The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) and Emergency Assistance programs wit the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Under TANF, the nature of public assistance changed from an entitlement program to one that requires individuals to work in order to receive time-limited support. This change in the welfare delivery system was accompanied by an increase in State-level flexibility in program design and operation. Welfare reform required no less than a redefinition of the role of decision makers at the Federal, State and local level, including the role played by front line workers when interacting with welfare recipients. In the journey toward reinventing the social safety net, States have met a variety of formidable challenges. Five years after the passage of welfare reform, this report takes stock of the past and current challenges that States have encountered. This report focuses on the policies and services provided to the hardest-to-serve and on the network of collaborations that States have developed to address the needs of these populations.

This article, based on research from the Center for Law and Social Policy, summarizes how teen parents are doing since the welfare reform of 1996. Overall, the results show that teen parents on welfare are undercounted, untracked, oversanctioned, and underserved.

The National Healthy Marriage Academy, held January 8 and 9, 2003,  in Arlington, VA, provided an opportunity for representatives from several States to learn more about the Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Healthy Marriage Initiative. The Academy afforded States an opportunity to hear presentations from nationally recognized speakers, researchers, and Federal policy makers, as well as from other States with successful Healthy Marriage Initiatives.

This policy brief explores the question of creating policies to encourage marriage in terms of TANF. The general agreement is made that federal and state policies should not penalize marriage. It explores the effect of TANF program rules on family formation decisions.

This report describes a meeting that took place in Charleston, WV, on November 3, 2004, sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). The meeting was a follow-up to a a Healthy Marriage Forum that took place in Charleston, WV, on June 9, 2004.

This resource reviews the Administration for Children and Families' Healthy Marriage Initiative, which was designed to support President Bush's goal of increasing healthy marriages by focusing attention and action on strengthening marriages and preparing interested individuals and couples for healthy marriages. This publication showcases some of the programs that organizations have developed using ACF grants and demonstrates how these programs are helping to create successful marital partnerships. This publication also provides insight into some of the lessons learned along the way that other agencies and organizations can use to promote healthy marriages in their communities.

Under contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF), Caliber Associates is evaluating the pre- and post-release effects of the faith-based Kairos Horizon program. Among the goals of the faith-based residential rehabilitation program are to increase personal and family responsibility, and employability among prisoners and ex-prisoners. In addition to the evaluation, Caliber is contracted to draft a series of policy-relevant issue briefs that discuss trends in corrections, the role of religion in reentry, and results of current research. This first issue brief entitled “Prisoner Reentry, Religion and Research” points out that the faith community is perhaps an invaluable partner in prisoner reentry - promoting public safety via the provision of services to support the successful reintegration of returning prisoners.

The ACF West-Central Hub Family Stabilization Workshop, held September 26 and 27, 2001, in Denver, CO, had three primary themes: Responsible Fatherhood, Faith-based and Community Initiatives, and Marriage and Family Stabilization. The Administration for Children and Families West-Central Hub includes Region VI (New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas) and Region VIII (Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming). The objectives of the workshop were to introduce participants to successful programs in the three key areas, to encourage networking, and to serve vulnerable children and families by focusing on making lasting connections. Speakers from various programs and perspectives  shared promising practices, challenges, and lessons learned in the area of family stabilization.

The training conference was to deliver training and education to program administrators to conform to Federal regulations, collaborate on faith- and community-based coordination, and to foster strategic plans for carrying out ACF's objectives. The conference sought to increase awareness of the priorities that contribute to the well-being of children and families.

This guide reviews how States have shaped their welfare reform strategies since 1996, in light of the flexibility afforded them by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. It describes how most States used their new responsibilities and flexibility to implement policies concerning: requiring work, making work pay, and time-limiting welfare benefits. It also synthesizes findings from studies of welfare reform's effects on poor families and government budgets.