Congressional Research Service Reports - 26 Matching Results

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Youth Transitioning from Foster Care: Background and Federal Programs

Description: This report provides background on teens and young adults in and exiting from foster care, and the federal support that is available to these youth as they transition to adulthood. It begins with a discussion of the characteristics of youth who have had contact with the child welfare system, including those who entered care, as well as those who exited care via emancipation because they have reached the legal age of majority. The report then provides an overview of the federal foster care syste… more
Date: September 8, 2017
Creator: Fernandes-Alcantara, Adrienne L.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Trends in Poverty in the United States

Description: This report discusses trends in poverty in the United States. In 2004, 37 million people were found poor under the official poverty definition — a 1.1 million increase from 2003. The poverty rate, or percent of the population considered poor, increased for the fourth straight year, to 12.7% in 2004 — up from 12.5% in 2003, and 11.3% in 2000, its most recent low.
Date: September 6, 2005
Creator: Gabe, Thomas
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Welfare Reauthorization: Overview of the Issues

Description: The 109th Congress is reviewing a number of programs that aid poor and low-income families with children. These programs include the TANF and child care block grants, child support enforcement, abstinence education, transitional Medicaid (known as Transitional Medical Assistance), Head Start, and the Workforce Investment Act. Other potential policy initiatives, such as social security and tax reform, also would likely affect low-income families with children. This report focuses on programs and… more
Date: September 29, 2005
Creator: Falk, Gene; Gish, Melinda & Solomon-Fears, Carmen
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Child Welfare: Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits for Children in Foster Care

Description: This report begins with a discussion of the foster care system and the Social Security benefits available to eligible children, including those in foster care. It then describes the role of representative payees and their responsibilities. The report provides data on the use of Social Security benefits to reimburse states for child welfare, and includes a discussion of the Keffeler decision. Finally, the report concludes with proposals supported by some advocates to change the current practice … more
Date: September 26, 2012
Creator: Moulta-Ali, Umar
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Child Support Enforcement: New Reforms and Potential Issues

Description: P.L. 104-193 (the 1996 welfare reform legislation) made major changes to the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program. Some of the changes include requiring states to increase the percentage of fathers identified, establishing an integrated, automated network linking all states to information about the location and assets of parents, and requiring states to implement more enforcement techniques to obtain collections from debtor parents. Additional legislative changes were made in 1997, 1998, and… more
Date: September 5, 2002
Creator: Solomon-Fears, Carmen
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Child Welfare: Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits for Children in Foster Care

Description: This report begins with a discussion of the foster care system and the Social Security benefits available to eligible children, including those in foster care. It then describes the role of representative payees and their responsibilities. The report provides data on the use of Social Security benefits to reimburse states for child welfare, and includes a discussion of the Keffeler decision. Finally, the report concludes with proposals supported by some advocates to change the current practice … more
Date: September 28, 2012
Creator: Moulta-Ali, Umar; Fernandes-Alcantara, Adrienne L. & Stoltzfus, Emilie
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
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 and a conclusion discussing geographic coverage of spectrum licenses, spectrum caps, and planning for future needs.
Date: September 9, 2015
Creator: Moore, Linda K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Financing Issues

Description: This report discusses the financing of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. It describes the national funding level, the distribution of funds among the states, and the basis for these funding levels; describes how states may use TANF funds; describes how states have actually used TANF funding; and discusses selected policy issues regarding TANF funding.
Date: September 8, 2015
Creator: Falk, Gene
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: Responses to Frequently Asked Questions

Description: The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant funds a wide range of benefits and services for low-income families with children. TANF was created in the 1996 welfare reform law (P.L. 104-193). This report responds to some frequently asked questions about TANF; it does not describe TANF rules.
Date: September 8, 2015
Creator: Falk, Gene
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The TANF Emergency Contingency Fund

