Urban Institute: Assessing the New Federalism

Voices of Young Fathers : The Partners for Fragile Familes Demonstration

paffairs@urban.org ( Alford Young, Jr., Pamela A. Holcomb) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EST

This report presents ethnographic case studies of eight young, unmarried, low-income fathers who participated in the Partners for Fragile Families (PFF) demonstration projects. PFF provided a range of services aimed at increasing the capacity of young, economically disadvantaged fathers to become financial and emotional supports to their children and sought to reduce poverty and welfare dependence. The study examines the nature of the fathers relationship with their children and the mother of their children, the fathers experiences with the PFF program and with matters related to child support, their views on employment prospects and experiences, and their hopes and aspirations for the future.

TANF Policies for the Hard to Employ: Understanding State Approaches and Future Directions

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST

This study examines states approaches to serving TANF recipients facing multiple barriers to work in fall 2006. It also describes changes states anticipate (partly in response to TANF reauthorization) in the near future to help these recipients move into work and off the caseload. Study results are based primarily on structured interviews with state TANF program officials in 17 states including the states with the largest TANF caseloads. The findings highlight the different approaches taken by state TANF programs on how to best help recipients with serious barriers and provide early information on states thinking on how their approach may change for this group in the future.

Dissemination Lessons Learned

paffairs@urban.org ( Harold Leibovitz) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST

This paper describes the strategies and tactics used by the Urban Institute's Assessing the New Federalism (ANF) project to communicate changes in the social safety net in the wake of welfare reform. From 1997 to 2004, the growth of electronic communications revolutionized the way people communicate. This report documents how ANF adapted to these changes and offers lessons for future work. Several themes run through this work: continual evaluation of the dissemination program led to continual evolution; cost, time and outcomes were major measures of effectiveness; and being timely and relevant required new communication strategies.

Early Care and Education for Children in Low-Income Families : Patterns of Use, Quality, and Potential Policy Implications

paffairs@urban.org ( Gina Adams, Martha Zaslow, Kathryn Tout) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EST

Use of early care and education (ECE) is a reality for many families with young children. Research shows the importance of the early years for childrens development, and suggests that high-quality ECE can be particularly important for children from low-income families. In addition, the U.S. invests billions to support ECE. This paper assesses the patterns of ECE utilization by low-income families, the implications for children's development of the extent and quality of ECE participation, the evidence on the quality of ECE that low-income children receive, and the policy context that shapes ECE. It concludes by laying out key policy considerations.

Assessing Federalism: ANF and the Recent Evolution of American Social Policy Federalism

paffairs@urban.org ( Pamela Winston, Rosa Maria Castaneda) — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EST

This paper builds on a series of ANF publications that explored various aspects of social policy federalism since 1996. It explores what ANF's work can tell us about the evolution of federalism within five major social programs during the nine years between 1997 and 2006, focusing on lessons about federal-state relationships. It addresses Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Food Stamps, Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and child welfare. The paper is the result of a review and synthesis of over 65 publications addressing state and federal financing and/or programmatic arrangements in the major program areas, informed by interviews with experts who participated in ANF research.

N.Y. Gov Eliot Spitzer Taps the Urban Institute's Olivia Golden To Be His Director of Operations

paffairs@urban.org ( The Urban Institute) — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 00:00:00 EST

Urban Institute senior fellow Olivia Golden has been named state director of operations by New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Golden will oversee 80 state agencies.

Measuring Fiscal Disparities across the U.S. States : A Representative Revenue System/Representative Expenditure System Approach Fiscal Year 2002

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 00:00:00 EST

States and their local governments vary both in their needs to provide basic public services, and in their abilities to raise revenues to pay for those services. This study uses the Representative Revenue System (RRS) and the Representative Expenditure System (RES) frameworks to quantify these disparities across states by comparing each state's revenue capacity, revenue effort, and necessary expenditures to the average capacity, effort, and need in states across the country.

