Measuring State TANF Policy Variations and Change After Reform^*

Abstract

Our objectives are to describe the policies adopted after PRWORA, which vary across states, to test for common underlying policy concepts, demonstrating how these policies are interrelated, and to examine whether policy stringency diffused to neighboring states results in greater policy stringency across all states over time. We convert textual TANF welfare guidelines into empirically derived policy dimensions and use the derived quantitative scores to describe variation and change in welfare policy dimensions across status during the 1996-2003 post-welfare-reform period. Copyright (c) 2006 by the Southwestern Social Science Association.

Work disability and migration in the early years of welfare reform

“…These textual data were coded as numerical data and factor analyzed as a data-reduction measure. This process yielded 15 summary measures (see De Jong, Graefe, Irving, & St. Pierre, 2006), including a first-order factor score that is a key indicator for this study-Illness Exemption. This scaled item, determined for each state in each year by whether the state exempted welfare recipients from activities requirements because of their own or a family member's illness, has a Cronbach's alpha reliability of .88 (an acceptable reliability measure for a two-item scale).…”

Examining Administrative Effect on Changes in TANF Caseloads in the United States

“…A review of prior research reveals that, in the late 1990s, welfare caseloads declined as a result of reduced numbers of people entering the welfare system, 1 administrative errors, 2 and intentional administrative behaviors. Nathan and Gais (2001) highlight the actions of government officers as a key factor in the decline in TANF caseloads (also see Bane & Ellwood, 1994;Brodkin, 1986Brodkin, , 1997Broughton, 2010;Lipsky, 1980;Weaver & Hasenfeld, 1997), while De Jong et al (2006) indicate that numerous states exhibited a trend toward more stringent requirements for maintaining TANF eligibility.…”

Losing ground: The persistent declining economic fortunes of children

“…During the TANF implementation regime, the federal government distributed TANF funds as block grants to the states, and states were called upon to develop their own specific plans for implementation, which occurred over the course of several years following the 1996 legislation (Lim, Coulton, and Lalich 2009). Finally, during the post-TANF regime, evidence suggests that states generally became less lenient with respect to work requirements and time limits (De Jong et al 2006). Thus, the data points chosen for the present study are critical to examine how, under each of three distinctive welfare regimes, the changes in the source of income contributed to an increase or a decline in the economic status of children.…”