Due in large part to welfare reform, employment rates have increased among single mothers. From the Urban Institute, this article examines these trends in relation to increasing income among this population due to employment and the Earned Income Tax Credit. Such income supplements can equate to higher Social Security and retirement benefits among this population.

This report from the Government Accountability Office seeks to measure the success of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in terms of helping low-income workers find jobs in a streamlined manner as well as engaging employers in the process. In 2005, GAO found that half of local employers knew about services provided at local one-stop centers. This report examines the extent to which employers utilize local one-stop centers and if these services are useful to employers.

This study, presented at NAWRS, reviews longitudinal data from Utah regarding job retention and earnings for prior TANF customers. Due to the major decline in TANF cases in 2003, Utah was interested in finding out about job retention and earnings among clients leaving the caseloads. Researchers found that after six quarters, approximately 66 percent of TANF leavers were still working, and on average, earnings showed a 35 percent increase since the first quarter of case closure.

This article provides a concise overview of Federal legislation involving IDA's (AFIA, TANF, privately funded) and discusses their interaction and impacts on TANF, Medicaid, SCHIP, Food Stamps, and SSI.

From the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), this Compendium is a Federal source for learning about successful child support programs and organizational practices from around the country. OCSE provides a detailed list of successful Child Support programs as well as contact information for each site.

This Family Strengthening Policy Center Brief from the National Human Services Assembly provides an overview of family literacy education programs. Family literacy programs have been proven to have high educational benefits, as well as giving preparing caregivers an opportunity to succeed as parents and employees, enhancing bonds between parents and children, and ultimately, strengthening connections between families, schools, and the community.

Issued by the Census Bureau, this article reviews marriage and divorce data from around the country. Among the data, researchers found that one in five adults has ever divorced, and first marriages that end in divorce last about eight years on average.

A new article by Mark Ragan, Senior Fellow of the Rockefeller Institute, "Study Identifies Multiple Strategies and Critical Factors for Integrating Human Services," was published by The Research Forum on Children, Families, and the New Federalism in March 2003.

This report sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) describes the key decisions and activities undertaken in privatizing TANF case management and documents the lessons learned in six study sites from their experiences in privatizing TANF case management.

This latest in a series of MDRC how-to guides identifies program features and administrative practices that can help states better target financial work incentives to intended beneficiaries, increase participation among eligible incentive recipients, and maximize the benefits of the incentives. Making Work Pay draws on in-depth investigations by MDRC researchers of pioneering financial work support programs in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Canada. The lessons it contains should prove especially timely as state and local governments, straining under severe budgetary pressures, strive to sustain earnings supplement programs and make their delivery more efficient.