Welfare Reform and Children's Health.

This study investigates the effect of the Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) program on children's health outcomes using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation over the period 1994 to 2005. The TANF policies have been credited with increased employment for single mothers and a dramatic drop in welfare caseload. Our results show that these policies also had a significant effect on various measures of children's medical utilization among low-income families. These health measures include a rating of the child's health status reported by the parents, the number of times that parents consulted a doctor, and the number of nights that the child stayed in a hospital. We compare the overall changes of health status and medical utilization for children with working and nonworking mothers. We find that the child's health status as reported by the parents is affected by the maternal employment status.

State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). Interim final rule.

This rule implements a provision enacted by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 and reflects the transfer of the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the Administration for Community Living (ACL) in HHS. The previous regulations were issued by CMS under the authority granted by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA `90), Section 4360.

Global justice, capabilities approach and commercial surrogacy in India.

Inequalities, ineffective governance, unclear surrogacy regulations and unethical practices make India an ideal environment for global injustice in the process of commercial surrogacy. This article aims to apply the 'capabilities approach' to find possibilities of global justice through human fellowship in the context of commercial surrogacy. I draw primarily on my research findings supplemented by other relevant empirical research and documentary films on surrogacy. The paper reveals inequalities and inadequate basic entitlements among surrogate mothers as a consequence of which they are engaged in unjust contracts. Their limited entitlements also limit their opportunities to engage in enriching goals. It is the role of the state to provide all its citizens with basic entitlements and protect their basic human rights. Individuals in India evading their basic duty also contribute to the existing inequalities. Individual responsibilities of the medical practitioners and the intended parents are in question here as they are more inclined towards self-interest rather than commitment towards human fellowship. At the global level, the injustice in transnational commercial surrogacy practices in developing countries calls for an international declaration of women and child rights in third party reproduction with a normative vision of mutual fellowship and human dignity.

Complementarities or contradictions? Scoping the health dimensions of "flexicurity" labor market policies.

Flexicurity, or the integration of labor market flexibility with social security and active labor market policies, has figured prominently in economic and social policy discussions in Europe since the mid-1990s. Such policies are designed to transcend traditional labor-capital conflicts and to form a mutually supportive nexus of flexibility and security within a climate of intensified competition and rapid technological change. International bodies have marketed flexicurity as an innovative win-win strategy for employers and workers alike, commonly citing Denmark and The Netherlands as exemplars of best practice. In this article, we apply a social determinants of health framework to conduct a scoping review of the academic and gray literature to: (a) better understand the empirical associations between flexicurity practices and population health in Denmark and (b) assess the relevance and feasibility of implementing such policies to improve health and reduce health inequalities in Ontario, Canada. Based on 39 studies meeting our full inclusion criteria, preliminary findings suggest that flexicurity is limited as a potential health promotion strategy in Ontario, offers more risks to workers' health than benefits, and requires the strengthening of other social protections before it could be realistically implemented within a Canadian context.

Rural income transfer programs and rural household food security in Ethiopia.

Based on household food security surveys conducted in Ethiopia, this study seeks to understand the roles and limitations of income transfer projects as determinants of households' food security. By covering the Food-For-Work Programs (FFWPs) and the Productive Safety Net Programs (PSNPs), the study shows that these programs served as temporary safety nets for food availability, but they were limited in boosting the dietary diversity of households and their coping strategies. Households which participated in the programs increased their supply of food as a temporary buffer to seasonal asset depletion. However, participation in the programs was marred by inclusion error (food-secure households were included) and exclusion error (food-insecure households were excluded). Income transfer projects alone were not robust determinants of household food security. Rather, socio-demographic variables of education and family size as well as agricultural input of land size were found to be significant in accounting for changes in households' food security. The programs in the research sites were funded through foreign aid, and the findings of the study imply the need to reexamine the approaches adopted by bilateral donors in allocating aid to Ethiopia. At the same time the study underscores the need to improve domestic policy framework in terms of engendering rural local institutional participation in project management.

Impact and ethics of excluding sweetened beverages from the SNAP program.

The state of New York recently petitioned the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for permission to conduct a demonstration project in which sweetened beverages would be excluded from the foods eligible to be purchased with Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP) benefits (i.e., food stamps) in New York City. The USDA and advocacy groups have raised objections to new SNAP restrictions such as the proposed exclusion of sweetened beverages. Some objections rest on empirical issues best resolved by demonstration projects or pilot studies of new exclusions. Other objections question the equity of excluding sweetened beverages from SNAP; these objections are important but not ethically decisive. The USDA should approve the proposed demonstration project and should encourage other pilot studies to assess the effects of excluding sweetened beverages from SNAP.

Welfare policies and adolescents: exploring the roles of sibling care, maternal work schedules, and economic resources.

