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Analyzing Washington State's Welfare Program Design, Workfirst, Dan Axelsen, Hal W. Snarr

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

Much debate in the early nineties centered on whether the federal entitlement program Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) reduced welfare dependency. Many contend that AFDC discouraged work, increased welfare dependency, and undermined the institution of family. Partly in response to these criticisms, welfare was reformed through the Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996. PRWORA modified the primary objectives of welfare by placing more emphasis on work experience accumulation and less on human capital accumulation. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) was designed to meet this primary objective. Washington State’s TANF program, WorkFirst, utilizes a progressive …