The 1996 welfare reform legislation was one of the most successful social policy reforms in U.S. history. In contrast to the prior system, which rewarded idleness and dependency, reform policy made remarkable headway in helping welfare dependents move toward self-sufficiency and dramatically reduced state welfare caseloads. While the old system resulted in unwed pregnancy and a host of related social problems, welfare reforms reduced child poverty and increased employment. Because of lax enforcement and efforts to undermine the principles and goals of this reform, however, its full potential has not been realized. Reauthorization of welfare reform in February 2006 involved steps to renew a focus on promoting work among welfare recipients, but additional action and continued attention for years to come are required to safeguard the progress that has been made and fulfill the goals of welfare reform.

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Welfare Reform at 10: Analyzing Welfare Caseload Fluctuations, 1996–2002 by Michael J. New, Ph.D.
August 17, 2006 (Center for Data Analysis Report #06-07)
Since 1996, the number of welfare recipients has fallen by nearly 60 percent, poverty and hunger have declined, and states have enjoyed more leeway in structuring their welfare administrations. Even though benefit levels and economic growth have had relatively little to do with the large decline in welfare caseloads since 1996, it appears that they do affect year-to-year fluctuations in caseloads.

Welfare Reform Turns Ten: Evidence Shows Reduced Dependence, Poverty by Christine Kim and Robert Rector
August 01, 2006 (WebMemo #1183)
By a variety of measures, the 1996 welfare reform succeeded ...

The Impact of Welfare Reform by Robert Rector
July 19, 2006 (Testimony )
Ten years ago, when the welfare reform legislation was signed into law, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D–NY) proclaimed the new law to be “the most ...

Marriage and the Welfare of America: the Tenth Anniversary of Welfare Reform by Mike Leavitt
June 20, 2006 (Heritage Lecture #947)
Two pillars of welfare reform are work requirements and a Healthy Marriage Initiative. They offer men and women the tools to escape government dependency while forming and sustaining healthy marriages,...

Congress Re-Starts Welfare Reform by Robert Rector
February 07, 2006 (WebMemo #991)
The next step in the revolution in welfare policy that began in 1996.

The Collapse of Marriage and the Rise of Welfare Dependence
by Jennifer A. Marshall, Robert Lerman, Ph.D., Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, Ph.D., Hon. Wade Horn, Ph.D., Robert Rector
August 15, 2006
The 1965 Moynihan Report pointed to the disintegration of family as a major cause of welfare dependence. Building on the 1996 welfare reform, programs like the federal Healthy Marriage Initiative can help to ensure that more children are born into intact families.

Marriage and the Welfare of America: the Tenth Anniversary of Welfare Reform by Mike Leavitt
June 20, 2006 (Heritage Lecture #947)
Two pillars of welfare reform are work requirements and a Healthy Marriage Initiative. They offer men and women the tools to escape government dependency while forming and sustaining healthy marriages,...

The Collapse of Marriage and the Rise of Welfare Dependence: Forty Years in the Wilderness Since the Moynihan Report (Video)
May 22, 2006

The Impact of Welfare Reform by Robert Rector
July 19, 2006 (Testimony )
Ten years ago, when the welfare reform legislation was signed into law, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D–NY) proclaimed the new law to be “the most ...

Welfare Reform and The Healthy Marriage Initiative by Robert Rector
February 10, 2005 (Testimony)
The erosion of marriage during the past four decades has had large-scale negative effects on both children and adults: It lies at the heart of many of the social problems...

Executive Summary: Understanding the President's Healthy Marriage Initiative by Robert E. Rector and Melissa G. Pardue
March 26, 2004 (Executive Summary #1741)
The current welfare system financially penalizes unmarried parents who wish to wed, despite the fact that an increased marriage rate among welfare recipients is both socially and economically desirable. President...

Welfare Reform: Progress, Pitfalls, and Potential by Robert E. Rector
February 10, 2004 (WebMemo #421)
To ensure that reform is sustained and strengthened, action must be taken to promote three elements that have provided a gateway from poverty and dependency: marriage, work, and teen abstinence.

Understanding Poverty in America by Robert E. Rector and Kirk A. Johnson, Ph.D.
January 05, 2004 (Backgrounder #1713)
If poverty means lacking nutritious food, adequate warm housing, and clothing for a family, relatively few of the 35 million people identified as being “in poverty” by the Census Bureau...

Sharp Reduction in Black Child Poverty Due to Welfare Reform by Melissa G. Pardue
June 12, 2003 (Backgrounder #1661)
For every black child whose economic condition has worsened in the past six years, six have risen out of poverty. But policies that ignore low levels of work among America’s...

Increasing Marriage Would Dramatically Reduce Child Poverty by Robert E. Rector, Kirk A. Johnson, Ph.D., Patrick F. Fagan, and Lauren R. Noyes
May 20, 2003 (Center for Data Analysis Report #03-06)
In 2001, 1.35 million children were born outside marriage. This represents 33.5 percent of all children born in the United States in that year. Children raised by never-married mothers are...

