From ACF Office of Public Affairs:
On the 10th anniversary of welfare reform, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is highlighting key successes of the initiative.
"Welfare reform brought significant improvements in the lives of many Americans by helping them break the cycle of dependency and encouraging them to pursue self-sufficiency," HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said. "As we enter the next phase, we are committed to finishing the unfinished business of welfare reform by helping more Americans find jobs that will lift them from the welfare rolls."
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, signed into law on Aug. 22, 1996, reformed the federal welfare system by establishing the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program which ended individual entitlements and required states to increase adult participation in work activities.
Between August 1996 and March 2006, TANF caseloads for families have declined 59 percent, from 4,408,508 to 1,814,040. For individuals, caseloads have declined 65 percent, from 12,242,125 to 4,230,951.
During this period poverty has also declined. From 1996 to 2004, overall child poverty rates have declined from 20.5 percent to 17.8 percent, with 1.4 million fewer children living in poverty. The poverty rate for African American children has dropped from 39.9 percent to 33.6 percent and from 40.3 percent to 29.7 percent for Hispanic children.
"Ten years of welfare reform has resulted in millions of Americans achieving economic self-sufficiency," said HHS Assistant Secretary for Children and Families Wade F. Horn, Ph.D. "The next phase of welfare reform is marked by a commitment from President Bush to strengthen work requirements and support for healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood programs."
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, signed into law by President Bush, reauthorized welfare reform. The reauthorization includes $100 million for healthy marriage and up to $50 million for responsible fatherhood programs for fiscal years 2006 through 2010. The new law re-establishes meaningful work requirements for state welfare programs and strengthens state accountability. The reauthorization also required the Secretary of HHS to promulgate new regulations designed to strengthen welfare reform.
For more information on the next phase of welfare reform, go to http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/regfact.htm or http://www.acf.hhs.gov.