WELFARE & ECONOMIC RIGHTS

policy - advocacy - u.s. government - california

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Policy Analyst Sources

Applied Research Center http://www.arc.org
Reports on racial discrimination and privatization of social services under welfare reform (http://www.arc.org/rapp/pubs.html). Alternative policies to ensure racial equity and fair treatment for welfare recipients (http://www.arc.org/rapp/policies.html). Searchable. ARC is a public policy, educational and research institute whose work emphasizes issues of race and social change.

Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) http://www.cepr.net
CEPR conducts both professional research and public education. The research is oriented towards filling important gaps in the understanding of particular economic and social problems, or the impact of specific policies. The public education portion of CEPR's mission is to present the findings of professional research, both by CEPR and others, in a manner that allows broad segments of the public to know exactly what is at stake in major policy debates.

Center for Law and Social Policy http://www.clasp.org
CLASP publishes reports and policy analysis on welfare policy, child care, child support, marriage promotion, job opportunities for low wage workers, and other issues. Searchable. CLASP, a national non-profit organization, conducts research, policy analysis, technical assistance, and advocacy on issues related to economic security for low-income people.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities http://www.cbpp.org
Legislative and economic analysis of welfare policies, see Welfare Reform/TANF section (http://www.cbpp.org/pubs/welfare.htm) under areas of research. Includes links to online information about TANF, food stamps, child care, Medicaid and SCHIP in each state (http://www.cbpp.org/1-14-04tanf.htm). Also reports on poverty income data, health, food assistance, low income housing, earned income credit, low income immigrants. Searchable. CBPP is a nonpartisan research organization and policy institute that conducts research and analysis on a range of government policies and programs, with an emphasis on those affecting low- and moderate-income people.

Economic Policy Institute http://www.epinet.org
Good site for data and analysis on US economic policy, including jobs and labor market. For welfare publications, see Welfare Issue Guide, http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/issueguide_welfare. Check out Living Standards and Labor Markets section for statistics and analysis on income inequality, wages, unemployment, poverty, welfare. Searchable. The Economic Policy Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that seeks to broaden the public debate about strategies to achieve a prosperous and fair economy.

Institute for Women’s Policy Research http://www.iwpr.org
Fact sheets, reports and policy analysis on marriage promotion, job training and education, child care, impact of welfare reform on women and children in poverty - under Publications section, check PDF Reports on Poverty, Welfare & Income Security. IWPR is an independent, non-profit, scientific research organization established to rectify the limited availability of policy relevant research on women's lives and to inform and stimulate debate on issues of critical importance for women.

State Health Data http://www.statehealthfacts.org
Statehealthfacts.org is a project of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and is designed to provide free, up-to-date, and easy-to-use health data on all 50 states. Statehealthfacts.org provides data on more than 500 health topics.

• Welfare Information Network http://www.financeprojectinfo.org/win/
A clearinghouse for information and analysis on an extensive array of welfare issues - such as TANF reauthorization, work experience programs, education, child care, criminal records, domestic violence, education and training, family formation, time limits, rural, tribal, food stamps, homelessness, health care, immigrants, youth. Political spectrum liberal to conservative. Searchable. A project of the Finance Project.

• Welfare Monitoring Listserv (WELFAREM-L@HERMES.GWU.EDU)
(http://hermes.circ.gwu.edu/archives/welfarem-l.html)
This electronic mail list is a forum for scholars, advocates, organizers and other interested individuals to share research, advocacy strategies, and questions on welfare and welfare reform in individual states and at the national level. List subscribers are very helpful in referring each other to relevant research. Sign up to receive email list, or search the archives. Listserv founded and administered by Institute for Women's Policy Research; hosted at George Washington University.

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Advocacy Sources

The Children's Defense Fund http://www.childrensdefense.org
Publications and reports on jobs and income support/welfare, child poverty, child support, housing - see Family Income section www.childrensdefense.org/familyincome/welfare/default.asp. Searchable. CDF is a national organization advocating for children on health, education and economic issues, in partnership with the religious community.

