Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act

Amy Levin

President William Clinton, on August 22, 1996, signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. The intent of this law was to transform the U.S. welfare system into one that provided government assistance in exchange for work. The plan contained specific work requirements and a performance bonus for states that moved welfare recipients into jobs. The bill offered benefits to children and families, including enforced child support, increased child care funding, and guaranteed health care coverage. Legislators deemed the “from welfare to work” reforms necessary due to a perceived misuse and abuse of public funds in the previous welfare system, as well as a limited scope of assistance in some areas. Based on experimental evidence that new approaches could bring about improved attitudes and fiscal advantages, Congress and the president encouraged and supported these reforms. Teen mothers would continue their studies and the law would require federal employees to ...

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