Premium
The Evolution of Welfare Reform: Policy Changes and Current Knowledge
Author(s) -
Zuckerman Diana M.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/0022-4537.00197
Subject(s) - punitive damages , welfare reform , welfare , economics , public economics , political science , law , market economy
Welfare reform has had dramatic repercussions for millions of adults andchildren in the country. So far, the results of the “naturalexperiment” of welfare reform have shown both benefits and problems. Although welfare reform became law in 1996, there have been legislativerevisions and other policy changes aimed at making the law moreeffective and less punitive. The latest research indicates that welfare reform has had a major impact on the number of people who are receiving welfarebenefits but not on the income of former welfare recipients. Research also suggests that there are families who are suffering as a result of welfare reform. In this article, I discuss how welfare reform has evolved and theimplications for policy changes in the future.