Report on Welfare-to-Work Programs Calls for Focus on Children's Services

By Deborah L. Cohen

Welfare-to-work programs can be "powerful catalysts'' to improve the health and educational outcomes of children as well as the employment status of their parents, a new report from the Foundation for Child Development concludes.

At a time when states are plunging ahead with welfare-reform proposals that offer rewards and sanctions to modify the behavior of welfare recipients, little attention is being paid to the well-being of welfare children, the group suggests.

While much of the discussion surrounding welfare reform has focused on improving the education, training, and job readiness of adults, the report notes, these efforts will do little to break the cycle of poverty if they do not address children's needs...