Analyzing Recent State Tax Policy Choices Affecting Low-Income Working Families : The Recession and Beyond

paffairs@urban.org ( Elaine Maag) — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:00:00 EST

Owing to balanced budget requirements, states often raise taxes during recessions. Unless carefully crafted, these tax hikes can fall on low-income working families--the same families likely to be subject to concurrent budget cuts. During the recession that started in 2001, states utilized several tools to balance budgets including tapping rainy day funds, borrowing, increasing taxes, and cutting spending. In many cases, low-income families were shielded from tax increases by increasing or creating state Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs). This policy brief details state tax changes affecting low-income families between 2002 and 2006.

Immigration and Child and Family Policy

paffairs@urban.org ( Randolph Capps, Karina Fortuny) — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 00:00:00 EST

The current great wave of immigration has led to a rapid rise in the share of U.S. children with immigrant parents, from 6 percent in 1970 to over 20 percent today. Three quarters of these children are Latino or Asian, and they are disproportionately low-income despite the high work effort of their parents. This report assesses how the changing demographics of the low-income child population are affecting child and family policies, drawing on findings from more than a dozen Assessing the New Federalism studies. Patterns and trends in child poverty, economic hardship, receipt of public benefits, health insurance coverage, and child care arrangements are discussed. The report includes recommendations for improving access to needed benefits and services for immigrants' children, and also discusses the implications of various immigration reform proposals pending in the U.S. Congress for their well being.

The Changing Role of Welfare in the Lives of Low-Income Families with Children

paffairs@urban.org ( Pamela J. Loprest, Sheila R. Zedlewski) — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 00:00:00 EST

This study uses data from the National Survey of America's Families 1997, 1999, and 2002, to summarize what we have learned about families potentially affected by welfare reforms passed in 1996. We describe outcomes for low-income families currently on welfare, families that recently left welfare, and those that have never received welfare. Changes in welfare policy, the economy and broader societal trends potentially affected all three groups. Our results show important differences in the relative well-being of these three groups over time, including changes in employment, poverty, and the share of families disconnected from either cash government assistance or work.

Understanding Recent Changes in Child Poverty

paffairs@urban.org ( Austin Nichols) — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 00:00:00 EST

Over the past 10 years, U.S. child poverty rates took two sharp turns: a major reduction from 1993 to 2000 followed by a slight hike from 2000 to 2004. This brief finds that the 1993 to 2000 drop in child poverty is largely due to improvements in the job market, especially for less-educated workers. The economic downturn beginning in 2000 hit all families, even those with more education, but the families of black children were hit hardest.

State-Level Changes in Children's Well-Being and Family Environment

paffairs@urban.org ( Richard Wertheimer, Cameron McPhee, Kristin Anderson Moore) — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 00:00:00 EST

Data from the 2002 round of the National Survey of America's Families show the share of children living in poverty dropped between 1996 and 2001 in all states studied except Alabama. Young children were more likely to be read to or told stories in 5 of the 13 states. Children became less engaged in school in 10 of the 13 states.

Children in Low-Income Families : Summary of The Urban Institute and Child Trends Roundtable on Children in Low-Income Families

paffairs@urban.org ( Michelle Beadle) — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 00:00:00 EST

More than one-third of America's children live in low-income families. On January 2006, the Urban Institute together with Child Trends brought together policymakers, program directors, researchers, policy experts, and advocates to discuss research and policy next steps for low-income children. This conference report highlights some of the most salient points raised during the daylong roundtable.

An Overview of Selected Data on Children in Vulnerable Families

paffairs@urban.org ( Jennifer Ehrle Macomber) — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 00:00:00 EST

This paper presents trends over time in the number of children in particularly vulnerable families, including families facing risks such as domestic violence, child maltreatment, substance abuse, depression, and childhood disabilities. These families are of particular importance to policymakers given the considerable risk to children's safety and development, the challenges to parents' ability to support a family as well as raise children when they are facing these major stressors, and the potential requirement for strong public or community roles to meet children's needs when parents cannot.

