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Project Description

The project represents a qualitative evaluation of the national welfare system. Faces of Change elicited narratives from 210 individuals and families throughout the country, describing how their lives and hopes have changed as a direct result of local changes entailed by welfare reform. These narratives have been written down in the language of the impacted people by the local Alliance agency staff who are working with them.

Project duration: Jan 1999 - Dec 2001

Sites studied include Alabama;
California;
Connecticut;
District of Columbia;
Delaware;
Florida;
Georgia;
Illinois;
Indiana;
Iowa;
Massachusetts;
Michigan;
Minnesota;
New Jersey;
New York;
North Carolina;
Ohio;
Pennsylvania;
Texas;
and
Wisconsin

Sample Characteristics and Sites Studied

Random sample of 210 personal narratives of welfare recipients served by family service agencies from 50 communities in 19 states and the District of Columbia.

Recent Findings in Brief

04/01/01: Faces of Change: Personal Experiences of Welfare Reform in America (book)

Welfare recipients in this study fall into three groups. About 1/4th of the “authors” of the stories have achieve relative success in their efforts to move toward independence. About ½ are in a middle group of struggling workers, with frequent job transitions but little wage growth, with few chances for advancement. Almost all of this group are at or below the federal poverty level. About 1/4th are persistently unemployed, and experience serious and/or multiple barriers to finding work. The details of their differential adaptations are set forth in our set of six policy briefs and various PowerPoint presentation.

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