Congressional Research Service Reports - 44 Matching Results

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Child Welfare: An Overview of Federal Programs and Their Current Funding

Description: This report begins with a review of federal appropriations activity in FY2014 as it relates to child welfare programs, including the effect of the automatic spending cuts, known as sequestration. The report provides a short description of each federal child welfare program, including its purpose and recent (FY2012-FY2014) funding levels.
Date: July 16, 2014
Creator: Stoltzfus, Emilie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Eligibility and Benefit Amounts in State TANF Cash Assistance Programs

Description: This report describes state the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) financial eligibility rules and maximum benefit amounts. The report discusses cash assistance benefit amounts for needy families that are not automatically adjusted for inflation by the states, and have lost considerable value in terms of their purchasing power over time.
Date: July 22, 2014
Creator: Falk, Gene
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Child Welfare: An Overview of Federal Programs and Their Current Funding

Description: This report begins with a review of federal appropriations activity in FY2014 as it relates to child welfare programs, including the effect of the automatic spending cuts, known as sequestration. The bulk of the report provides a short description of each federal child welfare program, including its purpose and recent (FY2012-FY2014) funding levels.
Date: September 16, 2014
Creator: Stoltzfus, Emilie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant: An Overview

Description: This report provides a nontechnical introduction to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. The report briefly describes the history of cash assistance and how the "welfare reform" debates led to the creation of TANF; TANF financing; the TANF cash welfare programs and; other TANF benefits, services, and activities.
Date: November 5, 2014
Creator: Falk, Gene
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Child Care and Development Block Grant: Background and Funding

Description: This report discusses the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), which provides subsidies to assist low-income families in obtaining child care so that parents can work or participate in education or training activities.
Date: September 17, 2014
Creator: Lynch, Karen E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The ACA Medicaid Expansion

Description: This report provides an overview of the ACA Medicaid expansion, and the impact of the Supreme Court decision on the ACA Medicaid expansion. Then, the report describes who is covered under the expansion, the expansion rules, and how the expansion is financed. In addition, enrollment and expenditure estimates for the ACA Medicaid expansion are provided. Finally, the report reviews state decisions whether or not to implement the ACA Medicaid expansion, and the implications of those decisions on ce… more
Date: December 30, 2014
Creator: Mitchell, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Poverty: Major Themes in Past Debates and Current Proposals

Description: This report begins with an overview of trends affecting both the incidence of poverty and characteristics of the population, and highlights changing perceptions of the poor and causes of poverty. The report then provides a short history of key federal policies enacted over the past century to address poverty. To provide a framework for analyzing current and future proposals, the report then presents several overarching themes that have recurred in poverty policy debates over the course of this … more
Date: September 18, 2014
Creator: Falk, Gene & Spar, Karen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Spectrum Policy: Provisions in the 2012 Spectrum Act

Description: This report discusses the Spectrum Act, a provision of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. It includes an overview of the Spectrum Act, the specific policy revisions (deficit reduction, directed auctions, incentive auctions, federal spectrum use and reallocation, and unlicensed spectrum) and a conclusion discussing geographic coverage of spectrum licenses, spectrum caps, and planning for future needs.
Date: May 22, 2014
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): A Primer on Eligibility and Benefits

Description: This report focuses on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility and the form and function of benefits. SNAP, formerly called the Food Stamp Program, is designed primarily to increase the food purchasing power of eligible low-income households to help them buy a nutritionally adequate low-cost diet.
Date: December 29, 2014
Creator: Aussenberg, Randy A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Spectrum Policy: Provisions in the 2012 Spectrum Act

Description: This report discusses the Spectrum Act, a provision of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. It includes an overview of the Spectrum Act, the specific policy revisions (deficit reduction, directed auctions, incentive auctions, federal spectrum use and reallocation, and unlicensed spectrum) and a conclusion discussing geographic coverage of spectrum licenses, spectrum caps, and planning for future needs.
Date: August 7, 2014
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Spectrum Policy: Provisions in the 2012 Spectrum Act

Description: This report discusses the Spectrum Act, a provision of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. It includes an overview of the Spectrum Act, the specific policy revisions (deficit reduction, directed auctions, incentive auctions, federal spectrum use and reallocation, and unlicensed spectrum) and a conclusion discussing geographic coverage of spectrum licenses, spectrum caps, and planning for future needs.
Date: March 12, 2014
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Welfare, Work, and Poverty Status of Female- Headed Families with Children: 1987-2013

Description: The report focuses on welfare dependency and work engagement among single mothers, a major dynamic that welfare reform and accompanying policy changes have attempted to affect. It also examines the role of programs other than Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in providing support to single female-headed families with children.
Date: November 21, 2014
Creator: Gabe, Thomas
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): A Primer on Eligibility and Benefits

Description: This report focuses on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility and the form and function of benefits. SNAP, formerly called the Food Stamp Program, is designed primarily to increase the food purchasing power of eligible low-income households to help them buy a nutritionally adequate low-cost diet.
Date: October 20, 2014
Creator: Aussenberg, Randy A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Community Services Block Grants (CSBG): Background and Funding

Description: This report looks at the purpose and background of Community Services Block Grants (CSBG), which provide federal funds to states, territories, and tribes for distribution to local agencies to support a wide range of community-based activities to reduce poverty. It includes program data, funding activity for fiscal years 2013 and 2014, and proposals for FY2015.
Date: April 1, 2014
Creator: Spar, Karen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Veterans and Homelessness

Description: The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan brought renewed attention to the needs of veterans, including the needs of homeless veterans. Researchers have found both male and female veterans to be overrepresented in the homeless population, and, as the number of veterans increased due to these conflicts, there was concern that the number of homeless veterans could rise commensurately. This report discusses the various aspects of this issue.
Date: November 13, 2014
Creator: Perl, Libby
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): An Overview

Description: This report discusses the earned income tax credit (EITC), established in the tax code in 1975, which offers cash aid to working parents with relatively low incomes who care for dependent children.
Date: April 3, 2014
Creator: Scott, Christine & Crandall-Hollick, Margot L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Low-Income Assistance Programs: Trends in Federal Spending

Description: This report examines the spending trends of 10 major need-tested benefit programs or groups of programs: (1) health care from Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); (2) the refundable portion of the health insurance tax credit enacted in the 2010 health care reform law; (3) the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); (4) assisted housing; (5) financial assistance for post-secondary students (Pell Grants); (6) compensatory education grants to school districts; (7)… more
Date: May 7, 2014
Creator: Falk, Gene
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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