The Welfare Rules Databook: State Policies as of July 2003

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

Introduction and Background

This publication, The Welfare Rules Databook, provides tables containing key Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policies for each state as of July 2003, as well as longitudinal tables describing selected state policies from 1996 through 2003. The tables are based on the information in the Welfare Rules Database (WRD), a publicly available, online database originally developed under the Urban Institute's Assessing the New Federalism project.

The Databook is divided into five groups of tables: initial eligibility in 2003; benefits in 2003; requirements in 2003; ongoing eligibility in 2003; and policies across time, 1996-2003. Each chapter begins with an overview of the policies, followed by details relating to specific tables.

The Databook summarizes the detailed information in the WRD. Users interested in a greater level of detail are encouraged to use the full database, available at http://anfdata.urban.org/wrd. This site includes a point-and-click interface, as well as documentation.

The following sections discuss the background and structure of the WRD, and the contents and structure of the tables in this book.

The Welfare Rules Database

The Welfare Rules Database is a comprehensive, sophisticated resource for comparing cash assistance programs across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, researching changes across time in cash assistance rules within a single state, or determining the rules governing cash assistance in one state at a point in time. The WRD is longitudinal, and currently provides information on state Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and TANF policies from 1996 through 2003. The WRD was initially developed to meet the needs of researchers under the Urban Institute's Assessing the New Federalism project and was made publicly available in August 1999. The Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (DHHS/ACF) and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (DHHS/ASPE) are currently funding the maintenance and development of the WRD.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

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