INTRO INTO CHILD WELFARE CHAPTER 2--Government Programs to Support Families and Children

CHILDREN IN LOW-INCOME AREAS ARE

most at risk for criminal behavior in after-school hours --these children stand to benefit most from well-designed after-school enrichment programs and are among the least likely to get them.

A social factor that contributed heavily to the new consensus that welfare should include work was

that women had entered the workforce in large numbers for many years, and a new norm of family life was in place.

Other barrier to participation include:

--language problems, confusion about eligibility rules or application procedures, and various problems with documenting need. --Many immigrants work in casual or temporary labor markets, and may not have employment and income documentation needed to apply. Furthermore, they may be asked to verify their sponsor's income as well as their own, which sponsors may be unwilling to provide.

TANF Program participation

-- Once enrolled families must focus on finding and keeping a job. --The federal gov't requires that recipients engage in 30 hrs of work activities per week. --State's vary on what is considered work activity from training, education, community service. --Most states have policies that exempt the work activity in cases of physical disabilities, heavy family caregiving, special economic circumstances in the community. --Once employed recipients are able to keep some or all assistance while earning income. The purpose of this is to encourage those to work without worrying about loosing the benefits.

AID TO FAMILIES WITH DEPENDENT CHILDREN (AFDC)

--1962 Replaced ADC--o reflect its purpose of strengthening families --initially the program was limited to single parents

THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT signed into law in 1993 It addresses the needs of families for both job security and caregiving

--50 or more workers, who work 25 hours or more per week. --up to 12 weeks of UNPAID leave a year --for the birth or adoption of a child; for the care of a seriously ill child or other family member; or for a serious illness of their own. --employers have to provide health benefits during this leave even if the leave is without pay. --upon return from FMLA leave, most employees must be restored to their original or equivalent positions with equivalent pay and benefits and other employment terms.

LICENSING

--ALL STATES DO REQUIRE THAT DAY CARE CENTERS BE LICENSED --LICENSING REPRESENTS THE MINIMUM BASELINE BELOW WHICH NO PROGRAM MAY OPERATE --STATES, NOT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, ENFORCE CHILD CARE REGULATIONS.

DAY CARE REGULATIONS

--All states have statutory provisions for day dare --regulations are to safeguard children from harm and prevent ills that might befall them from poor care and supervision. --Licensing and regulatory standard assure quality in day care-minimum baseline standards. --all states do require licensing but have some exceptions for religiously affiliated programs. --most private day care homes are not regulated. --current TANF policy now provides parents with child care vouchers and allow them to find their own child care.

TANF Eligibility

--Applicants must have a monthly income low enough to meet the states standard. --half of the states offer a one time diversion payment instead of entering the TANF program; this is for a short-term emergency situation. --If they opt for diversion payment they may not apply for TANF for a period of time. --1/3 of the states requires applicants to be actively seeking employment.

DOES HEAD START HAVE LASTING EFFECT?

--By the end of kindergarten, former HS students were found to be at the national norm level in early reading and early writing and were close to meeting national norms in early math and vocabulary knowledge. --A higher proportion of HP parents read to their children then those that were not in HS. --long term effect are less grade repeater, higher graduation rates, and special education --Benefits include increased earnings, employment, and family stability, and decreased welfare dependency, crime costs. --research has found that program quality is linked to child performance, reinforcing the need to find a way to pay for high-quality programs for children.

SUPPORTING FAMILIES WITH DAY CARE AND CHILD CARE--FEDERAL LEGISLATION--2 Larges federally funded child care programs:

--CHILD CARE DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT--provides funds to states for child care subsidies for low-income families, including those in welfare-to-work programs, and for improving the quality and supply of child care. --HEAD START--is a federally and locally financed early childhood development program for low-income children, and is used as a child care service by many low-income working mothers. --CHILD DEPENDENT CARE TAX CREDIT--helps families reduce their child care costs by allowing them to deduct up to $5,000 of these costs from their federal tax obligation. This helps only families who earn enough to pay federal taxes.

ASSESSING WELFARE REFORM

--Caseloads have plummeted --More welfare recipients are working --Those leaving welfare are earning low wages --1 in 7 of those leaving has no visible means of support --States are doing more to make-work-pay --Welfare reform affects different ethnic and racial groups differently.

SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME (SSI)

--Enacted in 1972 --It provides assistance to the elderly and to disabled children and adults who are below certain income levels --For the elderly it supplements Social Security and pension income if the amount they receive in retirement benefits is insufficient. --For those who are medically certified as physically or mentally unable to work, it provides a source of income. --SSI is a federally designed program with a standard set of national benefits. --SSI is only for low-income families --The families must not have an income that does not exceed program requirements, and there is a ceiling on how much the child, if working ,can earn and still be eligible. --The child must have a physical or mental condition that results in "marked and severe functional limitations and the condition must be long-lasting.

OLD AGE, SURVIVORS, DISABILITY, AND HEALTH INSURANCE PROVISIONS OASDHI

--Everyone in this country that works must participate and pay into this. --The employee and employer contribute equally through the payment of taxes, and then are insured against certain risks. --specifically the loss of income when they retire, become disabled, or die. they and their family members are eligible to receive benefits when such loss of income occurs. --Substantial numbers of children receive benefits under this program.

FOOD PROGRAMS

--FOOD STAMP PROGRAM --WIC-WOMEN, INFANTS AND CHILDREN PROGRAMS

MEDICAID AND SCHIP

--FOR POOR WHO DO NOT HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE --STATES MUST PROVIDE MEDICAID TO PERSONS WHO WERE ELIGIBLE FOR AFDC UNDER OLD LAW --CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAMS PROVIDES HEALTH INSURANCE FOR LOW-INCOME CHILDREN 18 YRS AND YOUNGER.

Children of immigrants are

--at risk for lower cognitive and language development and poorer performance in school than children of natives. This is due to poverty, low parent education, and limited English proficiency, all factors associated with school . --They are missing out on many of the early childhood developmental programs, such as Head Start and good-quality child care centers, which can help children prepare for school and narrow gaps in performance with children of more educated and affluent backgrounds.

STATE CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM (SCHIP) and MEDICAID

--Federal program that is designed to address the health needs of the poor is MEDICAID. --States must provide MEDICAID to persons who would have been eligible for AFDC under prior law. --SCHIP-funds are provided for this to expand health insurance coverage to a larger group of uninsured children. --SCHIP is for children in families who are somewhat better off, with family income eligibility thresholds at or above twice that of the poverty line index. --Children on SCHIP would otherwise be uninsured if it was not available, since the parents usually have limited or no health insurance. --Evidence shows that children benefit from SCHIP health coverage; they are more likely to get preventive care, and have fewer unmet dental and medical needs.

WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHILDREN PROGRAM (WIC)

--Food program that targets mother and children under age five --It is intended for low-income families, although eligibility is more expansive, reaching families who are below185 percent of the poverty line index. --Nutritious foods are distributed to eligible families at a variety of local agencies such as county health departments, migrant health centers, and Indian Health Service facilities, where participants are also usually able to receive health counseling and services such as prenatal care and well-child visits.

EDUCATION FOR YOUNG CHILDREN

--Head Start and Early Head Start programs, to help children in low-income families improve early childhood development.

FAMILY SUPPORT ACT OF 1988

--Improved child support collection --Improved establishment of paternity --Established JOBS programs --Guaranteed child care for AFDC parents participating in education/training programs --Required transitional child care and Medicaid --Required AFDC-UP in all states

Work and Family Supports

--In addition to transforming public assistance welfare reform as to develop and improve other non-welfare programs to help the working poor. --Key support programs are: State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Medicaid, government health insurance programs for low-income families and children, Earned Income Credit, Child Support Enforcement, and food programs, child care assistance.

TRENDS AND ISSUES Income Supports for Immigrant Families

--In the last 35 years, the number of immigrants has tripled in the US, as has the number of immigrant children. --the current wave of immigrants come mainly from South America, Mexico and Asia --Concentrated in 6 states--Texas, Florida, California, Illinois, New York and New Jersey. They are rapidly dispersing throughout the Midwest and the Southeast.

Factors contributing to poverty

--In the past 35 years, changes have occurred in the economy that make it difficult for many families to maintain a decent standard of living. one major change has been the stagnation in wages. Young, poorly educated men and women, who are just starting families have been hit the hardest.

CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT (CSE)

--Is a government program to increase child support by noncustodial parents. --this program serves primarily low- moderate-income families, including current and former TANF recipients. --This program works to locate parents, establish paternity, and obtain child support orders from the courts. --It also obtains health coverage for children through ensuring that the noncustodial parent's health insurance covers the children. --Enforce existing support orders.