Getting On, Staying On, and Getting Off Welfare : The Complexity of State-by-State Policy Choices

paffairs@urban.org ( Gretchen Rowe, Linda Giannarelli) — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 00:00:00 EST

Congress reauthorized TANF in February 2006 as part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The changes included under reauthorization will require most states to greatly increase work participation among their caseloads in order to avoid financial penalties and could cause many states to rethink their current welfare policies overall. This marks a good time to review states' current rules, which provides a benchmark against which future changes can be assessed. This brief reviews the multiple ways a family can get on welfare, stay on, and leave (or lose) assistance. It uses the Urban Institute's Welfare Rules Database (WRD) to examine the variation in key policies as of 2003.

Toward a New Child Care Policy

paffairs@urban.org ( David Edie) — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 00:00:00 EST

This paper describes the primary components of the U.S. child care subsidy system and highlights variation in policies and programs across states. It then describes challenges facing the child care subsidy system, including state fiscal constraints and access to quality child care settings for low-income children. It identifies state-level efforts to improve child care quality through quality rating systems and to coordinate child care with early education systems. Finally, the paper presents five questions for consideration in thinking about domestic child care policy.

2002 NSAF Nonresponse Analysis

paffairs@urban.org ( Timothy Triplett) — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 00:00:00 EST

This report focuses on the characteristics of nonrespondents to the 2002 NSAF and assesses the impact of nonreponse on the NSAF statistics. It includes analysis of the effectiveness of the call attempt and refusal conversion strategies across all three rounds of NSAF data collection, providing some insights on how the level of effort affects the quality of the data by reducing nonresponse. This report also includes a sociodemographic comparison of nonrespondents using census block information obtained for 2002 nonrespondents and respondents.

Federalism after Hurricane Katrina : How Can Social Programs Respond to a Major Disaster?

Tue, 27 Jun 2006 00:00:00 EST

This paper explores the key features of four essential federal-state-local programs that have offered supports to low-income families and individuals in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina -- housing, unemployment compensation, Medicaid, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. It argues that the complexity of their structures and limited scale have inhibited their ability to respond effectively and quickly to the needs created by Hurricane Katrina. It recommends that national policymakers develop a set of disaster relief mechanisms better suited to address the large-scale cross-jurisdictional migration, diminished state fiscal capacity, increased demand for assistance, and other challenges that major disasters present.

The Economic Reality of Nonresident Mothers and Their Children

paffairs@urban.org ( Liliana Sousa, Elaine Sorensen) — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 00:00:00 EST

In 2002, 4.7 million children lived apart from their mother, up from 3.7 million in 1997. Despite their growing numbers, nonresident mothers and their children have remained largely under the radar. This brief provides a national portrait of nonresident mothers and their children, using data from the 2002 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF). It shows that nearly 40 percent of children living apart from their mother live apart from both of their parents. Most of these children do not receive child support and those living apart from both parents experience relatively high rates of poverty. Nonetheless, nonresident mothers are more economically insecure than their children who live elsewhere. Despite these high poverty rates, many of these children may benefit from increased child support enforcement.

The Cost of Protecting Vulnerable Children V : Understanding State Variation in Child Welfare Financing

Wed, 24 May 2006 00:00:00 EST

This report marks the fifth time the Urban Institute has collected data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia regarding child welfare spending. States spent at least $23.3 billion on child welfare activities in state fiscal year (SFY) 2004, with the increase in total spending between SFYs 2002 and 2004 driven by increases in state and local spending. Our findings highlight why we see such variation in states' financing strategies. Reasons include the availability and use of various nondedicated funding sources, how states use various funding sources, legal or political factors, and how the child welfare agency budget fits into the "big picture" of states' overall financing strategies.

