The social safety net for children and families

1. The social safety net for children and families Jane Waldfogel

2. Overview • This paper will cover three major types of federal cash & near-cash income support programs for low-income families with children: 1) cash assistance, i.e. AFDC/TANF 2) food and nutrition, i.e. Food Stamps/SNAP, school breakfast & lunch, WIC 3) employment-related, i.e. Earned Income Tax Credit, child care subsidies & tax credits.

3. Overview (continued) • For each program, I will discuss: • the legislative history and current status • trends in, and current levels of, expenditures and numbers of recipients • the adequacy of the program with regard to reach, level and type of benefits • effectiveness at meeting stated program goals. • I will also review empirical evidence, where available, on how each program affects child and family health and well-being.

4. Are these War on Poverty programs? • AFDC, dates from 1935, reformed in 1964 Economic Opportunity Act • FS, origins date from 1930s, but 1964 Food Stamp Act introduced Food Stamps • School lunch, dates from 1946, but 1966 Child Nutrition Act introduced school breakfast, 1972 amendment added WIC (origins date from 1969) • EITC, dates from 1975, expanded in 1990s • Child care tax credits/subsidies, 1976 tax deductions, 1980s DCAP, 1988 transitional child care, expanded in 1990s

5. Cash assistance (AFDC/TANF) • AFDC was the major income support program for low income families with children from its inception in 1935 until welfare reform in 1996 (Moffitt, 2003; Scholz, Moffit, & Cowan, 2009). • Welfare reform replaced AFDC with TANF and accelerated the trend toward work requirements that had been evident since the Family Support Act of 1988. • Expenditures declined steeply post-1996 (Scholz et al., 2009). • I will include data on number and make-up of current recipients as well as what we know about the role of TANF in reducing poverty. I will also review empirical studies of the effects of AFDC/TANF on child outcomes.

6. Food & nutrition programs: Food Stamps/SNAP • Food Stamps (now SNAP) provide help to low-income individuals and families to purchase food. • I will summarize history and trends in expenditures (drawing on Scholz et al. 2009 and other sources), including the fall in expenditures post-welfare reform and rise since 2000. • Food Stamps/SNAP play an important role in reducing poverty. Census estimates using SPM suggest that in 2010, child poverty would be 3 percentage points higher (21.2% instead of 18.2%) if SNAP were not provided (Short, 2011). • I will also review empirical studies of the effects of Food Stamps/TANF on child outcomes (reviews by Currie).

7. Food & nutrition programs: School breakfast & lunch • School breakfast/lunch provides free or reduced cost meals for low-income children in schools (& child care), reducing food costs for families and possibly affecting nutrition. • I will describe the history of these programs and trends in expenditures. • These programs play a small but significant role in reducing poverty. Census estimates using SPM suggest that in 2010 child poverty would be 1 percentage point higher (19.0% instead of 18.2%) if school lunch were not provided (Short, 2011). • I will review what we know about the effects of these programs on child outcomes (reviews by Currie).

8. Food & nutrition programs: WIC • The special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC) provides vouchers that low income pregnant women and women with infants and toddlers can use to purchase nutritious food. It reduces food costs and may also have direct effects on nutrition. • WIC is not an entitlement and so not all eligible families receive it. I will discuss trends in eligibility and caseloads and the proportion of eligible families reached. • I will also review what we know about the effects of the program on child outcomes (numerous empirical studies here).

9. Employment-related programs: EITC • Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is now the single largest income support for low-income families with children. • I will trace the history of the program & trends in expenditures and recipients (Scholz et al. 2009, other sources). • EITC plays an important role in reducing poverty. Census estimates using SPM suggest that in 2010 child poverty would be 4 percentage points higher (22.4% instead of 18.2%) if EITC were not provided (Short, 2011). • I will also review what we know about the effects of the program on child outcomes (drawing on recent empirical studies).

10. Employment-related programs: Child care subsidies (and tax credits) • Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) and predecessor child care programs provide subsidies to offset child care costs for low-income families with children where parents are working or in work-related activities. • I will describe the history of these programs and trends in expenditures and recipients (Scholz et al., 2009; Smolensky and Gootman, 2003; Waldfogel, 2006, 2009). • I will discuss the role of these policies in reducing poverty (by augmenting income for employed parents but also by inducing parents to move into employment). • I will also review what we know about the effects of these subsidies (and tax credits) on child outcomes.

11. Other programs? • Child tax credit – dates from 1997, not limited to low-income families but has been seen as an important part of the social safety net, so worth at least mentioning • LIHEAP – a very small income support program, dates from 1980, but nevertheless belongs in this chapter and worth mentioning • Others?