Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and Teen Parents Essay ex

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and Tenn Parents The American Public never loved social welfare programs, but it did not necessarily want them dismantled. In fact, by the early 1990s, nearly 50 percent of all households drew on government benefits from Food stamps to social security to mortgage interest tax deductions. To convince the public that it stood to gain from smaller government and weaker social programs, the reformers had to undermine the longstanding belief that government should play a large role in society. Abramovitz (1996) suggest that Civil rights gains were called reverse discrimination and the victories of the women’s and gay rights movement were seen as a threat to â€Å"family values.† Having set the stage, the welfare reformers began the attack on the welfare state by targeting AFDC, the most vulnerable and least popular welfare program. Drawing on social science theories that blamed poverty on the values and behavior of the poor, the reformers put forward the belief that social problems stemmed from a â€Å"culture of poverty† that promoted â€Å"defective† values and â€Å"deviant† behavior. In 1996, Congress passed and the President signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (P.L. 104-93). It combined AFDC (Aid to Families w/Dependent Children) JOBS, and Emergency Assistance into block grants of single capped entitlement to states and placed federal childcare funding into a separate block grant for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). The new federal law known as TANF was implemented in most states within the year. Reflecting the â€Å"work first† approach, TANF placed a lifetime limit of five years on welfare eligibility. The new approach to welfare... ...Philadelphia, PA- Manlove, J. (1998) The influence of high school drop out and school disengagement on the risk of school age pregnancy, Journal of Research on Adolescence, 8, 182-185 Mathews M. & Shelly, S. (1999) Turned away misinformed, and denied; Teen parents experience in the welfare office. Youth law News, July, August 1999 Roseman, E. & Yoshikawa, H. (1999) Effects of welfare reform on children of adolescent mother, moderation by maternal depression, father involvement and grandmother involvement Women and Health 32, June 1999. Vallerand R., Fortier M. & Guay F. (2000) School motivation for teens. Journal of Education Today, December 2000 Werthmeier, R. (1998). Childbearing by teens; Links to welfare reform. The Urban Institute, Fall Report, 1998 Zonker, L., (1997) Teenage pregnancy; Situation and strategies. The Florida Nurse, June, 1997