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Welfare Reform: How States Are Faring in Getting People Off Welfare And To Work Under Federal Policy of the Temporary Assistance to Needy (TANF) Families Program

Hymes, Jacqueline D.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1376535176

Abstract Details

2013, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, EDU Physical Activity and Educational Services.
What ingredients of policy development and implementation are necessary to ensure that intended policy goals are met? This study primarily examined how individual states have implemented federal policy under Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), but also provided a regional perspective for a broader interpretation of specific data. This study additionally went beyond implementation of regulations to explore how states have ultimately fared in getting people off welfare and into work. Leveraging the insight of professionals working directly in the field of welfare reform lent a unique perspective of TANF’s effectiveness. More importantly, this perspective from frontline experiences helped to identify factors that influence welfare recipients’ ability to end their dependency on government financial assistance and achieve the intended policy goal of economic self-sufficiency. The findings of this study provided a framework for policymakers to develop more effective welfare policies, aimed at assisting individuals in their transition from welfare to work, by providing the additional perspective of front-line professionals who work directly in the field. By shedding light on the achievements – and shortcomings – of current legislation, key data points and observations served to inform future welfare policy implementation, provide guidance in revision of minimum requirements for state involvement in TANF job readiness efforts, and establish a foundation for future research studies involving TANF job readiness program development. This study focused on exploring state-level strategies that worked - and did not work - in an effort to implement federal policy addressing job readiness programs developed to transition individuals from welfare to work. Collection of descriptive data using a survey instrument served as the principal research method (Thomas & Nelson, 2001). Data was collected from online resources, primarily from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the United States federal department that administers all federal programs dealing with health and welfare. Additionally, surveys were sent to the 51 state TANF directors working in TANF offices in the continental United States and the District of Columbia. Participants were asked to respond to an online 23-item questionnaire, designed to identify individual measures states developed to get people off welfare and into gainful employment. Both open- and closed-ended probes, designed to secure both qualitative and quantitative responses, were presented. Information sought pertained to four influential components of job readiness: program availability, effective use of tools and resources, influence on employability and welfare caseload, and identification of factors that influence TANF recipients’ success. The theoretical frameworks of policy implementation (Matland, 2005), psychosocial (Erickson, 1999) and role strain (Goode, 1960) theories were used to better understand and interpret the findings. These theories provided perspectives on the interpretation of the job readiness process from a threefold foci: (1) policy implementation, an explanation of policy interpretation and outcomes, (2) psychosocial, an explanation of social behavior, and (3) socio-economic, life stages based on economic position.
Christopher Zirkle (Advisor)
Amanda Miranda (Committee Member)
James Pinchak (Committee Member)
167 p.
Public Policy; Social Structure; Welfare
TANF; Temporary Assistance to Needy Families; welfare; welfare reform; PRWORA; welfare to work; TANF recipients; job training; economic self-sufficiency; welfare cash assistance; government subsidies; TANF success; new welfare reform; job training

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hymes, J. D. (2013). Welfare Reform: How States Are Faring in Getting People Off Welfare And To Work Under Federal Policy of the Temporary Assistance to Needy (TANF) Families Program [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1376535176

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hymes, Jacqueline. Welfare Reform: How States Are Faring in Getting People Off Welfare And To Work Under Federal Policy of the Temporary Assistance to Needy (TANF) Families Program. 2013. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1376535176.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hymes, Jacqueline. "Welfare Reform: How States Are Faring in Getting People Off Welfare And To Work Under Federal Policy of the Temporary Assistance to Needy (TANF) Families Program." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1376535176

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1376535176
905
© 2013, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.