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IU INSTITUTE RECEIVES $700,000 GRANT
TO FUND STUDY OF WELFARE REFORM IN INDIANA
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.. - The Institute for Family and Social Responsibility, a joint program of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) and the School of Social Work at Indiana University, has received funding of $700,000 to underwrite a study of the impact of welfare reform on community social services in Indiana.
This is the first study in the nation to systematically research the impact of welfare reform on both clients and community and non-profit service providers.
"There are very serious social policy issues that now loom as a result of federal welfare reform efforts," said Maureen Pirog, co-director of the institute and IU professor of public and environmental affairs.
"The new welfare reform legislation, for example, implies changes in more than 100 other social service programs previously tied to the former Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (now known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families)," she said. "Changes in funding levels, eligibility criteria, and time limits on cash assistance are fundamental shifts in the philosophy of dealing with low-income families and children."
The two-year, statewide study is being funded by the Joyce Foundation, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, and the Indiana Township Association.
"Our goal is to help communities and their service agencies assess community needs and their own programs to assure that they are delivering the most appropriate support when and where citizens require it," Pirog said.
There are three specific phases of the study. The first part, directed by Pirog, will look at how people use community social services when they exit welfare rolls. Comparisons will be made between the older Aid to Families with Dependent Children program and the new Temporary Assistance to Needy Families initiative.
The second part of the study, directed by David Reingold, IU assistant professor of public and environmental affairs, will take an in-depth look at community service providers, case loads and funding sources. This phase will attempt to determine whether the cost of serving the poor is being shifted from the federal level to local communities and the potential impacts of such shifts.
The last phase of the study will be directed by Katharine Byers, IU associate professor of social work and co-director of the Institute for Family and Social Responsibility. This phase will explore the issues of temporary emergency poor relief as viewed and practiced by township trustee officials. The research will include analysis of state administrative data, a statewide survey of township trustees, and six countywide case studies.
The IU Institute for Family and Social Responsibility received its initial funding through the Strategic Directions Initiative, in which faculty members were invited to submit proposals for new projects to be supported by university grants. The proposal to establish the institute was ranked first among the 250 proposals submitted in the first round of the SDI initiative.
The institute's mission is to bring together the resources of citizens, governments, communities and IU to better the lives of children and families.
(George Vlahakis, Office of Communications and Marketing, 812-855-0846, gvlahaki@indiana.edu or Sandra Bate, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, 812-855-5490, sbate@indiana.edu)