Children Caring for Themselves and Child Neglect : When Do They Overlap?

paffairs@urban.org ( Erica H. Zielewski, Karin Malm, Rob Geen) — Tue, 16 May 2006 00:00:00 EST

This exploratory study considered how local jurisdictions in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area address the issue of children caring for themselves in a "self care" child care arrangement and whether some of these situations overlap with child protective services cases. Researchers conducted focus groups and interviews with child welfare staff and law enforcement officials. Reports of suspected child neglect, specifically reports involving inadequate supervision, were also analyzed. Deciding to leave children home alone is a universal decision that all parents must make. Study findings indicate that how localities respond to reports of inadequate supervision vary by the type of cases accepted, response to these cases, factors considered during the investigation, and how the agency serves the families.

Overcoming Barriers to Success in the Public Sector : Lessons from the 2005 Innovations Finalists

paffairs@urban.org ( Olivia Golden) — Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 EST

Every year since its establishment in 1986, the Ford-sponsored Innovations in American Government program at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government recognizes innovative examples of practices addressing public sector problems. The idea behind the program is that government can be improved by identifying and disseminating examples that resolve public sector problems. Olivia Golden's paper, "Overcoming Barriers to Success in the Public Sector: Lessons from the 2005 Innovations Finalists," draws on the cases of the Innovations Awards 2005 finalists to address: (1) why the ineffective practices persisted until the innovation occurred; and (2) why the innovation happened at the time that it did.

Understanding Changes in Child Poverty Over the Past Decade

paffairs@urban.org ( Austin Nichols) — Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 EST

Child poverty dropped dramatically from 1993 to 2000 and increased from 2000 to 2004; both trends were even more marked for black children. While work, education, and family structure, together with macroeconomic conditions, are all significant determinants of child poverty over the last twenty years, macroeconomic conditions dominate the explanation for the dramatic changes of 1993 to 2000 and 2000 to 2004. Specifically, the state unemployment rate and real minimum wage (especially interacted with educational attainment) explain most of the fall in child poverty during the 1990's and the more recent rise.

How Does Family Well-Being Vary across Different Types of Neighborhoods?

paffairs@urban.org ( Margery Austin Turner, Deborah R. Kaye) — Wed, 10 May 2006 00:00:00 EST

A substantial body of social science research finds evidence that living in high-poverty and racially isolated neighborhoods can undermine the well-being and life-chances of both children and adults. Clearly, neighborhood environment is not the sole factor influencing people's well-being; individual and family attributes also play critical roles. This paper uses the latest data from the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) to explore variations across types of neighborhood environments in the well-being of families and children. Its takes advantage of the richness of NSAF's data on family work effort, economic security, access to services and supports, and child well-being, in order to shed new light on the relevance of neighborhood environment.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Insurance Coverage and Health Care Access and Use : A Synthesis of Findings from the Assessing the New Federalism Project

paffairs@urban.org ( Bowen Garrett, Alshadye Yemane) — Tue, 09 May 2006 00:00:00 EST

Several studies conducted as part of the Urban Institute's Assessing the New Federalism project have focused on documenting and explaining racial and ethnic differences in insurance coverage and health care access and use. ANF's National Survey of America's Families has enabled studies of trends in insurance coverage gaps, analyses of under-studied populations, and multivariate decompositions of the factors related to racial and ethnic differences. This paper reviews those studies and highlights their contribution to the large and growing literature regarding racial and ethnic differences. It supplements the review with findings from the authors' analyses of the 2002 NSAF.

Trends in Service Receipt : Children in Kinship Care Gaining Ground

paffairs@urban.org ( Regan Main, Jennifer Ehrle Macomber, Rob Geen) — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 00:00:00 EST

The standard of living for children in kinship care improved significantly between 1997 and 2002, according to analyses of the National Survey of America's Families. The portion of children in kinship care living in poverty steadily declined. Similarly, findings reveal a downward trend in the portion of children in kinship care who did not have health insurance. Both of these trends were more pronounced for children in kinship arrangements that involved a child welfare agency than those that did not, though both groups' improvements were more dramatic than the gains made by children living with their parents.