This study uses data from three longitudinal experimental evaluations of US state welfare reform programs to examine whether program-induced changes in families' reliance on sibling care are linked with the effects of welfare programs on selected schooling outcomes of high risk, low-income adolescents. The findings from two of the welfare programs indicate that increased reliance on sibling care was concomitant with unfavorable effects of the programs on adolescent schooling outcomes. In the third welfare program examined, the program did not yield any increases in the use of sibling care or unfavorable effects on adolescent schooling outcomes, suggesting that sibling care is one likely contributor to the negative effects of welfare programs on adolescent schooling outcomes. These findings are discussed in terms of the pattern of the programs' effects on families' income, as well as maternal work on nonstandard schedules, aside from the programs' effects on maternal employment, which play contributory roles in shaping the extent to which welfare programs led to less favorable effects on the schooling outcomes of adolescents with younger siblings.

Cooperation in USDA studies and evaluations, and full use of federal funds in nutrition assistance programs nondiscretionary provisions of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, Public Law 111-296. Final Rule.

This final rule incorporates into the regulations governing the Programs authorized under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) two nondiscretionary provisions of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFK Act). The HHFK Act requires State and local cooperation in Department of Agriculture studies and evaluations related to Programs authorized under the NSLA and the CNA. The HHFK Act also amends the NSLA to stipulate that Federal funds must not be subject to State budget restrictions or limitations, including hiring freezes, work furloughs, and travel restrictions. This final rule amends regulations for the National School Lunch Program; the Special Milk Program for Children; the School Breakfast Program; the Summer Food Service Program; the Child and Adult Care Food Program; State Administrative Expense Funds ; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children; and the WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program. These provisions will strengthen program integrity by ensuring that sufficient data is made available for studies and evaluations. Additionally, exempting Federal funds from State budgetary restrictions or limitations is intended to increase the ability of State agencies to administer USDA's nutrition assistance programs effectively.

Parallel realities: exploring poverty dynamics using mixed methods in rural Bangladesh.

This paper explores the implications of using two methodological approaches to study poverty dynamics in rural Bangladesh. Using data from a unique longitudinal study, we show how different methods lead to very different assessments of socio-economic mobility. We suggest five ways of reconciling these differences: considering assets in addition to expenditures, proximity to the poverty line, other aspects of well-being, household division, and qualitative recall errors. Considering assets and proximity to the poverty line along with expenditures resolves three-fifths of the qualitative and quantitative differences. Use of such integrated mixed-methods can therefore improve the reliability of poverty dynamics research.

Women's property rights and gendered policies: implications for women's long-term welfare in rural Tanzania.

This paper evaluates effects of community-level women's property and inheritance rights on women's economic outcomes using a 13 year longitudinal panel from rural Tanzania. In the preferred model specification, inverse probability weighting is applied to a woman-level fixed effects model to control for individual-level time invariant heterogeneity and attrition. Results indicate that changes in women's property and inheritance rights are significantly associated with women's employment outside the home, self-employment and earnings. Results are not limited to sub-groups of marginalised women. Findings indicate lack of gender equity in sub-Saharan Africa may inhibit economic development for women and society as a whole.

The uneven patterning of welfare benefits at the twilight of AFDC: assessing the influence of institutions, race, and citizen preferences.

Scholars have been slow to test welfare state theories on the extensive subnational variation in the United States during the recent period of retrenchment. We assess institutional politics theories, literature on race and social policy, and public opinion arguments relative to levels of support in states' Aid to Families Dependent Children programs from 1982 until its elimination in 1996. Pooled time-series results demonstrate that the determinants of spending during retrenchment are mostly similar to those driving development and expansion. Pro-spending actors and professionalized state institutions limit benefit curtailment, while jurisdictions with larger African- American populations have lower benefits. Additionally, liberal citizens positively impact support and strengthen the effects of state institutions, but this effect is attenuated in states with larger African-American populations.

The Bruce Report and social welfare leadership in the politics of Toronto's "Slums", 1934­1939.

Slum clearance and rebuilding first became a serious political project in Toronto during the 1930s. Following the release of a systematic housing survey known as the Bruce Report (1934), a set of actors distinguished by their planning authority with respect to social agencies, influence over social work education, coordination of social research, and role as spokespersons of religious bodies inaugurated a political struggle over state power. While the campaign failed, it called forth a reaction from established authorities and reconfigured the local political field as it related to low-income housing. This article gives an account of these processes by drawing upon correspondence and minutes of meetings of city officials and the campaign's organizers, newspaper clippings, and published materials.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) carry-over funds. Final rule.

This final rule implements the statutory change to section 404(e) of the Social Security Act as enacted by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This change allows States, Tribes and Territories to use Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program funds carried over from a prior year for any allowable TANF benefit, service or activity. Previously these funds could be used only to provide assistance. This final rule applies to States, local governments, and Tribes that administer the TANF program.