Policy Briefs: Short Takes on Welfare Policy

Caseload declines partly stem from falling participation -- a trend that means fewer families are getting the help they need.

Child Welfare agencies' reliance on TANF dollars -- and the often conflicting demands the two systems place on clients -- calls for greater coordination. Congress should encourage collaboration between welfare and child welfare agencies, maintain the flexibility of TANF dollars for use in child welfare, and IV-E to TANF eligibility.

Any changes to work standards must factor in the job challenges many recipients still face and consider the pitfalls of mandatory engagement. Congress should phase out the caseload reduction credit, maintain the 30-hour workweek and 50 percent work participation standard, and restrict the definition of countable activities to work, education, and training.

Marriage reduces poverty, but government programs promoting healthy marriages remain to be tested. The author recommends requiring states to target TANF funds used for marriage promotion programs to low-income individuals; supporting a range of strategies that integrate marriage initiatives into well-established, family-related initiatives; and planning an overall strategy and designing well-defined, targeted projects that assess which approaches best promote stable, healthy marriages.

Large funding differences reflect the realities of the old welfare system and unfairly disadvantage many states.

Greater job service, better health care access, and realistic support expectations will help more poor nonresident fathers become equal partners in their children's upbringing.

Welfare reform has moved millions of people into the workforce, but millions more need help overcoming employment barriers.

TANF should be adjusted to strengthen aid to the unemployed poor and help states manage caseload costs during periods of higher unemployment.