What Has Welfare Reform Wrought?
The 1996 federal welfare law, popularly known as welfare reform ended the 60-year federal guarantee of cash benefits for the poor. It limited welfare to five years, imposed strict work requirements, regulated family life, and offered the states powerful financial incentives to reduce their welfare rolls. If shrinking the welfare rolls, supplying employers with cheap labor, and stigmatizing single motherhood equals success than the “reformers” can rightly celebrate victory. Since 1993 the welfare caseload fell more than 55 percent, 47 percent in New York City and 39 percent in New York State. However, if Congress wanted to improve the well being of poor women and children, welfare reform has failed. TANF ended welfare, but not poverty, added to “welfare racism” and interfered with the effective delivery of human services by non-profit agencies. The recession and World Trade Center disaster have exacerbated these pre-9/11 trends. Ended Welfare, Not Poverty. While overall poverty rate fel
