When Work Is Not Enough State and Federal Policies to Support Needy Workers

by Stoker, Robert P.; Wilson, Laura A.

• ISBN13: 9780815781912
• ISBN10: 0815781911
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-12-19
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Summary

Efforts to promote work have been the centerpiece of welfare reform over the past ten years. In signing the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, President Bill Clinton pledged that the sweeping overhaul would "end welfare as we know it" by promoting work, responsibility, and family. To accomplish these goals, policymakers relied on two sets of tools: strict limits on eligibility for traditional benefits and a set of programs designed to make work pay. When Work Is Not Enough presents the first comprehensive analysis of the work support system. Drawing on both state and national data, Robert Stoker and Laura Wilson evaluate a broad range of policies that provide cash or in-kind benefits to low-wage workers, low-income working families, and families moving from welfare to work. These programs include minimum wage rates, Earned Income Tax Credit programs, medical assistance programs, food programs, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families earned income disregards, childcare grants, and rental assistance. Stoker and Wilson break new ground by examining the adequacy and coverage of the work support system in all fifty states and the District of Columbia. They address the prospects for reforming the system, as well as its impact on the politics of redistribution in the United States. Rich in analysis, Wh en Work Is Not Enough will be essential reading for anyone interested in the impact and future of welfare reform.

Author Biography

Laura A. Wilson is associate professor in the School of Public Affairs and senior manager of program evaluation research at the Schaefer Center for Public Policy, University of Baltimore.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Redistribution through Work	1	(26)
Part 1. Describing the Work Support System
Work Support Programs	27	(37)
Program Design	64	(23)
Part 2. The Generosity of Work Support Programs
State-Level Benefits	87	(15)
The Cost of Living	102	(10)
From Welfare to Work Supports	112	(17)
Part 3. Evaluating Work Support Performance
Who Gets What?	129	(16)
Racing Up to the Bottom	145	(16)
Part 4. Conclusion
A Work in Progress	161	(34)
Appendixes
A. Estimating State Benefit Generosity	181	(8)
B. Adjusting Basic Family Budgets	189	(3)
C. Who Are Needy Workers?	192	(3)
References	195	(10)
Index	205