Description: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 created an Emergency Contingency Fund (ECF) within the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. The fund expired on September 30, 2010. It helped states, Indian tribes, and territories pay for additional costs of providing economic aid to families during the current economic downturn for FY2009 and FY2010. This report describes the TANF ECF as well as proposals offered in 2010 to extend and modify TANF emergency funding.
Date: September 20, 2010
Creator: Falk, Gene
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
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
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: Responses to Frequently Asked Questions

Description: This report provides responses to frequently asked questions about the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. It is intended to serve as a quick reference to provide easy access to information and data. This report does not provide information on TANF program rules.
Date: September 23, 2014
Creator: Falk, Gene
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal Public Assistance: Policy Overview and Trends

Description: This report discusses the extent to which residents of the United States who are not U.S. citizens should be eligible for federally-funded public aid. This issue meets at the intersection of two major policy areas: immigration policy and welfare policy. This report deals with the four major federal means-tested benefit programs: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TAN… more
Date: September 24, 2014
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
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
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Drug Testing and Crime-Related Restrictions in TANF, SNAP, and Housing Assistance

Description: Report that describes and compares the drug- and crime-related policy restrictions contained in selected federal programs that provide assistance to low-income individuals and families: the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps), and the three primary federal housing assistance programs (the public housing program, the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program, and the project-based Section 8 rental a… more
Date: September 6, 2012
Creator: McCarty, Maggie; Falk, Gene; Aussenberg, Randy Alison & Carpenter, David H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Child Support Enforcement: Program Basics

Description: This report discusses the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program that was enacted in 1975 as a federal-state program (Title IV-D of the Social Security Act) to help strengthen families by securing financial support for children from their noncustodial parent on a consistent and continuing basis and by helping some families to remain self-sufficient and off public assistance by providing the requisite CSE services.
Date: September 12, 2013
Creator: Solomon-Fears, Carmen
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal Public Assistance: Policy Overview and Trends

Description: This report discusses the extent to which residents of the United States who are not U.S. citizens should be eligible for federally-funded public aid. This issue meets at the intersection of two major policy areas: immigration policy and welfare policy. This report deals with the four major federal means-tested benefit programs: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TAN… more
Date: September 27, 2012
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): Program and Funding

Description: This report describes appropriations of Low-Income Home Energy Assistance program (LIHEAP) funds for FY2008 and FY2007. It also discusses current issues and legislation related to LIHEAP. The report also discusses LIHEAP rules, including household eligibility and how funds may be used, and presents the most recent data available from HHS regarding household characteristics and benefit levels. Finally, the last section discusses how each category of LIHEAP funds is distributed to states, as well… more
Date: September 18, 2008
Creator: Perl, Libby
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Poverty in the United States: 2009

Description: This report discusses the state of poverty in the United States, including how poverty is measured, selected poverty-related demographics, and certain federal aid efforts to those who are impoverished.
Date: September 20, 2010
Creator: Gabe, Thomas
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Millennium Development Goals: The September 2010 U.N. High-level Meeting

Description: This report discusses overarching trends in Millennium Development Goals (MDG) progress and lessons learned from previous and ongoing efforts to achieve them. The MDGs are a group of measurable development targets agreed to by 189 U.N. member states - including the United States - as part of the 2000 Millennium Declaration. The MDGs cover a number of issues, such as eradicating extreme hunger and poverty, combating HIV/AIDS, and promoting gender equality and women's empowerment. This report exa… more
Date: September 23, 2010
Creator: Blanchfield, Luisa & Lawson, Marian Leonardo
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Homeless: Overview of the Problem and the Federal Response

Description: This report discusses the problem of homelessness in the U.S. and the resulting policy response. Unlike the skid row "derelicts" who comprised the typical homeless population of the 1960s, today's street people represent many diverse groups including: the mentally ill, evicted families, the aged, alcoholics, drug addicts, abused spouses, abused young people, and cast-off children.
Date: September 14, 1984
Creator: Spar, Karen & Austin, Monique C.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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