PUBLIC ASSISTANCE: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families TANF

--Is the largest public assistance program that serves families with children. -- It is a cooperative program between federal and state governments for the purpose of maintaining income to families in which children have been deprived of parental support for reasons such as the parent's death, continue absence from the home, mental or physical incapacity, and unemployment. --The intent has been to provide financial assistance when a family has no income or insufficient income and to do so in ways that will enable children to remain in their own homes, where they can be reared by at least one of their parents or relatives.

LOW INCOME WORKING FAMILIES

--Many parents work long hours at unsatisfying jobs. --there is little margin if any for unexpected emergencies. --low-paying jobs often do not allow parents time off for health and school appointments for their children. --Jobs may be located far from home and transportation difficulties can be over whelming. --Although children are covered by SCHIP, the parents often have no health insurance and cannot afford medical care. --Child care is a huge problem for many families, as too often it is located inconveniently, is expensive, and is not developmentally appropriate for children.

BACKGROUND OF THE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF Program)

--Mothers' Pensions --Aid for Dependent Children (1935) --Aid to Families with Dependent Children (1962) --AFDC-UP

POVERTY LINE INDEX

--Not one number --Based on the income of the family, not the individual. --No provisions for non cash assistance such as food stamps and Medicaid. --Poverty line does not allow for intensity of poverty: near poor, working poor, severely poor

CHAPTER 2 SUMMARY

--POVERTY IS CAUSED IN LARGE MEASURES BY A NUMBER OF CHANGES IN THE US ECONOMY THAT MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR FAMILIES TO MAINTAIN A DECENT STANDARD OF LIVING, INCLUDING WAGE STAGNATION AND A DECLINING NEED FOR MALE WORKERS WITH FEW SKILLS AND LIMITED EDUCATION. --Before the Great Depression of the 1930s, providing for the poor was mainly the responsibility of local and state governments. --From 1935 until recently, the federal government, in partnership with the states, provided a safety net to eligible poor families with children through the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. This program fell into disfavor, as concern grew that it discouraged work by enabling recipients to subsist on welfare payments, which were withdrawn if the recipient became employed. --In 1996, Congress passed the PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND WORK OPPORTUNITY RECONCILIATION ACT (PRWORA), which eliminated the AFDC program and replaced it with block grants to the states to establish TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF) programs. --TANF places emphasis on work and leaves states responsible for designing and implementing their welfare programs. --TANF provides temporary cash assistance for eligible families and also helps in finding and keeping work. --Federal government provides assistance including tax credits, food stamps, medical benefits, and social insurance. These programs are also available for the working poor. --Today, about 60% of all preschoolers are in some form of day care or early childhood development program. --Most school-aged children are in school during the working hours of their parents, but many children spend time alone, without adult supervision. --Child development programs, such as early Head Start and Head Start, have as their primary goal the enhancement of preschool-aged children's development so that they will enter school ready to learn. These programs focus on the family, as well as the children, and see the parent as the child's first and most important teacher. --The Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics shows that America's children are improving on some measures of well-being, but poverty and access to health care remain largely unsolved problems. --Concern is increasing about the large number of children of immigrants who live in poverty and do not have access to educational and health care services. Even if the children were born in the United States and are citizens, their access to services is often linked to the immigration status of their parents, who are often undocumented. --Public welfare policy is also concerned with the population of adults who are falling through the cracks of programs designed to get people off welfare through work: this population consists of adults who are mentally or physically ill or who abuse substances and are challenged to maintain employment that can sustain them.

EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT (EITC)

--Passed by Congress in 1975 of offset the Social Security taxes paid by low-income families. --The credit is available only to working poor people and is intended to encourage work by supplementing the income of low-wage earners. --is now the nation's largest antipoverty program for working families. --it pays nothing if an individual does not work --as earnings increase, the EITC benefit also increases, up to a certain point, then it begins to decrease. --the actual amount received depends on the number of children the family has, it's earnings, and whether they are filing single or married. --in order to receive it one must file and income tax return. --EITC is refundability; the family will receive the full amount of tax refund which they are eligible for even if the amount exceeds to amount of taxes the family has paid.

Family income security

--Poverty is an important factor in child abuse and neglect, as well as in the placement of children in foster care. --the life course of children is influence by the income of their family. --Higher levels of family income are associated with higher educational levels of children and other desirable developmental outcomes. --Policies that favor the deserving poor leave children vulnerable to extreme want in families in which the parents cannot or will not meet behavioral requirements for public assistance. --Policies that require parents to work may not provide adequate care of children as the parents work.

