Research On The Reform Of Family Welfare Policy In Texas,USA（1995-2002）

The American family welfare policy originated from Roosevelt’s New Deal period and has always been based on relief welfare.During the period of Kennedy and Johnson,the benefit scope and fiscal expenditure of the family welfare policy expanded,and the disadvantages of the family welfare policy gradually appeared and were intertwined with some social problems.After the 1970 s,the idea of self-sufficiency and substituting work for welfare gradually became mainstream.Under this idea,Nixon and his subsequent presidents tried to adjust the family welfare policy,and the states also experimented with welfare reform under the condition of federal immunity.In 1995,the Texas（hereafter referred to as Texas）House of Representatives passed Bill 1863,the state’s major welfare reform plan,and directed the Texas Department of Human Services to apply for a federal waiver to implement a new program called "Achieving Change for Texans." plan.The waiver was granted in March 1996,and the waiver expires in 2002.On August 22,1996,President Clinton formally approved the Federal Welfare Reform Act,the Personal Responsibility and Job Opportunity Reconciliation Act.The Act replaces the Assistance for Families with Minor Children（AFDC）with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families（TANF）program.The Commonwealth will provide initial funding for the implementation of TANF,due at the end of fiscal year 2002,and most legislative activity thereafter will continue to be funded on a short-term basis.Texas has opted to continue running its new program under the waiver.In 1997,House Bill 1863 came into effect.The Texas Family Welfare Reform is based on the principle of work first,and aims to promote people who receive benefits to turn to work as soon as possible and achieve self-sufficiency.Different levels of time limits were implemented according to the applicant’s education and work level,and the workforce development agency was restructured and rights were devolved a second time.Not only has it promoted the development of the Texas workforce,but also has certain lessons for other state and federal welfare reforms.This paper selects the period from 1995 to 2002 as the time limit,and the main content consists of four parts.The first part is the introduction,which mainly introduces the reason for choosing the topic of this paper,the research situation of the relevant content in the domestic and foreign academic circles,the research purpose and significance,and the innovation of this research.The second part,starting from the development and evolution of American family welfare policy,firstly analyzes the drawbacks in the development process and the reform efforts made by successive governments after the 1970s;The introduction and main content of the Job Opportunity Coordination Act,and finally discusses the motivation for the reform of family welfare policy in Texas.The third part focuses on the specific measures of family welfare reform in Texas using its immunity under the guidance of the federal welfare reform act.The content and implementation of reforms in the areas of temporary cash assistance,job promotion,supportive welfare policies and immigration benefits.The fourth part,through the research on the content of the reform of the family welfare policy in Texas,further discusses the achievements and existing problems of the reform of the family welfare policy in Texas.Finally,through the above content,summed up the enlightenment to the reform of American family welfare policy and to my country’s social security policy.The conclusion part summarizes and improves the main points and conclusions of this paper.