Welfare Reform: More Research Needed on TANF Family Caps and Other Policies forReducing Out-of-Wedlock Births

摘要

In response to a Congressional request, this report: (1) identifies the statesthat have family caps as a part of their TANF programs and describes how the caps are implemented; (2) determines the number of families whose benefits have been affected by the family cap and estimate the amount by which the family cap has altered a familys cash benefits; and (3) using existing studies, determines what is known about the effect of the family cap on out-of-wedlock births, abortions, and poverty. In conducting this work, we also reviewed HHS research agenda to assess whether it supported the TANF goal of preventing and reducing out-of-wedlock pregnancies.