MOTHERS' PENSION PROGRAMS

--Provided a model for a state-supported humanitarian effort on behalf of dependent children and reflected a growing commitment to the concept of public responsibility. --The program left unresolved the complicated administrative problems of shared state and local responsibility, and complicating, ambivalent attitudes about suitable homes. --Mothers were screened on the basis of their morality and whether they kept suitable homes for their children. --Most recipients were widows. Less frequently, divorced, deserted, or separated mothers, or mothers whose husbands were incapacitated or physically disabled, were deemed eligible. --Most questionable were single mothers. --Mothers considered to be worthy and fit usually turned out to be white, only 3% African American's were recipients. Mothers pension programs were replaced by AID TO FAMILIES WITH DEPENDENT CHILDREN

CHILD CARE LAWS

--REGULATION--Is an action of government to bring an activity in the private sector under some authority. --The intent of child care regulations is to safeguard children from have ad prevent ills that might befall them from poor care and supervision.

FOOD STAMP PROGRAM

--Started in the 1930's and was extended in 1974 --It is the central program in the U.S. in alleviating hunger and helping low-income families obtain a more nutritious diet. --participants are below the poverty line, they receive a benefits care. --average is a benefit of 90 cents per meal --only a fraction of eligible children are enrolled, particularly among poor families who do not participate in TANF

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND WORK OPPORTUNITY RECONCILIATION ACT OF 1996 (PRWORA)

--State regulated --Eliminated the 61 year old AFDC program and replaced it with a block grant to states to establish the TANF program.

1988 Congress passed the Family Support Act with the intent to enable states to help poor families leave welfare and become self-sufficient.

--The act required AFDC recipients to participate in education, job training, and work programs. --The act incorporated the principle of parental responsibility by strengthening child support enforcement and by emphasizing work and employment training for parents. --AFDC was available for 2 parent families in every state. --It offered work supports through the guarantee of child care and Medicaid for twelve months after the parent left welfare for work.

The other major reason that immigrants are less likely than native born Americans to use benefits has to do with the provisions of the PRWORA of 1996.

--The act restricted TANF and Medicaid eligibility to those who had been in the country for a least5 years, and to a few other special groups. --Food stamp eligibility was limited to adults who had been working in the United States for at least 10 years. --Since 1996 some of these provisions have been softened, and states have used funds to provide services to immigrants not available under federal programs. --However, recent legal immigrants in most states remain ineligible for most of these programs. As a result of the provisions of PRWORA, the participation of immigrants in public income support programs dropped. Even those who are eligible to receive services may be afraid to apply, fearing that their citizenship application, or their application to sponsor relatives in the future, may be compromised.

Because of economic hardship, immigrant families have great need for public support.

--The benefits they need most are those associated with low-wage work: --tax credits, housing, food assistance, health insurance, and child care subsidies, yet they are less likely to get them than are native-born Americans.

TANF Termination

--Time limits for assistance are a key feature of TANF -- Adults are expected to work on an ongoing basis --federal law sets a lifetime limit of 60 months --states may impose a shorter period of time or have intermittent time limits. --families may be terminated if they fail to meet program requirements --SANCTIONS VARY FROM STATE TO STATE

Several other social insurance programs are contained in the SOCIAL SECURITY ACT

--UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE--Is intended to provide partial protection against loss of income due to unemployment of workers. --WORKER'S COMPENSATION--Or industrial accident insurance-is directed toward alleviating loss of income that arises from a worker's injuries on the job or death from fatal work-related injuries. Unemployment benefits and worker's compensation is financed primarily by employers and is administered by the states, resulting in a large variation from state to state in types and in amounts. --VETERAN'S BENEFITS--A system that has some general similarities to social insurance but some differences as well, encompasses variety of programs for veterans of military service.

VETERAN'S BENEFITS

--Veterans may be able to obtain low-cost life insurance for the protection of their families, benefits to their surviving family members if they die in military service, disability benefits, medical care, and certain educational benefits.

AID TO DEPENDENT CHILDREN (ADC)

--When the Social Security Act was passed in 1935, this replaced mothers' pension programs. --The act required all states implement the program. --This did not provide for mothers directly but only for their children.

Children of immigrants are those who have at least one foreign-born parent.

