Welfare Reform Implementation: A State Report Card

Policy Forum

December 7, 2004 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM EST

1st floor/Wintergarden

Featuring Dr. Wade Horn *, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Jenifer Zeigler, Welfare Policy Analyst, Cato Institute; Jon Hobbs, National Director of Welfare Reform Initiatives, American Institute for Full Employment; and Mark Greenberg, Director of Policy, Center for Law and Social Policy.

In 1996, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) was signed into law, and the nation waited to see if welfare reform would truly "end welfare as we know it." Through block grant funding and administrative devolution, states finally had a chance to move beyond pilot programs and prove they could transition people off welfare more efficiently and effectively than the federal government. In a new Cato Policy Analysis, Jenifer Zeigler grades the states on their policy choices regarding welfare reform implementation—rewarding choices that encourage personal responsibility and self-sufficiency. Join us for a review of the state grades and a discussion of how states handled the challenges of welfare reform and are preparing for the future under welfare reauthorization.* Tentative