Summary
Private and public welfare programs have provided those in need with basic necessities—including food, clothing, health services, and housing—throughout the history of the United States. But the debate over welfare is contentious: it concerns basic ideas about the proper function, size, and obligations of government, and these topics lie at the heart of America's conservative/liberal divide. Despite a major reform of welfare in the 1990s, economists continue to dispute the effects of welfare on neighborhoods, families, and employment.
Welfare and Welfare Reform provides the clear and essential information that readers need to understand and research welfare issues. This timely volume demystifies today's tangled system of welfare laws, amendments, spending mandates, block grants, eligibility and work requirements, and tax policies. Resources include capsule biographies, summaries of key cases such as Standard Machine Company v. Davis, a research guide, an annotated bibliography, historic documents such as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, and an overview of the welfare debate in U.S. history beginning with the first public almshouses in the North American British colonies. This new book is an ideal tool for policymakers and administrators as well as teachers, students, parents, and the general public.
Coverage includes:
- Eligibility and work requirements defined by the reforms of 1996 and 2005
- How welfare legislation impacts enforcement of child support
- The ongoing debate over welfare for immigrants.
Specifications
Index. Appendixes. Bibliography. Glossary. Chronology.
About the Author(s)
Tom Streissguth holds a B.A. from Yale University, where he studied music, languages, and history. He has worked as a teacher, editor, and journalist and has traveled widely throughout western Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books in the areas of history, biography, geography, and current events, including the prize-winning Hoaxers and Hustlers and acclaimed juvenile biographies of Queen Cleopatra, John Glenn, and Jesse Owens. His books for Facts On include Hate Crimes in the Library in a Book series and The Roaring Twenties, Revised Edition in the Eyewitness History series.