Welfare Reform on the Web (June 2002): Child Welfare - Overseas

CHILD CARE SUBSIDIES AND THE EMPLOYMENT OF WELFARE RECIPIENTS

M.K. Meyers, T. Heintze and D.A. Wolf

Demography, vol.39, 2002, p.165-179

Article uses data from a two-wave panel survey of current or recent welfare recipients in California in 1995 to examine the effect of the receipt of child care subsidies on the labour market activity of low-income single mothers. Receipt of child care subsidy was found to be an uncommon event, and 69% of the mothers engaged in some form of labour market activity paid for child care themselves or obtained it free from family members. Analysis suggests that low levels of childcare subsidisation may prevent welfare recipients from making the transition to employment.

A DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF CHILD CARE COSTS ON THE WORK DECISIONS OF LOW-INCOME MOTHERS WITH INFANTS

C. L. Baum

Demography, vol.39, 2002, p.139-164

Article uses a hazard framework to examine a mother's decisions about work and hours of work after childbirth. It focuses on low-income mothers with infants because they are the ones most affected by childcare costs. Results show that childcare costs are a barrier to work that is larger for low-income mothers than for non-income mothers. Further, childcare costs have large negative effects on hours of work.

PARADOX OF INTER-COUNTRY ADOPTION: ANALYSING ROMANIA'S EXPERIENCE AS A SENDING COUNTRY

J. Dickens

International Journal of Social Welfare, vol.11, 2002, p.76-83

Romania's economic situation, compounded by the over-hasty decentralisation of child welfare services (transferring responsibility to county councils which lacked sufficient resources or expertise) has created conditions in which it needs inter-country adoption to bring in money to support in-country services. At the same time the interests of the international agencies involved in arranging these adoptions are in fundamental contradiction with the goals of domestic services. They need a supply of children to satisfy their customers who want to adopt, and are not interested in promoting in-country solutions. At the same time the Romanian government wants to curry favour with the USA, which is a major source of demand for children for inter-country adoption.