Getting On, Staying On, and Getting Off Welfare: The Complexity of State-by-State Policy Choices

Posted on July 31, 2006

How does welfare work? The answer often depends on the state — states vary, for example, in the amount of hours participating parents must work, what counts as “work,” rules about emergency cash assistance, and other areas. And the recent legislation reauthorizing welfare and setting stricter work requirements is likely to have diverse effects in different states. This very readable new Urban Institute brief summarizes state programs and their differences.