Welfare Reform Myths

                Duncan Lindsey
                    UCLA

 

 

 

 

 

Welfare Reform led to a Reduction in Child Poverty: False

 

Advocates of welfare reform have heralded the results of welfare reform, particularly for poor children:

In the almost seven years since the welfare reform law was enacted, economic conditions have improved dramatically for America's poorest families. Welfare rolls have plummeted, employment of single mothers has increased dramatically, and child hunger has declined substantially. Most striking, however, has been the effect of welfare reform on child poverty, particularly among black children.

Melissa Pardue, (2003) Sharp Reduction in Black Child Poverty Due to Welfare Reform

 

Child poverty rates are at or near historic lows. This is one of the most important outcomes we could have hoped to achieve—and TANF has been a stunning success. The overall child poverty rate has fallen from 20.5% in 1996 to 16.3% in 2001— a 20% decline. The poverty rate for African American children is down 24% since 1996 and in 2001 reached it lowest level ever recorded. The Hispanic child poverty rate dropped from 40.3 percent to 28.0, the largest five year drop on record.

Tommy Thompson, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services

 

The welfare reform legislation passed in 1996 did not lead to reduced child poverty. It is true that during the period after the passage of welfare reform (1996 to 2000) the national child poverty rates declined. This was a period when the economy was expanding and even booming and poverty for all groups declined.

 

When child poverty is examined at the state level, even during this period, it is clear that the declines in the welfare caseload had little to do with declines in child poverty.  (See the Charts displaying annual change in each of these programs from 1993 to 2002 which are available online at: http://www.childwelfare.com (select a state from the map and then “Programs for Children”).

 

Examining the states with the largest welfare caseload declines demonstrates that the declines in child poverty in these states had little relation with caseload reductions. For example, Wisconsin reduced the number of children receiving welfare by more than 75 percent while child poverty actually increased in the state between 1996 and 2002.

 

 

 

Welfare reform allowed states to reduce and, in several states, essentially dismantle income assistance for poor children. This can be seen by the declining ratio of children receiving welfare to children living in poverty:

 

 

 

Table 1

Ratio of Children Receiving Welfare to Children Living in Poverty

 

 

 

1993

1996

2002

 

 

1993

1996

2002

 

 

1993

1996

2002

 Rhode Island

.81

.94

.77

 

 Pennsylvania

.70

.78

.36

 

 Oregon

.53

.43

.20

 Vermont

.70

.75

.70

 

 New York

.63

.68

.35

 

 South Carolina

.48

.40

.19

 Alaska

.72

.80

.61

 

 Maryland

.77

.77

.33

 

 South Dakota

.36

.33

.19

 Hawaii

.79

.83

.56

 

 New Jersey

.77

.70

.33

 

 Texas

.36

.34

.18

 California

.72

.79

.49

 

 Nebraska

.52

.48

.32

 

 Wisconsin

.64

.79

.18

 Minnesota

.68

.77

.48

 

 North Dakota

.43

.38

.30

 

 North Carolina

.63

.52

.16

 Connecticut

.81

.89

.45

 

 Kentucky

.53

.48

.30

 

 Colorado

.51

.44

.16

 Indiana

.54

.51

.45

 

 West Virginia

.52

.52

.30

 

 Mississippi

.48

.43

.15

 New Hampshire

.54

.68

.44

 

 Ohio

.76

.79

.29

 

 Arkansas

.31

.25

.15

 Washington

.74

.71

.43

 

 Montana

.47

.43

.27

 

 Oklahoma

.44

.35

.14

 Tennessee

.65

.62

.43

 

 Arizona

.41

.36

.25

 

 Utah

.37

.33

.14

 Missouri

.56

.63

.40

 

 New Mexico

.40

.44

.25

 

 Alabama

.35

.30

.14

 Delaware

.62

.55

.40

 

 Kansas

.50

.48

.25

 

 Louisiana

.45

.45

.14

 Massachusetts

.79

.72

.40

 

 Georgia

.58

.54

.24

 

 Florida

.58

.50

.14

 Iowa

.59

.65

.40

 

 Illinois

.73

.77

.22

 

 Wyoming

.59

.52

.04

 Maine

.70

.71

.39

 

 Nevada

.38

.43

.21

 

 Idaho

.26

.28

.03

 Michigan

.74

.73

.38

 

 Virginia

.46

.42

.21

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Almost half the states provide income assistance to less than one quarter of children living in poverty in 2002. Before welfare reform this wasn't true for any states. In 1996, Wisconsin provided income assistance to almost four fifths of all children living in poverty. By 2002, they provide welfare to less than one fifth of all children living in poverty. Illinois provided income assistance to more than three quarters of all children living in poverty before welfare reform. After, they provided income assistance to less than one quarter. North Carolina went from .63 in 1993 to .16 in 2002. The data in this table indicate that after welfare reform many states simply stopped providing income assistance to most of the children living in poverty.

 

Welfare Reform Reduced Children Born Out-of-Wedlock: False

 

Welfare reform did not lead to a decline in the percentage of children born to unmarried mothers.

 

See the state charts of the percentage of children born to unmarried mothers from 1993 to 2002. In almost every state the percentage has continued to increase. The welfare reform legislation included substantial incentives for states to lower out-of-wedlock births.

 

Changes in the Percentage of Births to Unmarried Women, 1993–2002

Source: Division of Vital Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, Center for Disease Control (2003).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welfare Reform Led to More Single Mothers Working:  True

 

The number of single mothers working after the passage of welfare reform increased during the post welfare reform period. Economists suggest that both the booming economy and welfare reform contributed to the increase percentage of these mothers working.