Parents and Children Facing a World of Risk : "Next Steps toward a Working Families' Agenda" Roundtable Report

paffairs@urban.org ( Olivia Golden, Pamela J. Loprest, Sheila R. Zedlewski) — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 00:00:00 EST

About a quarter of American families with children work regularly but remain low-income. State and federal practitioners, policymakers, and national experts met in May 2005 to examine this group of working families that barely make ends meet despite "playing by the rules." This conference report lays out the salient point of the two-day roundtable and the thrust of a future agenda.

Caring for Children of Color : The Child Care Patterns of White, Black and Hispanic Children

paffairs@urban.org ( Jeffrey Capizzano, Gina Adams, Jason Ost) — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST

This paper examines the child care arrangements of white, black, and Hispanic children by different child and family characteristics. The findings suggest that white children drive national child care patterns, masking different patterns among black and Hispanic children. The findings also indicate that while white, black, and Hispanic children come from families with different characteristics, only a few of the characteristics examined in the paper help to explain the variation in child care use among the groups. Other important characteristics (e.g.,income) were less helpful in understanding why white, black, and Hispanic children are placed in different forms of care.

Is There a System Supporting Low-Income Families?

Fri, 24 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST

This paper considers four programs--Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), food stamps, child care subsidies, and the earned income tax credit (EITC)--that form the core work support system in the United States. It highlights differences in program funding, eligibility, and delivery systems. It describes trends in participation and synthesizes research knowledge about the observed differences in program participation. The paper concludes that these programs do not form an effective system. Each program operates under different rules that many low-income working families find daunting. A few recent state innovations offer potential for improving the system.

Implementing the Federal Faith-Based Agenda : Charitable Choice and Compassion Capital Initiatives

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST

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.

An Introduction to Unemployment and Unemployment Insurance

paffairs@urban.org ( Wayne Vroman) — Sat, 01 Oct 2005 00:00:00 EST

This paper describes the evolution of unemployment in recent years (the rate of unemployment occurrences and average unemployment duration) and highlights variation in unemployment by gender, age, ethnicity and educational attainment using national data. It then demonstrates the wide variation in receipt of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by states. It also identifies several state-level factors related to recipiency rate variation. Finally, it suggests changes that would increase UI recipiency in the states.

Can We Improve Job Retention and Advancement among Low-Income Working Parents?

paffairs@urban.org ( Harry Holzer, Karin Martinson) — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 00:00:00 EST

In this paper we review the evidence on four approaches to improving job retention and advancement among low-income working adults. These four approaches are: 1) Financial incentives and supports; 2) Case management and service provision, often by labor market intermediaries; 3) Skill development strategies; and 4) Employer-focused efforts, such as sectoral strategies and career ladder development at private firms. Within each category, we find at least some evidence of positive impacts on retention or advancement. Among the most promising approaches are the use of labor market intermediaries for job placements, the use of community colleges for training, and a variety of efforts that involve local employers. Mixed strategies that combine strong financial incentives and supports with labor market services and training also show promise. The paper also identifies areas where additional evaluation is needed.

Who Are Low-Income Working Families?

paffairs@urban.org ( Gregory Acs, Pamela J. Loprest) — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 00:00:00 EST

This paper uses data from the 2002 round of the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) to examine the work effort and wages of low-income families, the characteristics of their jobs including wages and benefits, their demographic characteristics, and the extent to which parents and children in these families experience a variety of good and bad outcomes measured by the survey. It also assesses the economic situation of these families - both in terms of their income and expenses.

Working to Make Ends Meet : Understanding the Income and Expenses of America's Low-Income Families

paffairs@urban.org ( Gregory Acs, Austin Nichols) — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 00:00:00 EST

This report clarifies the discussion and debate over what constitutes a low-income working family, documents the size and characteristics of low-income working population, and examines their incomes and expenditures. Using data from the 2002 round of the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF), we find that low-income families (income below twice the federal poverty line) with at least one full-time, full-year worker have incomes that are roughly in line with their basic expenses thanks to their work effort, earned income, and a generous refundable Earned Income Tax Credit; however, low-income families without a full-time, full-year worker do not appear to have enough income to cover their basic expenses.

