ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the major efforts of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services to understand the condition of the low-income population before and after welfare reform. This effort involves many activities across several HHS agencies, most notably the Administration for Children and Families, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). Activities that support and enhance the collection, use, and linking of federal and state administrative data and state-specific surveys are critical to understanding the outcomes of welfare reform. With the help of dedicated policy research funding, ASPE has initiated or participated in a number of activities over the last five years to study the outcomes of welfare reform and assess the impacts of policy changes on the low-income population.