--about 3/4 of these children are US born citizens, even though most of their immigrant parents are not citizens of the United States and may be undocumented. --Children in immigrant families are more likely than other children to experience food-related problems, crowed housing, and poor health.

Persons in domestic violence situations

--are another group of recipients who suffer unique challenges. Initially, some advocates argued that this group of recipients should be granted waivers or deferrals from the work requirements because of concerns about safety, However, other argued that they should not be categorically denied the opportunity to participate in programs that would increase their capacity for economic independence. --most states implemented employment protocols, including screening for domestic violence in all cases. Services were offered to those who had domestic violence issues. After assessment, victims of violence could obtain a temporary deferral if it were determined necessary for safety or they could be immediately referred for work activities.

Wage losses are related to fundamental changes in the U.S. economy

--loss of manufacturing jobs due to foreign competition, automation, and the transfer of jobs by the U.S. companies to oversea factories. --growth of jobs in the service industry, which tend to pay less than manufacturing jobs, have fewer fringe benefits, and are less secure. --recent technological changes that affect the skill level needed by American workers and the stability of American firms.

Certain characteristics that make some people vulnerable to the threat of poverty

--non-white status --large families --single-parent families headed by a woman (non-white families more often have a woman at the head linking 2 situations, accompanied by a high risk of poverty). --change in family composition, particularly through divorce, is a significant factor underlying low economic status, given hx of difficulty in enforcement of child support by the noncustodial parent.

The Children's Defense Fund has pinpointed the large gaps in service for America's poor families

--only one out of seven children eligible for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), the federal child care assistance program, receives assistance. --in about 1/3 of the states, a family of 3 earning $25,000 a year would not qualify for child care assistance. --20 states had either waiting lists or frozen intake in 2005. --shortages also occurred in the Head Start programs. --another great shortage was in after-school programs, about 3.3 million children under the age of 13 are without adult supervision for part of the day. It is acknowledged that many school children aged 6 to 12 are only loosely supervised by older siblings, neighbors, relatives, and parents themselves, intersperse with periods of self care. --Children 13 and older are frequently left to fend for themselves instead of being enriched by recreational programs. --children left unsupervised are more likely to be involved in crime. --hours for 3-6pm children are most likely to be victims or perpetrators of violent crime, to be in car crashes, to experiment with sex, alcohol or drugs.

WELFARE REFORM: CHALLENGING POPULATIONS Long-term recipients, that is, those continuously on welfare for two years, and the returners, that is, those who had left welfare but returned, shared these characteristics

--poor physical or mental health and less high school education. --40% of the TANF recipients had multiple barriers to employment, 20% of the 40% with multiple barriers were working some hours. --most states began to consider the more extensive support systems that would be required to transition persons with multiple barriers, with poor physical or mental health being one barrier, from welfare to work who id not qualify for SSI. --these recipients require extensive coordination between mental health systems, vocational rehabilitation systems, and TANF systems. --persons with substance issues are another group of recipients who initially offered challenges. Many states initiated drug screening programs for applicants and recipients to detect drug use/abuse and make referrals to drug abuse treatment services early in the TANF cycle. After some legal challenges, these policies were found legally acceptable so long as they were implemented to detect a service need and provide treatment and not to deny services. --many TANF cases were closed to substance-using and abusing parents and many child only cases opened with relatives as grantees when the parents failed to participate in the required substance abuse treatment programming.

A variety of social forces have created a national consensus on the need for a more comprehensive approach to the nation's child care needs

--research on brain development has underlined the importance of early childhood experiences in the development of the brain --developmental psychologists have shown that early childhood programs can significantly benefit children and help them get ready to learn at school --economics have pointed out that investing in children, who are "human capital" of the future, is sound economic policy.

WORK SUPPORT PROGRAMS

--such as the CHILD CARE BLOCK GRANTS, offered primarily to low-income families to help them find child care so the parents can enter the work force.

In families of the working poor

--the problem is low earning power of the parents. Sometimes they are unable to find or keep a job or have only irregular employment. --a poor family is headed by a parent who has worked steadily through the years, but still their family lives in poverty. --often the parent's work is unskilled and requires long hours for low pay. --If the head of the family is African American 25 or younger, the likelihood of unemployment or underemployment is greater than for the middle-aged group. --children of families who are immigrating to the United States are more likely to be poor than are native born children, and are more likely to experience hunger and overcrowded housing. --migrant workers occupy the lowest level of any major group in U.S. economy. --children of migrant workers are more likely to drop out of school, have untended health problems, and work in the fields like their parents. (agricultural farm labor is among the most dangerous occupations due to physical labor, pesticide exposure, and dangerous equipment.) --low levels of education, the direct bearing of education on job potential becomes greater each year, with automated industry heightening the risk of a lifetime of poverty for youth who have insufficient education. (school dropouts tend to begin families early, thus stepping up the risk of enduring poverty). --early marriage to low income as the size of the family grows and needs expand, it is harder to match earnings with family needs.

