American Poverty In A New Era Of Reform

Contents......Page 5
Tables and Figures......Page 7
Preface......Page 11
Acknowledgments......Page 13
Acronyms......Page 15
1 Introduction American Poverty......Page 19
Organization of the Book......Page 25
2 How Many Americans Are Poor?......Page 28
Poverty Threshold for Family of Four (Two Children), 2003: $18,660......Page 31
Flaws in the Official Measure of Poverty......Page 34
Why Is the Standard So Flawed?......Page 37
Summary and Conclusions......Page 40
Who Are the Poor?......Page 43
Poor Children......Page 50
Mother-Only Families: Growth and Causes of Poverty......Page 56
Why Has Progress Slowed in Reducing Poverty?......Page 67
Conclusions......Page 71
4 Why Are People Poor in America?......Page 73
The Dynamics of Poverty......Page 75
Welfare Dynamics......Page 77
Theories of Poverty......Page 79
Culture as Structure......Page 87
Tobin’s Structural Theory of Poverty......Page 89
What Do These Theories Tell Us About Poverty and Welfare Reform?......Page 91
5 The Evolution of Welfare Ending Welfare as We Know It......Page 93
The Historical Context......Page 94
The Social Security Act of 1935......Page 95
The Civil Rights Movement......Page 97
A New Consensus—Supported Work......Page 101
The Family Support Act of 1988......Page 102
The Impact of the Act......Page 105
The Clinton Administration Plan......Page 106
The Republican Party Plan......Page 107
Clinton’s Response......Page 111
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act......Page 113
Additional 1997 Amendments......Page 120
Other Federal Welfare Initiatives......Page 121
Conclusions......Page 122
6 State Welfare Plans Under PRWORA......Page 123
Characteristics and Impact of State Programs......Page 124
Wisconsin: A Case Study......Page 125
Summary......Page 131
State Plans......Page 133
Changes in State Welfare Expenditures......Page 135
Conclusions......Page 144
7 After PRWORA The American Welfare System......Page 146
Welfare Rolls......Page 154
Antipoverty Effectiveness of Means-Tested Programs......Page 157
Major Welfare Programs......Page 160
Conclusions......Page 182
Impact on Welfare Rolls......Page 183
Why Have the Rolls Dropped So Substantially?......Page 184
Impact of the Reforms on Employment......Page 186
Impact on Employment of Low-Income Adults......Page 187
Studies of Welfare Leavers......Page 191
Are the Food Stamp and Medicaid Programs Playing a Supportive Role?......Page 194
Is Child Care Available and Adequate?......Page 198
How Well Are Sanctions Being Used?......Page 201
Summary: What We Know About TANF Recipients and Leavers......Page 203
Reducing Out-of-Wedlock Births......Page 205
Child-Support Collections......Page 210
Food Insecurity and Hunger......Page 213
Conclusions......Page 216
9 Refining American Social Welfare Policy......Page 218
The Pros and Cons of PRWORA......Page 219
Reform Falters in a Weak Economy......Page 228
The Future of American Social Policy: Ending Poverty as We Know It......Page 231
Appendix A Internet Sources......Page 233
Appendix B State Poverty Ranges Using Three-Year Average, 2001–3......Page 235
Appendix C Percentage of People Without Health Insurance Coverage by State Using Three-Year Average, 2001–3......Page 236
Appendix D Marriages and Divorces, 1950–2001......Page 237
References......Page 239
Index......Page 257
About the Author......Page 269