Low-Income Working Families: Facts and Figures

paffairs@urban.org ( The Urban Institute) — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 00:00:00 EST

The vast majority of low-income parents are working but still struggling to make ends meet. This fact sheet shows how low-income working families have much in common with other American families as they seek to balance work and family life, yet face much greater risk and vulnerability than their higher-income counterparts.

2002 NSAF Data Editing and Imputation

paffairs@urban.org ( Timothy Triplett) — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 00:00:00 EST

This report focuses on the data editing techniques and imputations that were unique to the 2002 NSAF data processing steps. It is a supplement to the 1997 and 1999 NSAF data editing reports (No. 10 in both series), and does not reiterate the data editing techniques, data processing, and coding guidelines documented in these prior reports.

Federal Policy on the Ground : Faith-Based Organizations Delivering Local Services

Thu, 28 Jul 2005 00:00:00 EST

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]

A Profile of Low-Income Working Immigrant Families

Thu, 30 Jun 2005 00:00:00 EST

Immigrants compose a large and growing share of U.S. workers, and of low-income working families. In 2001 immigrants were one fifth of all low-wage workers, and immigrant families were one-quarter of all low-income working families. Like other low-income families, immigrants face economic hardship and need work supports such as tax credits, food, housing assistance, health care, and child care. Immigrant families, however, are less likely to be eligible for or have access to needed benefits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, Medicaid, Food Stamps, and child care subsidies.

Ebbing and Flowing : Some Gains, Some Losses as SCHIP Responds to Third Year of Budget Pressure

paffairs@urban.org ( Ian Hill, Brigette Courtot, Jennifer Sullivan) — Thu, 19 May 2005 00:00:00 EST

State policymakers are using the flexibility built into Title XXI to manage their SCHIP programs, cutting or expanding as fiscal conditions permit. This conclusion is based on our third annual survey of SCHIP directors in the 13 ANF states, which explored the impacts of budget pressures on child health insurance policies in 2004. On the plus side, several states reversed previous cuts; for example, every ANF state that capped enrollment in 2003 lifted the cap in 2004. However, states kept many of their prior years' cuts in place during '04, and some imposed new restrictions.

How Have Households with Children Fared in the Job Market Downturn?

paffairs@urban.org ( Gregory Acs, Harry Holzer, Austin Nichols) — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 00:00:00 EST

During and following 2001's recession, families with children saw their employment rates and income decline significantly. In turn, the incidence of poverty in homes with children, especially those headed by single adults rose. However, safety net programs for working families, such as unemployment insurance, were less effective in aiding single-adult and low-income families than other types of households.

Irreconcilable Differences? : The Conflict Between Marriage Promotion Initiatives for Cohabiting Couples with Children and Marriage Penalties in Tax and Transfer Programs

paffairs@urban.org ( Gregory Acs, Elaine Maag) — Tue, 26 Apr 2005 00:00:00 EST

Encouraging and strengthening marriage continues to move up the U.S. social policy agenda. This analysis uses nationally representative data on cohabiting couples with children from the 2002 round of the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) to assess marriage penalties or bonuses facing these couples. It examines the consequences of current (2003) federal tax laws, and the incentives that will be in place in 2008 as the final marriage-related provisions of 2001's tax reform are phased in.

Use of Relative Care by Working Parents

paffairs@urban.org ( Kathleen Snyder, Timothy Dore, Sarah Adelman) — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 00:00:00 EST

Data from the 2002 National Survey of America's Families indicates that 8.9 million children under the age 13 regularly spend time in the care of relatives while their parents work; 6.4 million of these children are in relative care as their only nonparental child care arrangement. Over one-quarter of children under age three are in only relative care compared with about one-fifth of older children. The percentage of children who spent time in relative care was largely unchanged between 1999 and 2002.