A reasonable conclusion of the effects of early childhood programs is

--they cannot overpower the effects of poor living conditions, --inadequate nutrition and health care --negative role models --substandard schools. --Good programs can prepare children for school and possible help them develop better coping and adaptation skills that will enable better life outcomes.

One major factor in whether an immigrant family uses benefits is their immigration status

--undocumented immigrants are ineligible for most public aid programs, including the EITC, TANF, FOOD STAMPS, and MEDICAID. --Children in these families may be legal US citizens, and therefore eligible for some public services, even if their parents are undocumented.

Deeper Analysis Reveal of Welfare Reform

--welfare reform did not reduce poverty in single-mom families significantly. --parents exchanged inadequate welfare income for inadequate earned income so over all condition did not change much. --the poverty rate depends more on the overall state of economy. When the economy is strong poverty rate is down. --A major conclusion of these finding s is that effort must be directed at improving the earning power of families through both education and training of individuals and through effective economic policies. --

Assessment of Welfare Reform

--welfare rolls dropped dramatically --60% mothers who left found work --employers welcomed applicants from recipients --child support payments increased dramatically --welfare reform demonstrated that low-income parents were willing and able to work, but needed help in connecting with the workforce and in having access to income supports such as health insurance for children and child care assistance, which would continue even when their public assistance had ended. --some former welfare recipients needed the personal motivation that comes from realizing that long-term assistance was no longer an option.

Even with changes in child care and government assistance 2 problems still exist:

1. AVAILABILITY 2. AFFORDABILITY--cost $3,000 to $5,000 a year, infant care the highest

ADVANTAGES OF REGISTRATION OVER LICENSING

1. REGULATING AGENCY CAN FOCUS ON PROBLEM HOMES RATHER THAN ON ROUTINE INSPECTIONS. 2. PARENT HAS A GREATER ROLE IN EVALUATING DAY CARE HOMES. 3. FAMILY DAY CARE BECOMES MORE SOCIALLY VISIBLE WHICH INCREASE THE FEASIBILITY OF MEASURING AND EVALUATING.

REGISTRATION: Family day care provider must:

1. Register with the state 2. Report the names of children being cared for 3. Must review information and confirm 4. Must provide parents with a copy of mandatory requirements

TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF)--the main features--

1. Work requirements for nearly all adult recipients 2. time limits for receiving assistance 3. great variability from state to state on many aspects of the program state's are free to develop their own program

REGISTRATION: Agency must:

2. Supply the provider with a statement of the mandatory forms to be completed for registration 2. Provide literature or information 3. Complete random visits

1. History of the law or program. When did it begin, why was it started? 2. Who administers the program? For example, you may find that Medicaid is a federal and state program and is administered at the federal level by...and administered at the state level by... 3. Eligibility: what qualification must applicants meet to receive services. Age, gender, income. 4. Benefits: what does the client receive? money, vouchers, counseling services... 5. Budget: try to find the most recent information about the federal or state budget for this program. 6. Interesting facts or myths. If you find something you think would be interesting about your topic please share it. Trivia is always fun.

ASSIGNMENT 1

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) OF 1996

After several decades of periodic attempts to reform the public welfare system, congress passed and President Clinton signed off on this law.

CHILD CARE REGULATIONS

CHILD CARE REGULATIONS AND LICENSING REQUIREMENTS DIFFER FROM STATE TO STATE, AS MANY LAWS DO. IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE LAWS OF THE STATE IN WHICH YOU PRACTICE AND KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THESE LAWS AS THEY CHANGE CONSTANTLY.

A childhood spent in poverty can have negative impacts on an individual's entire life.

Childhood poverty is often among the causes of poor developmental outcomes for children, including early childrearing, crime and imprisonment, dropping out of school, and addictions and other self-defeating behaviors.

