Welfare-to-Work Reforms No Boon To Children, Study Says

By Linda Jacobson

The federal welfare overhaul of 1996, which required many mothers receiving cash assistance to get a job, hasn't significantly improved the home lives of poor children, according to the latest results of an ongoing study.

Many mothers remain depressed even after going to work, can't afford enough food, spend less quality time with their children, and rely more on television to keep their preschoolers occupied than they did before they went back to work, the research shows.

However, children from welfare-dependent families who were enrolled in child-care centers stood a better chance of being prepared for school than youngsters who didn't attend those programs, the report released last week says. The study is part of the Growing Up in Poverty Project, a $2.8 million research effort paid for by the federal...