THE CENTER FOR NEW YORK CITY AFFAIRS
Program Area: Welfare Policy

Next Steps: New York City Welfare Policy After Giuliani
In April, May and June of 2001, the Task Force for Sensible Welfare Reform hosted a series of three miniconferences titled "Next Steps: NYC Welfare Policy After Giuliani." We set out to discuss how human services and public benefit programs might change as the economy slows and a new mayor takes office. We wanted to discuss the lessons practitioners, recipients, policymakers and researchers have learned from recent welfare reform efforts, and we wanted to find out if there were any widely shared views about how best to promote a system that provides more accessible social supports for low-income New Yorkers.

Transcripts
Two transcripts from these three miniconferences are available online for practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and communities, and share a vision for the future of social welfare policy in New York.

Reports

This status report, written a year and a half after New York State formally implemented welfare reform and five years after New York City initiated work and eligibility requirements to reduce caseloads, finds a "persistent information gap" and the lack of any reliable means to measure the results of welfare changes on citizens. As concern mounts about the negative consequences of the implementation of welfare reform in New York City, this report identifies the critical issues that should be addressed and the data needed to forge more effective welfare reform policies.

• Community Development Research Center