Research On The Development Of Aid To Families With Dependent Children Program In The United States

In the 20th century,Aid to Families with Dependent Children program was the most important welfare assistance program for poor children in the United States.The predecessor of AFDC was the Aid to Dependent Children program which established in 1935,and replaced by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program in 1996.During this period,it experienced two stages of development that mainly reflected in the changes of the basic contents of the program's aid eligibility,the government's operational management and coordination with other programs.In the comprehensive analysis of the overall development trends of the AFDC program,on the one hand,it reflected the change of the object of assistance,from the aid for dependent children to the aid for the whole family with dependent children.On the other hand,it reflected the changes in the way of assistance.The government has gradually transformed the simple cash payment benefits into providing employment support to adults in the recipient families by constantly increasing job requirements and restrictive provisions,thus realizing the transformation from welfare income to work income in recipient families.These two trends are actually influenced by the growth number of poor people,the increasing financial burden of the government,and the theoretical changes of welfare reform policies.The AFDC program has played an important and positive role in these two operation and development stages.It has provided life supports for a large number of poor children and their families in the United States,and promoted the development of the welfare rights movement in the United States.However,the program also had some negative effects,resulting in many prejudices of the American public towards social and public welfare,poor single mothers and black welfare recipients.Through the overall exploration of the development of AFDC program,the development trends reflected by the changes of basic contents in its two stages actually embody the special and complex welfare aid concepts formed under the influence of the unique individualism thoughts and values of the United States.It not only emphasizes the leading role of the market in social welfare security,but also limits the government's intervention in welfare assistance.During the development of the AFDC program,the widespread disputes over the aid recipients and the gradual enhancement of the idea of welfare to work reflect the emphasis on individual responsibility and the principle of equality of opportunity in the American welfare aid concept.