Work over welfare:
lessons from America

Notes

1. R Haskins, Testimony of Ron Haskins to Committee on Ways and Means, 19 July 2006, available at www.brookings.edu/views/testimony/haskins/20060719.htm
2. For a useful and cautionary account of the history of US ‘welfare’ reform and its influence over UK policy, see D Bull, ‘Foreword’ in R J Link, A A Bibus and K Lyons, When Children Pay: US welfare reform and its implications for UK Policy, CPAG, 2000
3. M Forster and M d’Ercole, Income Distribution and Poverty in OECD Countries in the Second Half of the 1990s, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 22, OECD, 2005
4. N Ginsberg, Divisions of Welfare, Sage,1992
5. M Greenberg, ‘The US: rising employment, explanations, implications, and future trajectories’, in J Millar and M Evans, Lone Parents and Employment: international comparisons of what works, CLASP/DWP, 2003
6. See note 5
7. See note 5
8. S Parrott and A Sherman, TANF at 10: program results are more mixed than often understood, Centre on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2006, available at www.cbpp.org/8-17-06tanf.pdf
9. Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development website at www.dwd.state.wi.us/dws/tanf/default.htm
10. M Greenberg, What Now for Welfare Reform and Poverty: recent US developments, presentation to DWP conference on welfare reform, ‘Challenges, Choices and International Insight’, 26 March 2007, available at www.dwp.gov.uk
11. US Census Bureau, Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2005, US Census Bureau/Economics and Statistics Administration, 2006
12. See note 5
13. See note 8
14. See note 2
15. See note 1
16. See note 5
17. W Hutton, ‘Britain Would Benefit from Clinton’s Tough Love’, The Observer, 3 September 2006
18. B Haskins, Welfare Reform, Success or Failure? It worked, Policy and Practice, American Public Human Services Association, 2006, available at www.aphsa.org/Publications/Doc/PP/0603ART1.pdf
19. See note 8
20. See note 8
21. See note 5
22. M Greenberg, Welfare Reform, Success or Failure? With Mixed Results, Policy and Practice. American Public Human Services Association, available at www.aphsa.org/Publications/Doc/PP/0603ART1.pdf
23. See note 1
24. See note 10
25. P Morris, L A Gennetian and G J Duncan, ‘Effects of Welfare and Employment Policies on Young Children: new findings on policy experiments conducted in the early 1990s’, Social Policy Report 19, pp3-22, 2005
26. L A Gennetian and others, How Welfare and Work Policies for Parents Affect Adolescents: a synthesis of research, MDRC, 2002
27. See note 22
28. See note 3
29. D Freud, Reducing Dependency, Increasing Opportunity: options for the future of welfare to work, Corporate Document Services, 2007
30. Department for Work and Pensions, Households Below Average Income 1994/95 – 2005/06, Corporate Document Services, 2007
31. M Brewer, A Goodman, A Muriel and L Sibieta, Poverty and Inequality in the UK: 2007, Briefing Note No. 73, Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2007
32. See note 30
33. One Parent Families, Meeting the Target: how can the Government achieve a 70 per cent employment rate for lone parents? Part 2 – routes forward, OPF, 2005
34. M Evans, J Eyre, J Millar and S Sarre, New Deal for Lone Parents: second synthesis of the national evaluation, DWP Research Report 163, DWP, 2003
35. See note 34
36. See note 33
37. G Knight and S Lissenburgh, Evaluation of Lone Parent Work-focused Interviews: final findings from administrative data analysis, DWP Research Report 182, DWP, 2004
38. G Knight and A Thomas, Lone Parents Work-focused Interview and Review Meetings Administrative Data Analyses and Qualitative Evidence Final Report, DWP Research Report 315 DWP, 2006
39. R Blundell, M Brewer and A Shepherd, The Impact of Tax and Benefit Changes Between April 2000 and April 2003 on Parents’ Labour Supply, Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2004
40. P Gregg, S Harkness and L Macmillan, Welfare to Work Policies and Child Poverty: a review of issues relating to the labour market and economy, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2006
41. See note 34
42. Lord S Leitch, Prosperity for All in the Global Economy: world class skills, HM Treasury, 2003, available at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/leitch_review/review_leitch_index.cfm
43. S Middleton and others, Britain’s Poorest Children: severe and persistent poverty and social exclusion, Save the Children, 2004; M Magadi and S Middleton, Britain’s Poorest Children Revisited: evidence from the BHPS CRSP Research Report 3, Save the Children, 2005. Severe poverty is defined as below 27 per cent median income, persistent poverty as three or more years in poverty.
44. See note 34
45. M Evans, S Harkness and R Arigoni Ortiz, Lone Parents Cycling Between Work and Benefits, DWP Research Report No 217, DWP, 2004
46. L Hoggart, V Campbell-Barr, K Ray and S Vergeris, Staying in Work and Moving Up: evidence from the UK employment retention and advancement (ERA) demonstration, DWP Research Report 381, Corporate Document Services, 2006, available at www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2005-2006/rrep381.pdf
47. L Harker, Delivering on Child Poverty: what would it take?, Cm 6951, The Stationery Office, 2006; D Freud, Reducing Dependency, Increasing Opportunity: options for the future of welfare to work, an independent report to DWP, Corporate Document Services, 2007
48. Department for Work and Pensions, Working for Children, Cm 7076, The Stationery Office, 2007
49. House of Commons Hansard, 12 March 2007, col 4
50. Daycare Trust, Childcare Today, Daycare Trust, 2006
51. P Whiteford and W Adema, What Works Best in Reducing Child Poverty: a benefit or work strategy?, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 51, OECD, 2007
52. See for example, A Park and others, British Social Attitudes, The 21st Report, NatCen, Sage, 2004. The British public were keener on ‘carrots’, such as income top-ups, than ‘sticks’, such as benefit sanctions, but a modest majority supported sanctions if people failed to take advantage of help to find work.
53. UNICEF, Child Poverty in Perspective: an overview of child well-being in rich countries, Innocenti Report Card 7, UNICEF, 2007
54. Sylva, Meluish, Sammons, Sirai-Blatchford and Taggert, The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) Project: findings from the early primary years, Department for Education and Skills, 2004
55. M Evans and J Millar, Lone Parents and Employment: international comparisons of what works, CLASP/DWP, 2003

Contents

Executive summary

Section 1
The Clinton reforms
Lessons for the UK
Americal welfare benefits
The 1996 reforms: the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act Key changes
The broader context in which TANF was implemented
US poverty measurement

Section 2
What are the key US findings?

Setion 3
The UK context
What are the key UK findings?

Notes

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