Children of Incarcerated Parents

Changes in Social Welfare Spending
At the same time that family dynamics in the United States were undergoing rapid and
dramatic changes, so too was the social safety net changing in substantive ways. These
changes are at the root, many believe, of the systematic project of transference of
poverty onto families and children.
The social safety or welfare net is a patchwork of programs funded and administered by
the jumbled forces of federal, state, local, and private or non-profit agencies. Thus far
from being monolithic or unitary, the landscape of social programs is defined by
loopholes, gaps in coverage, and conflicting or contradictory regulations.
Social safety net programs in the past 50 years have undergone changes in not just
content but also type. The biggest shifts have been those that determine who receives
support from the program. This involves both demographics (children, adults, seniors)
and eligibility requirements. Eligibility for welfare programs can take many forms. In the
simplest, all children would be eligible, by virtue of their age. This is the case with public
school, for example. A more strenuous requirement is demonstrated need, as in the
case with "transfer" benefits like welfare, Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF),
food stamps, or housing subsidies.
Welfare reform during the Clinton Administration drastically altered the nature and
extent of federal cash assistance to needy families. The central piece of legislative
reform, known as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
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