Reform advocates argue that welfare changes will push more parents into the workforce and increase family income. Critics insist that welfare cutbacks will land more children in poverty. Under the welfare law passed in 1996, states are responsible for tracking how welfare policies affect poverty among children. Wendell Primus, who resigned as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to protest President Clinton's signing of the welfare bill, will direct a project at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities to help states develop ways to measure child poverty. A key issue, says Primus, is how states measure family income.
Some measures leave out non-cash benefits, such as food stamps, health care, and subsidized housing.
If only cash income is counted, more families fall below poverty. But non-cash benefits can be worth hundreds of dollars, and make a big difference in the lives of poor families. Leaving them out thus effectively understates the impact government programs have had on the lives of the poor. The issue is especially important now, because cuts in food stamps account for about half the total cuts in the welfare bill and are likely to have a major impact on many poor families. His project will help the Department of Health and Human Services develop appropriate measures of the impact of welfare reforms on poverty among children.