1999 Reports

Welfare Research, 1999 and Beyond

Berrey, Ellen C.

Many large-scale, ongoing welfare research projects will release interim or final reports in 1999. In addition, the federal government is funding studies about different populations and programs that, in general, have not been the subject of welfare research. This article describes: © Recent findings from some of the large-scale welfare waiver experiments and major national research efforts; © Relatively new federally-funded research projects; and © The evaluations that expect to release final reports in 1999. This research is contributing to an extensive body of knowledge about the effects of the welfare waiver programs initiated in the early 1990’s, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), and related social policies. The Research Forum is currently keeping track of these and other research projects. Of the 43 large-scale research projects in the Research Forum’s on-line database, 27 have impact studies (20 of which are controlled experiments). Also included are implementation studies (some of which relate to the impact research), child outcomes studies embedded in larger impact studies, and policy analyses. Many smaller projects are also underway. Summaries of the 43 large-scale projects and 60 small-scale projects, names of individuals to contact for additional project information, and existing and forthcoming publications are all accessible at the Forum’s web site: www.researchforum.org.