Massachusetts leads the way in providing social workers the resources they need to combat the opioid crisis. The Governor created a Social Work Education Working Group on Substance Misuse, which has partnered with the National Association of Social…

In this study from Mathematica Policy Research, women’s criminal records are examined to determine their effects on employment, health, and welfare participation. The study followed disadvantaged women over thirteen years. By simulating behaviors…

According to GAO's analysis of data in the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS), on average, low-wage workers worked fewer hours per week, were more highly concentrated in a few industries and occupations, and had lower educational…

On August 17, 2017, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) sponsored a technical assistance site exchange for Ramsey County (Minnesota) Workforce Solutions to meet with staff from the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation’s (DLLR)…

It has been 20 years since the U.S. Congress passed welfare reform, and throughout these two decades, Maryland has provided cash assistance to families whose incomes do not meet their basic needs. In this way, the Temporary Cash Assistance program (…

When TANF became law in 1996, welfare recipients were required to engage in work participation activities, and states were required to have 50 percent of their TANF cases meet these participation requirements. The intention of requiring individuals…

Under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), public workforce programs were encouraged to make stronger partnerships with TANF. In this report, the Center on Law and Social Policy detailed the findings of a survey conducted in 2016 on…

In this portfolio, the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) summarizes the work funded by their Division of Economic Independence in the field of welfare and family self-sufficiency in fiscal year (FY) 2016. OPRE funds both research…

When the Aid to Families with Dependent Children legislation was replaced with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in 1996, the following years saw a decrease in the number of families receiving cash assistance. In this report from the…

The Department of Health and Human Services published the annual update of the HHS poverty guidelines “to account for last calendar year’s increases in prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index.”