Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/LauraWherry

The cornerstone of the ANF project was the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF), a survey of the economic, health, and social characteristics of children, adults under the age of 65, and their families. Conducted in 1997, 1999, and 2002 to gather information during each round on more than 100,000 people and more than 40,000 families across the country, the NSAF allowed researchers to watch national trends emerge. This report summarizes the pioneering steps and major accomplishments of the survey methods used to complete the NSAF, while acknowledging key challenges and important lessons for future household surveys.

This issue brief draws lessons for public administrators from a study of the devolution of federal policies in HHS programs covered by "Charitable Choice" legislation--Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT), and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)--and the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF). Contracting with FBOs in three cities studied (Birmingham, Boston, Denver) changed little since Charitable Choice, though perceptions about what was permissible had changed. Contracting with congregations and faith expression were more prominent in CCF. The role of faith in services was largely unmonitored, and implementation of the right to an alternative provider was problematic.

This study examines the devolution of federal policies regarding faith-based involvement in three HHS programs covered by "Charitable Choice" provisions--Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT), and the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG)--and in the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF). The study sites were Birmingham, Boston, and Denver. FBO contracting changed little since Charitable Choice, though perceptions about what was permissible in federal contracting had changed. Contracting with congregations and faith expression was more prominent in CCF. Implementation of the right to an alternative provider for welfare or substance abuse services is uncertain. [View the corresponding press release]

This report, prepared for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, reviews existing data sources and prior research on six programs operated by the Department that provide food assistance to American Indians living on or near reservations. The purpose of the review is to help identify future research needs and opportunities to exploit administrative data systems and recurring national surveys. The programs covered are the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), the Food Stamp Program (FSP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). Research topics of continuing importance include the impacts of reservation food assistance on health and nutrition, the characteristics that make nutrition education effective on reservations, the dynamics of program participation, and the contribution of tribal administration to program coordination.

This brief uses data from the 1997 and 2002 National Survey of America's Families to analyze racial and ethnic differences in children's living arrangements and the implications for federal and state marriage promotion policies. Black children are more likely than Hispanic or white children to live with a single parent and most black single parents have never been married. Most single parents of white children are divorced. Hispanic children are more likely than black or white children to live with unmarried cohabiting parents. Between 1997 and 2002, the share of children living with unmarried cohabiting parents rose among blacks, Hispanics, and whites, but the decline in the share of children living with single parents was significant among Hispanics only.

This report examines the design and potential impact of current proposals to block grant Child Welfare, Food Stamps, Head Start, housing assistance, job training, Medicaid, transportation, and local law enforcement. The authors conclude that fixed funding may drive states to cut services or narrow eligibility during periods of fiscal stress. Four of the 10 proposals include maintenance of effort (MOE) provisions, but only the Medicaid proposal adjusts the level of required state spending for inflation. Requirements for public participation, data collection, and performance evaluation vary widely across the proposals. In a new twist, several proposals allow states to choose whether to participate in the block grants or continue under current programs.

Block grants were first enacted during the Johnson administration, in 1966. Three subsequent surges in the use of block grants occurred during the Nixon, Reagan, and Clinton administrations. Experience with block grants offers several lessons. The real value of block grant funding tends to diminish over time. Once in operation, Congress gradually erodes the flexibility of block grants. Block grant implementation is smoothest when states can draw upon existing administrative capacities. This study did not find consistent evidence that states use block grants to redirect benefits away from those with the greatest need.

From the outset in 1996, the Urban Institute's Assessing the New Federalism project and its funders considered dissemination an integral part of the overall project. This paper reviews the dissemination goals, objectives, and strategies the project established. The authors developed several new sets of data to evaluate how well the strategies worked and ANF reached its goals and objectives. Data developed included a survey of people using ANF analysis, a press clipping database, measures of publication reading ease, and web site tracking.

Data from the 2002 round of the National Survey of America's Families show that poverty rates dropped to 23 percent for blacks, 25 percent for Hispanics, and 8 percent for whites between 1996 and 2001. Forty-four percent of Hispanics experienced food hardship in 2002 compared with 38 percent of blacks and 17 percent of whites. In 2002, 24 percent of blacks, 20 percent of Hispanics, and 10 percent of whites experienced housing hardship.

Data from the 2002 round of the National Survey of America's Families show that insurance coverage increased by 6 percentage points for low-income black and white children and 5 percentage points for low-income Hispanic children between 1997 and 2002. Twenty percent of Hispanic children were uninsured in 2002 compared with 9 percent of black children and 7 percent of white children. Insurance coverage dropped for low-income Hispanic adults between 1997 and 2002 while remaining flat for low-income black and white adults over this period.

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