"Universal Engagement" of TANF Recipients: The Lessons of New York City by Jason Turner
May 08, 2003 (Backgrounder #1651)
Central to the change resulting from the reforms passed by the Republican Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, creating the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families...

The Good Economy Versus Welfare Reform: Who Gets the Credit? by The Heritage Foundation
February 12, 2003 (WebMemo #206)
The Good Economy Versus Welfare Reform: Who Gets the Credit?

The Continuing Good News About Welfare Reform by Robert Rector and Patrick F. Fagan
February 06, 2003 (Backgrounder #1620)
When Congress reauthorizes Temporary Assistance to Needy Families this year, it should ensure that all able-bodied welfare recipients are required to work or undertake other constructive activities as a condition...

Role of Parental Work in Child Poverty by Robert E. Rector and Rea S. Hederman, Jr.
January 29, 2003 (Center for Data Analysis Report #03-01)
The analysis presented in this paper indicates that child poverty is more often the result of low levels of parental work than of parents’ low hourly wage rates.

Marriage and Welfare Reform: The Overwhelming Evidence that Marriage Education Works by Patrick F. Fagan, Robert W. Patterson, and Robert E. Rector
October 25, 2002 (Backgrounder #1606)
Marriage is good for everyone in society. Children born and reared in married families are much less likely to be impoverished or to live on welfare. Programs to counsel couples...

Despite Recession, Black Child Poverty Plunges to All-Time Historic Low by Robert E. Rector
September 27, 2002 (Backgrounder #1595)
The record of the past six years indicates that welfare reform should be strengthened and expanded. The evidence demonstrates that, with welfare reform, our nation has found for the first...

Welfare Quotes: They Said It by The Heritage Foundation
July 11, 2002 (WebMemo #126)
Opponents of the 1996 welfare reform legislation mounted aggressive attacks claiming the bill would hurt and impoverish millions of children and single mothers. Indeed, the opposite is true. The reforms...

Welfare Reform: More Work to be Done by The Heritage Foundation
July 11, 2002 (WebMemo #125)
The underlying principle of welfare reform, that people deserve the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families, motivates more reform efforts. The appropriate response to progress is not to...

Continuing to Transform Welfare: The Next Bold--and Compassionate--Step by The Honorable Tommy G. Thompson
May 29, 2002 (Heritage Lecture #747)
True welfare reform is about empowerment: about helping everyone gain a firm foothold on the solid ground of personal opportunity, professional advancement, and a healthy family.

The Size and Scope Of Means-Tested Welfare Spending by Robert E. Rector
August 01, 2001 (Testimony)
Rather than increasing conventional welfare spending year after year, we should change the foundations of the welfare system.

Reforming Food Stamps to Promote Work and Reduce Poverty and Dependence by Robert E. Rector
June 27, 2001 (Testimony)
The replacement of AFDC with the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program (TANF) has led to record declines in dependence and poverty.

The Effects of Welfare Reform by Robert E. Rector
March 15, 2001 (Testimony)
The intention of welfare programs is to benefit low income Americans, especially children. Yet the evidence indicates that children and parents are actively harmed rather than helped by welfare.

Welfare Reform and the Decline of Dependence by Robert E. Rector
September 09, 1999 (Testimony)
During the past three years, national caseloads in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program have fallen greatly.

The Determinants of Welfare Caseload Decline by Robert E. Rector and Sarah E. Youssef
May 11, 1999 (Center for Data Analysis Report #99-04)
During the past three years, national caseloads in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program have fallen by 37 percent.

The Good News About Welfare Reform: Wisconsin's Success Story by Governor Tommy Thompson (R-WI) and Dr. William J. Bennett
March 06, 1997 (Heritage Lecture #593)
Governor Tommy Thompson (R-WI) and Dr. William J. Bennett comment on much needed welfare reform.

Wisconsin's Welfare Miracle by Robert E. Rector
March 04, 1997 (Policy Review)
Wisconsin has shown the way to welfare reform; it is now up to rest of the nation to apply the lessons learned.

How Welfare Harms Kids by Robert E. Rector and Patrick F. Fagan
June 05, 1996 (Backgrounder #1084)
Welfare hurts children too.

Why Congress Must Reform Welfare by Robert E. Rector
December 04, 1995 (Backgrounder #1063)
Higher welfare payments do not assist children; they increase dependence and illegitimacy, which have a devastatingly negative effect on children's development.

Paradox of Poverty (PDF)

Kicking America's Welfare Habit: Politics, Illegitimacy, and Personal Responsibility by The Honorable Pete Wilson
September 06, 1995 (Heritage Lecture #540)
Congress must have the courage to fix the welfare problem for the benefit of the entire country.

Requiem for the War on Poverty by Robert Rector