State implementation of TANF: where do we stand in 2001?

To provide a context for understanding the evaluations discussed in this volume, this paper gives an overview of the federal TANF legislation and describes features of state TANF programs that are particularly relevant for appreciating the need for evaluation and for interpreting evaluations. These features include the states’ policies regarding work by applicants and recipients, policies to divert applicants from welfare, and rules designed to change individuals’ behavior regarding childbearing, childrearing, and marriage. Because the implementation of state policies depends on practices at the front lines of the welfare system, some features of the ‘culture’ of local welfare offices are also examined.     

农村独女户生育意愿与动机的变化--宜昌市调查报告

根据“宜昌市农村独女户家庭生育意愿与行为研究”专题调研获得的有关数据 ,讨论分析了该市农村独女户家庭群体生育意愿与生育动机的构成 ,揭示这一特殊群体在生育数量、性别偏好、生育时间与间隔、优生等方面的意愿、态度、知识与行为的变化 ,以及在生育上将家庭幸福和对社会的责任结合起来的开明、进步思想。调查结果反映出农民群众的生育意愿、生育动机和生育观念开始向现代文明进步方向转变     

农村老年人家庭代际交往调查

利用清华大学社会学系＂农村老年人养老情况调查＂数据,探讨了农村老年人家庭代际交往的现状与特点。结果表明,农村代际之间的经济与劳务交往仍然十分普遍,子女对上代的支持依旧是代际交往的主要方向。然而,在经济发达地区,社会养老保险制度的建立对代际关系的影响已经显现出来,老人的经济独立性提高,子女养老的经济负担大为减轻。但是,当老人生病时,子女依然是照料服务的主要提供者。今后,在农村,除了要继续扩大社会养老保险覆盖面并提高保障水平外,还需要解决老年社会化照料服务问题。     

Childhood Abuse and Welfare Use

Policies aimed at reducing welfare use focus solely on adults, yet welfare users very often report experiences of childhood abuse. Such abuse is known to have long-term psychological effects and may set the stage for later welfare use. This study uses a random sample of poor women to determine how a history of childhood abuse relates to the probability of receiving cash and in-kind assistance over a five-year period. It also investigate whether childhood abuse correlates with the length of receipt among program users. Women experiencing both physical and sexual abuse during childhood were 16–25 percentage points more likely than others to use both cash and in-kind programs as adults. Conditional on program use, there was no relation of childhood abuse to the extent of program use during the study period.     

自闭症儿童家庭的社会福利需要——以福州市为个案的研究

在我国,自闭症已经被列为精神残疾,那些被喻为“星星的孩子”的自闭症儿童也因此将可以享有残疾人社会保障政策提供的相应保障。但这类残疾与其他类型残疾不同的特点使该类型残疾儿童、儿童家庭产生特殊的社会福利需要,需要制定相应的社会政策保障他们教育、医疗、就业、生活等方面的权益。评估自闭症儿童的家庭社会福利需要,并倡导制定相应的社会政策,是社会工作者帮助白闭症儿童家庭解决困境的必然选择。经过评估,发现自闭症儿童家庭的社会福利需要主要有经济援助、教育支持、心理援助、健全社会保障体系、建构积极的社会支持网络等。     

Family use of community services in economically stressed rural counties

This study focuses on stresses, coping strategies, and satisfactions of respondents in eight economically distressed rural counties in the state of Washington. An adult sample is divided into two groups: those who indicate specific economic problems and/or are unemployed (n=236) and those who are still employed and do not report specific economic stresses (n=190). Although those with specific economic problems show higher levels of perceived stress and financial dissatisfaction, there are no differences reported in over-all family satisfaction. Results point to the importance of providing specific employment-related community services to family members in these types of communities.Dorothy Z. Price, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies, Washington State University, Pullman WA 99164-2010. Her research interests include decision making and consumer behavior. She received her Ph.D. from Michigan State University.Lonnie J. Dunlap, M.A., is a Graduate Research Assistant in the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2010. Her research interests include work and family interactions and career development.     

Prevalence and economic well-being of families raising multiple children with disabilities

This study estimates the prevalence of households raising more than one child with disabilities, and examines these families' economic well-being. Using pooled data from the 2004 and 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation we compare households with multiple children with disabilities (n = 932) to households with one disable child (n = 3457) and to households with at least one child but none with disabilities (n = 21,378) on measures of material hardship. Three percent of U.S. households with children had more than one disabled child. Compared to other households with children, those with multiple children with disabilities were significantly more likely to have income below the federal poverty level and to report material hardships. The number of children with disabilities is an important contextual variable for studying the economic circumstances under which, care is provided to children with disabilities. Its implications for practice and policy are discussed.     

Overnight Custody Arrangements,Attachment, and Adjustment Among Very Young Children

Large numbers of infants and toddlers have parents who live apart due to separation, divorce, or nonmarital/noncohabiting childbearing, yet this important topic, especially the controversial issue of frequent overnights with nonresidential parents, is understudied. The authors analyzed data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal investigation of children born to primarily low‐income, racial/ethnic minority parents that is representative of 20 U.S. cities with populations over 200,000. Among young children whose parents lived apart, 6.9% of infants (birth to age 1) and 5.3% of toddlers (ages 1 to 3) spent an average of at least 1 overnight per week with their nonresident parent. An additional 6.8% of toddlers spent 35%–70% of overnights with nonresident parents. Frequent overnights were significantly associated with attachment insecurity among infants, but the relationship was less clear for toddlers. Attachment insecurity predicted adjustment problems at ages 3 and 5, but frequent overnights were not directly linked with adjustment problems at older ages.     

Reaching Temporary Time Limits

Abstract

Concerns about long-term welfare dependency provided the primary reason for the nation's time-limited welfare benefits. This study compares the likelihood of reaching temporary time limits between families who repeatedly attempted to leave Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and those who remained on the rolls continuously. Using logit analysis, we find that relatively few families reach the 24 month time limits in Nevada because most families left on their own for employment, marriage or for other reasons. This finding raises the question of whether time limits are even necessary. Government needs to further explore the service needs of families who are about to reach their time limits.