In response to the pending expiration of the most important provisions of the federal welfare reform legislation of 1996, the Brookings Institution inaugurated its Welfare Reform and Beyond Initiative. The initiative, which was officially launched last week at a public meeting for Washington public and private agencies involved in the delivery of welfare services, is a multi-year project that is designed to help the Administration and Congress improve the nation’s welfare system.

Former Republican congressional staff member Ron Haskins and Clinton advisor Isabel Sawhill are leading the initiative, which is designed to achieve four objectives:

• synthesizing emerging research
• developing new policy options to encourage work
• fostering dialogue among all groups on welfare reform, and
• providing accurate and balanced information to the media.

During his opening remarks to more than 150 people assembled at the Brookings Institution as it launched its program, Haskins said, “We know a tremendous amount about the 1996 welfare reform efforts because of the amount of research that has been conducted.”

Impact of welfare reform
He went on to say that welfare reform has been a major success among those women who now earn between $11,000 and $20,000 per year. Their earnings have risen nearly 100 percent, he noted, and the rate of overall child poverty has decreased dramatically, especially among black children.

These changes have occurred, he explained, because of the dramatic increases in support for working families. In 1984, $5 billion was spent to support working families. In 1999 that number had increased ten-fold, to $52 billion.

Haskins pointed out that there are yet other benefits that have accrued from welfare reform. “We know that school performance among children goes up when their mother’s income exceeds $17,000. While we don’t know why, we know that there is a positive impact,” he said. According to Haskins, nonmarital births have declined, SSI rolls have diminished and federal spending on childcare is way up. “The impact is striking for those in the second income quintile. Unfortunately it is not having such a positive effect in the bottom quintile, and that must be addressed in any discussion of welfare reform.”

New issues for welfare reform
Isabel Sawhill identified six issues that will need to be addressed during reauthorization. The first is the nature of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). The second is funding. Should funding be maintained at $16.5 billion annually or should the amount be reduced to reflect the decreasing welfare cash payments that states are making?

The third issue is the current five-year lifetime cap on cash assistance. Should that limit be increased? Should states be given more flexibility to establish limits? Should there be adjustments made if the economy falters?

The fourth issue is family formation. Sawhill noted that one-third of all children are born out of wedlock and yet current regulations allocate benefits unequally depending on the family structure. “We must decide whether to treat all families equally, reduce the Earned Income Tax Credit or EITC marriage penalty, provide a bonus if children are raised within marriages, continue to look at teen pregnancy issues and experiment with ending benefits to young, unwed mothers,” she said.

The fifth issue is the extent to which the safety net for children must be reinstated. Right now, the only safety nets for children are food stamps and Medicaid. Finally, the issue of childcare must be reexamined. Sawhill noted that if we really want women to work we might have to increase to an even greater extent the amount of childcare provided.

Former representatives Vin Weber (R-Minn.) and Tom Downey (D-N.Y.) addressed the likelihood that major changes in the 1996 welfare reform legislation would take place. Both shared the view that there is an emerging consensus around welfare reform and that the law adopted in 1996 has been beneficial in moving people from dependency to work.

However, Downey was careful to add that he is concerned that those who wish to blame the poor for their situation have generally prevailed and that some change in attitude about poverty must still occur in this nation.

He noted that while the purposes of welfare reform were to help people make the transition to work and to eliminate poverty, only the former has really been a topic of discussion. He added, if we are truly going to make a difference, we must begin to engage in a discussion about the elimination of poverty.

More information about the Welfare Reform and Beyond Initiative can be found at the Brookings Institution Web site at www.brookings. edu/wrb.