POLICY ISSUES IN CHILD CARE: AVAILABILITY, COST, AND QUALTIY

Despite of major increases in funding for child care as a result of welfare reform, day care is still underfunded and is not meeting the needs of many families.

PERHAPS THE GREATEST CHALLENGE TO WELFARE REFORM IN THE COMING YEARS

IS NOT THE PEOPLE AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS, BUT THE STATE OF ECONOMY.

PROJECT HEAD START

Is intended to give preschool children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds child development services to prepare them to enter first grade ready to learn, with the social and cognitive skills needed to be successful in school The Administration for Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services administers Head Start. ACYF awards grants to local public and nonprofit agencies, Indian tribes, and school systems to operated Head Start programs. --2/3 are minority children, 13%disabiled. --It is for 3 and 4 year olds with the emphasis on the importance of early learning experiences in brain development.

SOCIAL INSURANCE

Refers to programs that are established by law for the purpose of assuring financial benefits related to earlier compulsory contributions when an individual or family experiences loss of income due to specified risks. --it is based on the idea of self-help and prevention of poverty and its resultant serious problems.

AID TO FAMILIES WITH DEPENDENT CHILDREN WITH UNEMPLOYED PARENTS (AFDC-UP)

Provided help or aid to families with unemployed male heads. --Although half of all recipients remained on welfare only temporarily, others were caught in a patter of continuing dependency, and the public perception was that their children too would grow up without the ability to become self-sufficient workers.

PUBLIC ASSISTANCE:

REFERS TO TAX-SUPPORTED PROGRAMS OF FINANCIAL AID FOR INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES BASED ON ESTABLISHED NEED.

MEASURING THE WELL-BEING OF AMERICA'S CHILDREN

THE INTERAGENCY FORUM ON CHILD AND FAMILY STATISTICS IS A COOPEATIVE EFFORT OF OVER 20 AGENCIES IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. --The Forum's mission is to improve the reporting and dissemination of information on the status of children to the policy community and the general public. --Every 2 years the forum issues a report on the most recent, reliable, official statistics that gives a profile of the strengths and difficulties confronting the nation's children.

Several antipoverty programs expanded their scope following the passage of PRWORA

The EITC, child care assistance, child support enforcement, food programs, and publicly financed health insurance have demonstrated their effectiveness in helping poor families maintain functioning and provide suitable environments for their children.

Assuring Income Security

WHEN THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT OF 1935 WAS PASSED IT HAD TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THE POORAND SECURE THE FUTURE OF THOSE WHO HAVE WORKED. To do this the U.S. government implemented2 major programs to assure income security. --SOCIAL INSURANCE PROGRAMS--Based on an earned right; more generous, not stigmatized, an entitlement program. --PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS--Tax supported, means tested, may be an entitlement program.

In addition to benefits to children, Head Start has

helped parents and has a positive impact on communities. --thousands of parents obtain training and jobs through Head Start each year and may go on to further their education and become employeed.

Government, communities, foundations, and businesses must all play a larger role

in helping parents find good-quality child care arrangements. --the development of comprehensive child care policy has been hampered by its separation into two different areas WORK SUPPORT PROGRAMS and EDUCATION FOR YOUNG CHILDREN.

Head Start

places emphasis on all aspects of a child's environment, including medical assessment and remedial health programs. --It aims to improve the child's physical health --helps with their emotional and social development by encouraging qualities such as self-confidence, expectation of success, spontaneity, curiosity and self-discipline --improve their mental processes, with particular attention to conceptual and verbal skills --strengthen the child-parent relationship.

Even though both state and federal governments have increased their support of child care

there are still too many children who do not receive adequate childcare. --shortages exist particularly in the provision of enough child care financing for low-income families, in the number of high-quality child care settings for children of all income levels, and in after-school programs for older children.

Another finding from research of welfare policy is that

there is a group of low-income families who current programs do not reach. --The parents in these families are likely to have mental health problems, physical disabilities, developmental disabilities, addictions, or caregiving responsibilities that have proved to be barriers to effective, consistent workforce participation. --Children in these families are vulnerable to extreme want, as their families are worse off now than before welfare reform. These families have fallen through the holes in the safety net.

Working parents' child care arrangements

varies with the age of the child. Preschoolers are more apt to be cared for by relatives. 1/4 of all preschoolers are cared for in day care centers, spending an average of 32 hours a week. Once children reach school age, the time spent in school accounts for much of their time while their parents are working. As children get older, self-care during non-school hours becomes more likely.