 |
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
3130.0: Monday, November 11, 2002 - 11:30 AM
Abstract #46009
Social Services versus Social Engineering: The Need for Improved Social and Health Supports in the Welfare Reform Era
Learning Objectives:
The welfare reform act of 1996 stated, as its first finding, that "marriage is the foundation of a successful society", and one of the four stated purposes of this law was to "encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families." In the discussions of reauthorization of welfare reform, policy makers at the state and national level suggest using financial incentives to encourage marriage. At the same time, research indicates that critical health and social service needs are going unmet among welfare recipients and former recipients. There is little research to support the effectiveness of marriage as a poverty reduction strategy, and investment in this approach would draw scarce resources from already proven methods. While marriage may increase access to health insurance through spousal benefits, this new wave of policy proposals also has the potential to adversely affect women's health by limiting reproductive choice and increasing the risk of domestic violence. This paper will outline the primary health and social service needs identified by national and state welfare reform evaluations, and discuss evidence for the effectiveness of social service versus family formation remedies to poverty. Policy recommendations for improving health and well-being of welfare recipients will be proposed. This abstract is submitted as a part of the panel, "Welfare Reform