Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) was the name of a federal assistance program in effect from August 14, 1935 to June 30, 1997, which was administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The program was created under the name Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) by the Social Security Act of 1935 as part of the New Deal; the words "families with" were added to the name in 1960. By 1995 spending was $22.6 billion per year. In the United States of America, Federal assistance, also known as federal aid, federal benefits, or federal funds, is defined as any federal program, project, service, and activity provided by the US federal government that directly assists or benefits the American public in the areas of education, health, public safety... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Department of Health and Human Services, often abbreviated HHS, is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. ... United States Social Security Card Social Security is a social insurance program administered by the Social Security Administration under the authority of the United States federal government. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: New Deal For other uses of New Deal and The New Deal, see New Deal (disambiguation). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ...

In 1996, President Bill Clinton negotiated with the Republican-controlled Congress to pass the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act which drastically remade the program. Among other changes, a lifetime limit of five years was imposed for the receipt of benefits, and the newly-limited nature of the replacement program was reinforced by calling AFDC's successor Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Many Americans continue to refer to TANF as "welfare" or AFDC. 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... This article is about the modern United States Republican Party. ... The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996, passed under the Clinton administration, was a fundamental shift in both the method and goal of cash assistance to the poor. ... Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, often spoken as TAN-if) is the July 1, 1997, successor to the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, providing cash assistance to indigent American families with dependent children through the United States Department of Health and Human Services. ...

In light of the results, by 2006 the welfare reforms appear to be less controversial. The New Republic suggested [Sept 4, 2006, editorial on page 7], "A broad consensus now holds that welfare reform was certainly not a disaster--and that it may, in fact, have worked much as its designers had hoped."

Criticisms of AFDC

• AFDC benefits for most families fell short of lifting families above the poverty line.

• There were relatively lax time limitations for participation in the program.

• There were few incentives to join or rejoin the workforce. Entry level jobs, especially net of taxes, could not provide the standard of living provided by AFDC.

• It is possible that the program encouraged child birth to trigger or prolong benefits. It has been suggested that this had a dysgenic effect on the US population.

This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Bibliography

• Keith M. Kilty, Elizabeth A. Segal. The Promise of Welfare Reform: Political Rhetoric and the Reality of Poverty in the Twenty-First (2006)
• Clarita A. Mrena and Patricia Elston. Welfare Reform: State Sanction Policies and Number of Families Affected (2000)
• Robert P Stoker and Laura A Wilson. When Work Is Not Enough: State and Federal Policies to Support Needy Workers 2006

See also

• Administration for Children and Families

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is a division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ...

External links

• Aid to Families with Dependent Children at HHS