Welfare Reform

CED in Brief
Welfare Reform: Emphasize Skill Development, Not Work Requirements
The signing of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996 fundamentally changed the welfare system in America.  The emphasis has shifted from supporting low-income people who do not work to helping low-income people work to support themselves.  Welfare Reform and Beyond: Making Work Work examines the record of welfare reform to date 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. 

Co-chairing the subcommittee are Rex D. Adams, Dean of the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, and Matina S. Horner, Executive Vice President of TIAA-CREF.  The project director is Marc Bendick, Jr. of Bendick and Egan Economic Consultants. The statement was released in February, 2000.

Press Release | Executive Summary | Full Report | Order ($18)

Landmark national welfare reform legislation is up for Congressional renewal this fall. CED's new welfare policy update offers proposals for strengthening the 1996 law and building upon its achievements. CED will be a strong presence on Capitol Hill urging Congress to give states greater flexibility and resources to help them meet rising welfare-to-work requirements, while providing welfare recipients the tools to enter productive careers. The update builds upon the recommendations the 2000 CED policy statement Welfare Reform and Beyond: Making Work Work.

Contact Amy Morse at (202) 296-5860 or amy.morse@ced.org for more information.