The challenges of the current situation of a challenged economy have
resurrected an enduring debate about the state of the poor. It seems that
the ranks are growing despite the attempts near the end of the last century
to reform the standards of social welfare. Two schools of thought have
lead the debate and conflicted in both theory and implementation.
Institutionalism and behaviorism conflict on a few points that challenge
the application of social welfare policy, and especially the late 20th
century incarnation of Aide for Families with Dependent Children, (AFDC)
TANF Temporary Aid to Needy Families, the first of many attempts to
redirect the focus of social welfare toward retraining the poor to reduce
PRWORA states that the purposes of the TANF program are to assist
needy families, to fight "welfare dependency" by promoting work and
marriage, to reduce non-marital births, and to encourage the formation
and maintenance of two-parent families (Committee on Ways and Means
2000, 354; Haskins, Sawhill, and Weaver 2001b, 2). (Peterson, 2002)
Thought eh large and demonstrative goals of the program were lofty and are
essential issues in need of address within our increasingly fractured
society the actual implementation of the program has left many questions.
As the TANF program has been implemented, reducing "welfare
dependency" has received the greatest emphasis, and success in meeting
this goal has been measured largely in terms of declining caseloads
and increasing employment among poor single mothers. There are many
who continue to see this as the primary goal of welfare reform and
argue that reducing caseloads and increasing employment among poor
single mothers should remain the primary policy focus. (Peterson,
The behaviorist would likely be in favor of the TANF program as it was
...