Brief
This brief argues that welfare reform has not gone far enough to encourage two-parent families and responsible fatherhood. In fact, some of its own policies discourage this behavior. Furthermore, many poor families with young children are already struggling to stay together against the odds. Eventually, the majority of these families break up. By intervening early, government could help these fragile families scale the most common barriers to remaining intact over the long haul. (Author abstract)
This article examines the impact of the recent dramatic changes in the social policies, particularly the expansion of the EITC and welfare reform on labor supply, marriage, and cohabitation. Altered policies have increased incentives to work or marry for some, diminished incentives for others. The results strongly indicate expanded work by single mothers and reductions of work by married mothers in accordance with their changed incentives. By contrast, estimated impacts on marriage are small and ambiguous, though modest changes in cohabitation in the predicted direction suggest that impact on…
Brief
This document offers a brief examination of the key policy issues surrounding the EITC and marriage penalties. The EITC is designed to support low income working families with children. It provides a subsidy (up to $3,816 in 1999) for families with children and low earnings. Current research shows that the EITC has been successful in raising the income of such families, increasing rewards/incentives to work among many low skill workers, and in stimulating greater work effort by single parents. (Author abstract).
Other
According to the 1997 National Survey of America's Families, 2.6 million nonresident fathers have family incomes below the poverty line and most of them face multiple employment barriers, including a criminal record, lack of a high school education, relatively little recent work experience, and poor health. Although these employment barriers are similar to those faced by poor custodial mothers, poor nonresident fathers are significantly less likely than poor custodial mothers to participate in training, education, and job search activities as well as income security programs. Given that…
The executive summary of the National Center for Children in Poverty's 2000 report finds several important developments since the mid-1990s that have critical implications for young children and their families. The survey finds the number of working mothers continues to increase, with 59 percent of mothers with infants under one year working outside the home in full- and part-time jobs. Seventy-three percent of mothers with children over the age of one year held some job, and fifty-two percent were full-time workers. The 1996 welfare reform act has played a key role in this increase, however…
State and local policymakers are advised to follow a six-step strategy for developing initiatives to promote father-child relationships: teach men to be good parents; help fathers improve relationships with the mothers of their children; facilitate employment for low-income fathers; allocate federal funds to programs for fathers; enhance the child support system; and increase public awareness about the value of fathers. This guide describes the considerations for each step and recommends action strategies for government officials. Suggestions include: integrate fatherhood modules into sex…
Unpublished Paper
Strict criminal justice policies, such as long-term sentences, are interfering in the achievement of welfare reform goals to promote marriage and parental involvement. This report analyzes data from the Fragile Families Study to examine the impact of criminal justice policies on the likelihood that unwed parents will form a family together. A total of 3,600 unwed couples and 1,100 married couples are being interviewed at the time of their child's birth and five one-year intervals. Study participants are being recruited from 20 cities with different welfare regimes and labor markets.…
