Scope

This Research Guide focuses on effects of the 1996 welfare reform bill which aimed to get welfare recipients into the workforce. Results being investigated include: does welfare reform move recipients off the welfare rolls and into employment? what are the effects on the children of poor, single mothers?

Overview

The Encyclopedia of Marriage, Divorce and the Family
College Library Reference Collection: HQ 9 D38 2000

Encyclopedia of Social Work
College Library Reference Collection: HV 35 S6
Refer to "Aid to Families with Dependent Children"

Feminism: A Reference Handbook
College Library Reference Collection: HQ 1410 H365 1998
Refer to "Welfare Reform" in the Index

Women's Studies Encyclopedia
College Library Reference Collection: HQ 1115 W645 1999
Refer to "Welfare" in volume 3

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center 1990 - to date (updated daily)
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (OVRC) includes the acclaimed social issues series published by Greenhaven Press, as well as core reference content from other Gale and Macmillan Reference USA sources and provides viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

Finding Journal and News Articles

Below are links to databases that cover this subject area. The truncation symbol for all of them is an asterisk (*) unless otherwise noted.

Sample searches for databases:

welfare reform and employment
welfare reform and child*
welfare reform and work and women
wisconsin and work*
poverty and women
aid to families with dependent children
single mother* and econom*
teen* and pregnan*

Recommended Databases:

Academic Search 1984 - to date (updated daily)
This library database indexes approximately 3,100 popular magazines and academic journals and provides the full-text articles from approximately 1,000 journals. Basic instructions for Academic Search

CQ Researcher November 1991 - to date (updated weekly)
Contains weekly reports from Congressional Quarterly that cover the most current and controversial issues. Basic instructions for CQ Researcher

Ethnic NewsWatch 1960 - to date (updated monthly)
A full-text collection of more than 200 newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Basic instructions for Ethnic Newswatch

GenderWatch 1980 - to date (updated quarterly)
A women's and gender issues database with full-text coverage of most journals. Basic instructions for GenderWatch

ProQuest Research Library 1988 - to date (updated daily)
Indexes over 2,000 general-interest and academic journals. Nearly 1,000 periodicals are full-text. Dates vary, but many full-text journals go back to 1988. Basic instructions for ProQuest Research Library

Readers' Guide Full Text and Retrospective 1890 - to date (updated monthly)
Indexes 240 popular magazines in a wide range of subject areas. Full-text coverage of 131 titles begins with 1994. Basic instructions for Readers' Guide Full Text

Social Sciences Full Text 1983 - to date (updated monthly)
Indexes more than 415 scholarly journals in economics, politics, public administration, public health, sociology, criminology, environmental and urban studies, psychology and anthropology. Basic instructions for Social Sciences Full Text

More Databases:

Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe Dates Vary (updated daily)
Contains the full-text articles from U.S. and international newspapers (including the New York Times, June 1980 - to date), as well as some news and business magazines and trade journals. The truncation symbol is an exclamation point (!). Basic instructions for Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe

ProQuest Newspapers Dates Vary (updated weekly)
Indexes articles from 41 national and Wisconsin newspapers; includes full text for most. The truncation symbol is a question mark (?). Basic instructions for ProQuest Newspapers

Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS) 1972 - to date (updated quarterly)
Indexes journal articles, books, government documents, statistical compilations, committee reports, directories, serials, reports of public, intergovernmental and private organizations, and most other forms of printed literature from all over the world. The full-text of the articles is not available in the database. Basic instructions for PAIS

Finding Books

MadCat
Books on welfare reform can be found in MadCat, the UW-Madison library catalog.

Sample keyword searches:

"welfare reform" and child?
"welfare recipients" and employment and "united states"
"aid to families with dependent children"
"wisconsin works" or "w-2"
http and "welfare reform" (to find electronic resources)

Searches can be limited to the most recent five years

Internet Sites

Public Agenda Issue Guides: Poverty and Welfare
http://www.publicagenda.org/issues/frontdoor.cfm?issue_type=welfare
Public Agenda, a nonpartisan opinion research and civic engagement organization, presents public opinion and arguments related to poverty and welfare.

Welfare Reform
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/welfare/index.htm
Site of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services's Administration for Children and Families.

Welfare Reform State Links
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/welfare/stlinks.htm
The Administration for Children and Families brings together the State Welfare Children and Families home pages into one place.

Welfare, Children & Families
http://www.jhu.edu/~welfare/
A three city study (of Boston, Chicago and San Antonio) to evaluate the consequences of welfare reform for the well-being of families and children published by Johns Hopkins University.

Windows on Urban Poverty
http://www.urbanpoverty.net/
Windows on Urban Poverty is a project of the Bruton Center at the University of Texas at Dallas in partnership with the Brookings Institution. It explores the concentration of poverty in the United States and offers an interactive mapping tool which includes data for the 1970-2000 censuses.

Statistics

Statistical Universe 1973 - to date (updated monthly)
Contains the full text of more than 800 U.S. government statistical publications. Lexis-Nexis Statistical Universe is available to UW-Madison registered users.

Organizations

Welfare Information Network
http://www.welfareinfo.org/
1401 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (20) 587-1000

Institute for Research on Poverty
http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/irp/
University of Wisconsin-Madison
1180 Observatory Drive
3412 Social Science Building
Madison, WI 53706-1393
Phone: (608) 262-6358