Welfare Realities: From Rhetoric to Reform

by Mary Jo Bane, David T. Ellwood

Mary Jo Bane and David Ellwood examine the American welfare system―its recipients, its providers, and the swirl of policy ideas surrounding it―with objectivity and clarity. Focusing on the AFDC Program (Aid to Families with Dependent Children), they examine the composition of the populations receiving assistance, the duration of that assistance―who receives benefits for a long time and who only briefly, during important transitional periods―and the prospects facing AFDC recipients within the administrative culture of the system. The authors identify three models that have been used to explain “welfare dependency” and test them against an accumulating body of evidence They offer suggestions for identifying potential long-term recipients so that resources can be targeted to encourage self-sufficiency. Finally, they review policy options.

Genres: Public Policy

238 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 1994

Reviews

[Alan Metelko · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most important intellectual influences in the Welfare Reform movement of the 1980s and 1990s although it didn't have the effect that it's authors would have wanted.