Assessing the New Federalism--Eight Years Later

paffairs@urban.org ( Olivia Golden) — Fri, 22 Apr 2005 00:00:00 EST

Dramatic changes have occurred in the experience of low-income families, those who have been on welfare and those who haven't, since the mid-1990s. Assessing the New Federalism: Eight Years Later synthesizes much of what we've learned so far through intensive research, including a national survey of 40,000 American families, case studies, budgetary analysis, and a database of evolving state welfare rules. These findings offer a comprehensive picture of those leaving welfare and answer such questions as how many people recently off welfare are working and for how many hours.

The Welfare Rules Databook: State Policies as of July 2003

paffairs@urban.org ( Gretchen Rowe, Jeffrey Versteeg) — Fri, 01 Apr 2005 00:00:00 EST

The Welfare Rules Databook describes the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and provides tables summarizing key TANF policies for each state as of July 2003. Other tables included describe selected policies from 1996 through 2003. The Databook includes initial and ongoing eligibility policies, benefits policies, and requirements policies. The tables are based on information in the Welfare Rules Database, a publicly available, fully searchable database.

Feeding America's Low-Income Children

paffairs@urban.org ( Sheila R. Zedlewski, Kelly Rader) — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 00:00:00 EST

This policy brief examines low-income children's participation in food assistance programs and explores the potential to improve food security by extending this safety net to more children. The results show that the nutrition safety net plays an important role in low-income families' lives. Seven out of ten young children and almost eight out of ten school-age children in low-income families receive some nutrition assistance. Nonetheless, the safety net fails to reach three out of ten low-income children. Also, one in five poor children receive no nutrition assistance. The authors conclude that the food safety net has considerable room to expand.

Many Young Children Spend Long Hours in Child Care

paffairs@urban.org ( Jeffrey Capizzano, Regan Main) — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 00:00:00 EST

In 2002, a large percentage of preschool children with employed mothers were in full-time care each week. Forty-two percent of children under age 5 with employed mothers spent at least 35 hours a week in child care. The proportion is even greater (50.6 percent) among children whose mothers worked full-time. These findings reinforce the important role that child care plays in the lives of America's youngest children and the need for policymakers to pay close attention to the quality of that care.

2002 NSAF Collection of Papers

Fri, 04 Feb 2005 00:00:00 EST

This report is a collection of occasional papers on technical issues in the design, implementation, and operation of the 2002 round of the NSAF. It is a companion report to the 1999 methodology series Report No. 7 NSAF Collection of Papers and the 1997 methodology series Report No. 16 NSAF Technical Papers. All the papers in this collection were presented at either the annual May American Association for Public Opinion Research conference or the annual August Joint Statistical Meetings.

Paying the Price? : Low-Income Parents and the Use of Paid Tax Preparers

paffairs@urban.org ( Elaine Maag) — Tue, 01 Feb 2005 00:00:00 EST

Low-income parents use paid preparers more frequently than other parents. This high reliance may be a good thing. Among low-income parents who know about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) those who receive help are more likely to receive the EITC than their peers who prepare their returns independently. Although use of a paid preparer could obfuscate one's knowledge of important tax benefits if the paid preparer does not explain their calculations, this does not appear to be the case. We continue to note that significantly fewer Hispanic parents know about the EITC than other low-income parents.

1997 Snapshots of America's Families: Definitions of Indicators

paffairs@urban.org ( The Urban Institute) — Sat, 01 Jan 2005 00:00:00 EST

The Snapshots of America's Families are based on information obtained from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families. We used probability sampling methods to select households in 13 states and in the balance of the nation. This table lists the definitions of indicators.

Estimating Financial Support for Kinship Caregivers

paffairs@urban.org ( Julie Murray, Jennifer Ehrle Macomber, Rob Geen) — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 00:00:00 EST

In this brief we examine levels of receipt for government payments that children in kinship care are eligible to receive. We find that children's receipt of financial assistance is still low given their eligibility. Many, if not most, families that could be eligible for the most generous payment, a foster payment, do not receive it. Children whose living situations make them ineligible for foster care payments have surprisingly low levels of receipt for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) child-only benefits, often their only source for financial assistance.