Legal Momentum http://www.legalmomentum.org/
Formerly NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund. Especially good resource for data on welfare related to marriage promotion, employment discrimination and civil rights, domestic violence, reproductive rights, and child exclusion. Includes state level information. Legislative updates and summary of court cases addressing economic justice for women included. Searchable. Legal Momentum is a national legal advocate for expanding the rights and opportunities of women and girls, focusing on economic justice, freedom from gender-based violence and equality under the law.

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U.S. Government Sources

Economic Research Service Profile of America http://maps.ers.usda.gov/Profiles/
The Economic Research Service is a primary source of economic information and research in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and conduct research, analyze food and commodity markets, produce policy studies, and develop economic and statistical indicators. Profiles of America currently contains about 100 variables related to the socioeconomic status of the population and settlement patterns within the United States from 1990 to 2003. All data are derived from four main sources: the Economic Research Service (ERS), the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Have searchable interface.

Integrated Public Use Microdata Series — International
https://international.ipums.org/international/index.html
IPUMS-International is a project dedicated to collecting and distributing census data from around the world. Its goals are to collect and preserve data and documentation, harmonize data, and disseminate the data absolutely free! IPUMS-International is the world's largest collection of publicly available individual-level census data. The data are samples from population censuses from around the world taken since 1960. Names and other identifying information have been removed. The variables have been given consistent codes and have been documented to enable cross-national and cross-temporal comparison.

US Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. Collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates statistical data such as Consumer Price Index, Unemployment data, data on Industries, earnings, inflation, etc. The BLS also serves as a statistical resource to the Department of Labor. List of State labor agencies can be found here: http://www.bls.gov/bls/ofolist.htm. List of additional government data sites can be found here: http://www.bls.gov/bls/other.htm

US Census http://www.census.gov
Census data on the characteristics of people and economic conditions in the United States. Through the American Factfinder http://factfinder.census.gov/, obtain data in the form of maps, tables, and reports from a variety of Census Bureau sources. They also have fact sheets for quick access to basic demographic, social and economic data on your city, town, county or state or ZIP Code. For a complete list of available data, see http://factfinder.census.gov/jsp/saff/SAFFInfo.jsp?_submenuId=aboutdata_0&_pageId=censuses_surveys

US Department of Health & Human Services
Office of Family Assistance (http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ofa/ ) oversees TANF. Welfare reform section (http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/welfare/index.htm) has statistics, regulations, legislative proposals - including TANF participation rates and Annual Reports to Congress. Searchable.
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (http://aspe.hhs.gov) publishes research on the effectiveness of welfare and related policies - see Human Services Policy section for data and reports on income and poverty, family formation, TANF leavers, and "special populations" (race, ethnicity, immigration, domestic violence, homeless, mental health), welfare and work, children and youth. Check "What's New" for most recent reports. Searchable.

US General Accounting Office http://www.gao.gov
Formerly known as General Accounting Office, GAO investigates federal programs for Congress and is known as the congressional watchdog. Go to GAO Reports section. You can search for welfare related reports by key word or report number. Be as specific as possible in your search - GAO publishes lots of reports!

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California Sources

California Budget Project http://www.cbp.org
Excellent source for data and analysis of low and no-wage workers' issues in California: welfare, work and wages, health, child care, housing, education. Monitors and analyses the impact of California policies and budget. Welfare reform section looks at CalWORKS statistics, work requirements, budget and reauthorization. Readable - you don't need an economics degree to understand it. Good resource for statistical charts and graphs. The California Budget Project (CBP) is a nonprofit nonpartisan organization working to improve public policies affecting the economic and social well-being of low- and middle-income Californians through independent fiscal and policy analysis and public education.

California Department of Social Services - Research & Development Division
http://www.dss.cahwnet.gov/research/default.htm
Good place to find statistics about participants in CalWORKS, children's programs, community care licensing, disability and adult programs, food stamps, foster care, welfare to work, refugee services, fraud. Some data by county, some data broken out by race. Searchable.

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Updated Feb 2005. Please send Web site corrections to datacenter@datacenter.org.