WELFARE REFORM AND THE WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN

1996年的福利改革法案是自大萧条以来针对贫困家庭的公共政策的最大变化。发起人认为，这项计划的工作要求和现金援助的时间限制将使儿童受益，因为他们的父母将增强自尊和日常生活，从而更好地养育子女，并将提供更好的榜样。反对者声称，新规定会伤害孩子，因为单亲父母在试图将照顾孩子和就业结合起来时，压力会更大。我们认为，没有人能够先验地预测哪一种观点是正确的，因为过去关于福利对儿童影响的研究并没有充分关注这些问题。因此，有必要对改革对儿童的影响进行一项新的研究，以了解这项具有里程碑意义的立法的影响。此外，这样的研究提供了一个科学的机会来扩展我们对父母的时间和金钱资源对儿童福祉的影响这一更广泛问题的知识。我们建议在全国不同地区的三个城市：波士顿、芝加哥和圣安东尼奥，研究福利改革对儿童的影响，为期四年。我们的概念框架结合了经济家庭生产模型和发展心理学文献的观点，并借鉴了社会学和民族志研究的见解。我们将在4年内每年采访2,800个有0-4岁或10-14岁儿童的家庭，其中一半是福利接受者，一半是中低收入，非福利依赖家庭。在第三年，我们将增加第二批1400个家庭。面谈将包括成人部分以及对儿童健康和福祉的直接评估。对于队列1中有2-4个孩子的800个家庭，一项嵌入式发展研究将从主要照顾者、儿童保育提供者和父亲或父亲形象中获得进一步的信息。我们还将对三个城市共170个有2-4个孩子的家庭进行严格、深入的民族志研究，分为非洲裔、西班牙裔和非西班牙裔白人，其中一半领取福利，一半领取非福利的工作贫困人口。

The 1996 welfare reform bill constitutes the greatest change in public policy toward poor families since the Great Depression. Sponsors believe that its work requirements and time limits on cash assistance will benefit children because their parents will have increased self-esteem and a daily regimen, leading to better parenting, and will provide better role models. Opponents claim that the new rules will hurt children because single parents will become more stressed as they attempt to combine child care and employment. We argue that no one can predict a priori which view is correct because past research on the effect of welfare on children has not focused sufficiently on these issues. A new study of the effects of the reforms on children is therefore necessary to understand the impact of this landmark legislation. In addition, such a study presents a scientific opportunity to extend our knowledge on the broader issue of the effects of parental time and money resources on child well-being. We propose to study the effects of welfare reform on children in 3 cities in different areas of the country: Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio over a four-year period. Our conceptual framework combines the economic household production model with perspectives drawn from the developmental psychology literature and is informed by insights from sociological and ethnographic research. We will interview annually for 4 years 2,800 families with children 0-4 or 10-14, half welfare recipients, half low-to-moderate income, non- welfare-dependent families. In year 3 we will add a 2nd cohort of 1,400 families. The interview will include an adult component and also direct assessments of children's health and well-being. For 800 of the families in cohort 1 with children 2-4, an embedded developmental study will obtain further information from primary caregivers, child care providers, and fathers or father figures. We will also conduct rigorous, in-depth ethnographic studies of a total of 170 families with children 2-4 in the 3 cities, divided among African Americans, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic whites, half of them receiving welfare and half of them non-welfare working-poor.