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/permalink/meta-crs-8016:1.
Fishman, E. (2007). Not compassionate, not conservatism – pseudo-conservatism revisited: Critiquing the Bush years. The American Scholar, 76(1), 48–55.
Gais, T., & Nathan, R. (2001). Status report on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the 1996 personal responsibility welfare-reform act. Albany, NY: The Rockefeller Institute of Government. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://www.rockinst.org/pdf/workforce_welfare_and_social_services/2001-08-17-status_report_on_the_occasion_of_the_5th_anniversary_of_the_1996_personal_responsibility_welfare-reform_act.pdf.
Gillespie, E., & Schellhas, B. (Eds.). (1994). Contract with America: The bold plan by Rep. Newt Gingrich, Rep. Dick Armey, and the House Republicans to change the nation. New York: Random House.
Greenberg, M. (2002). Bush’s blunder. The American Prospect, Summer, A2–A5.
Greenberg, M. H. (2000, February 18) . Looking ahead to reauthorization of TANF : Some preliminary thoughts. Presentation to bi-partisan welfare reform seminar for senior congressional and administrative staff. Washington, DC: Center for Law and Social Policy. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://www.clasp.org/publications/looking_ahead_to_reauthorization.pdf.
Greenberg, M. H., Levin-Epstein, J., Hutson, R. Q., Ooms, T. J., Schumacher, R., Turetsky, V., et al. (2002). The 1996 welfare law: Key elements and reauthorization issues affecting children. The Future of Children, 12(1), 27–57.
Haskins, R. (2001). Effects of welfare reform on family income and poverty. In R. M. Blank &R. Haskins (Eds.), The new world of welfare (pp. 103–136). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Haskins, R. (2006). Work over welfare: The inside story of the 1996 welfare reform law. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.
Haskins, R., & Blank, R. M. (2001). Welfare reform: An agenda for reauthorization. In R. M. Blank & R. Haskins (Eds.), The new world of welfare (pp. 3–32). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Heclo, H. (2001). The politics of welfare reform. In R. M. Blank & R. Haskins (Eds.), The new world of welfare (pp. 169–2000). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Kaus, M. (1994, December 5). They blew it. The New Republic, 211(23), Cover, 14–19.
Mead, L. M. (2001). The politics of conservative welfare reform. In R. M. Blank & R. Haskins (Eds.), The new world of welfare (pp. 201–220). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Moore, S. (Ed.). (1995). Restoring the dream: The bold new plan by House Republicans. New York: Times Books.
Moynihan, D. P. (1995, October 19). ‘It will shame the Congress.’ The New York Review of Books, 42(16). Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1995/oct/19/it-will-shame-the-congress/.
Murray, C. (1993). Welfare and the family: The U.S. experience. Journal of Labor Economics, 11(1, Pt 2), S224–S262.
Offner, P. (1994, December 5). Health snare. The New Republic, 211(23), 16.
Peterson, J. (2002). The TANF reauthorization debate: Key welfare reform issues and concerns. Journal of Economic Issues, 36(2), 431–439.
Plotke, D. (1995). Against government: The contract with America. Dissent, 42(3), 348–354.
Ponnuru, R. (2004). No more Mr. nice guy: The death of George W. Bush’s ‘compassionate conservatism’. National Review, 56(6), 30–34.
Rector, R. (1993). Welfare reform, dependency reduction, and labor market entry. Journal of Labor Research, 14(3), 283–297.
Reed, R. (1996). Active faith: How Christians are changing the soul of American politics. New York: The Free Press.
Rogers-Dillon, R. H. (2004). The welfare experiments: Politics and policy evaluation. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
State Policy Development Project. (1999). Formal cash diversion programs: Treatment of payments. Accessed April 26, 2009, from http://www.spdp.org/tanf/divover/divpymt.pdf.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2009a). Table 10 Related children in female householder families as a proportion of all related children, by poverty status: 1959 to 2007. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/histpov/hstpov10.xls.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2009b). Table 11 Related children as a proportion of the poverty population, by race and Hispanic origin: 1959 to 2007. Accessed January 19, 2009, from http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/histpov/hstpov11.xls.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1996, October 7). HHS Fact Sheet: State welfare demonstrations. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/1996pres/961007b.html.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. (1999, April 12). Temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) program; Final rule. Part II. Federal Register, 64(69), 12270–17768. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/law-reg/finalrule/regla1.pdf.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. (2002). Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF ) Program: Fourth Annual Report to Congress. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/data-reports/ar2001/chapter02.pdf.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. (2007). Indicators of welfare dependence. Annual Report to Congress 2007. http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/Indicators07/. Accessed 26 April 2010.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. (1996). Comparison of prior law and the personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193). Accessed January 26, 2010, from http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/isp/reform.htm.
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?data_tool=latest_numbers&series_id=LNU04000000&years_option=all_years&periods_option=specific_periods&periods=Annual+Data.
U.S. House. Office of the Clerk. (n.d.). Party divisions in the House of Representatives (1789 to present). Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/partyDiv.html.
U.S. Senate. (n.d.). Party divisions in the Senate, 1789 to present. Accessed April 26, 2010, from http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/one_item_and_teasers/partydiv.htm.
Watson, J. (1997). The Christian coalition: Dreams of restoration, demands for recognition. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Weaver, R. K. (2000). Ending welfare as we know it. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Wilson, W. J. (1990). The truly disadvantaged: The inner city, the underclass, and public policy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Wineberg, R. J., Coleman, B. L., Broddie, S. C., & Cnaan, R. A. (2008). Leveling the playing field: Epitomizing devolution through faith-based organizations. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 35(1), 17–42.
Yardley, J. (1996, September 9–15). Preaching to the choir. [Review of the book Between hope and history: Meeting America’s challenges for the 21st century]. The Washington Post National Weekly Edition, Book World, 32.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Caputo, R.K. (2011). Welfare Reform in the Clinton Administration. In: U.S. Social Welfare Reform. International Series on Consumer Science. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7674-1_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7674-1_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-7673-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-7674-1
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)