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Copyright 1999 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
Committee On National Statistics 1998-1999
JOHN E. ROLPH (Chair),
Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California
JOSEPH G. ALTONJI,
Department of Economics, Northwestern University
JULIE DAVANZO,
RAND, Santa Monica, California
WILLIAM F. EDDY,
Department of Statistics, Carnegie Mellon University
WILLIAM D. KALSBEEK,
Survey Research Unit, Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina
RODERICK J.A. LITTLE,
School of Public Health, University of Michigan
THOMAS A. LOUIS,
Division of Biostatistics, University of Minnesota
CHARLES F. MANSKI,
Department of Economics, Northwestern University
WILLIAM D. NORDHAUS,
Department of Economics, Yale University
JANET L. NORWOOD,
The Urban Institute, Washington, DC
EDWARD B. PERRIN,
Department of Health Services, University of Washington
PAUL R. ROSENBAUM,
Department of Statistics, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
FRANCISCO J. SAMANIEGO,
Division of Statistics, University of California, Davis
RICHARD L. SCHMALENSEE,
Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIRON L. STRAF, Director (on leave)
ANDREW A. WHITE, Acting Director
Board On Children, Youth, And Families 1998
JACK P. SHONKOFF (Chair),
Heller Graduate School, Brandeis University
DAVID V. B. BRITT,
Children's Television Workshop, New York, New York
LARRY BUMPASS,
Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin
SHEILA BURKE,
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
DAVID CARD,
Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley
KEVIN GRUMBACH,
Department of Family and Community Medicine, Primary Care Research Center, University of California, San Francisco
MAXINE HAYES,
Community and Family Health, Department of Health, Washington
MARGARET HEAGARTY,
Department of Pediatrics, Harlem Hospital Center, New York, New York
ALETHA C. HUSTON,
Department of Human Ecology, University of Texas at Austin
RENIE R. JENKINS,
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Howard University Hospital
SHEILA KAMERMAN,
School of Social Work, Columbia University
SANDERS KORENMAN,
School of Public Affairs, Baruch College
HONORABLE CINDY LEDERMAN, Circuit Court Judge,
Juvenile Justice Center, Miami, Florida
SARA McLANAHAN,
Office of Population Research, Princeton University
VONNIE McLOYD,
Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
PAUL NEWACHECK,
Institute of Health Policy Studies and Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco
DEBORAH STIPEK,
Graduate School of Education, University of California, Los Angeles
PAUL WISE,
Department of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center
EVAN CHARNEY (Liaison),
Council, Institute of Medicine
RUTH T. GROSS (Liaison),
Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Institute of Medicine
ELEANOR E. MACCOBY (Liaison),
Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
MICHELE KIPKE, Director
DEBORAH A. PHILLIPS, Director (until June 1998)
Food And Nutrition Board 1998
CUTBERTO GARZA (Chair),
Division of Nutrition, Cornell University
JOHN W. ERDMAN, JR. (Vice Chair),
Division of Nutritional Sciences, College of Agriculture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
LINDSAY H. ALLEN,
Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis
BENJAMIN CABALLERO,
Center for Human Nutrition, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health
FERGUS M. CLYDESDALE,
Department of Food Science, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
ROBERT J. COUSINS,
Center for Nutritional Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville
JOHANNA T. DWYER,
Frances Stern Nutrition Center, New England Medical Center, Boston
SCOTT M. GRUNDY,
Center for Human Nutrition, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas
CHARLES H. HENNEKENS,
Harvard Medical School, and Division of Preventive Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston
SANFORD A. MILLER,
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio
ROSS L. PRENTICE,
Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle
A. CATHARINE ROSS,
Department of Nutrition, Pennsylvania State University
ROBERT E. SMITH,
R.E. Smith Consulting, Inc., Newport, Vermont
VIRGINIA A. STALLINGS,
Nutrition Section, Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
VERNON R. YOUNG,
Laboratory of Human Nutrition, School of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
STEVE L. TAYLOR (Ex Officio),
Food Processing Center, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
ALLISON YATES, Director
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Preface
This report was prepared in response to a request from the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It summarizes the discussions at a February 1998 workshop convened by the Committee on National Statistics; the Board on Children, Youth, and Families; and the Food and Nutrition Board.
The fiscal year 1998 (FY1998) appropriations bill for USDA gave ERS responsibility for all research and evaluation studies on USDA food assistance programs. The bill provided $18 million to fund these studies, an increase from $7 million in FY1997. ERS asked the Committee on National Statistics for assistance in identifying new areas of research and data collection and in further improving the evaluation studies of food assistance programs. By bringing together many who work on evaluation of food assistance programs, policy analysis, survey methods, nutrition, child nutrition and child development, outcome measurement, and state welfare programs, the issues presented and discussed at the workshop provided ERS with information that could be used to develop a framework for their research program.
On August 22, 1996, President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). This comprehensive welfare reform act replaced the entitlement status of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant that now allows states to set their own eligibility standards and benefit levels for individuals. PRWORA emphasizes a "welfare to work" concept, including time limits for assistance, strong work requirements, a performance bonus to reward states for moving welfare recipients into jobs, and
increased funding for child care. PRWORA also brought many changes to food assistance programs. These are discussed in detail in the main text of this workshop summary. The workshop discussions focused on the impact of PRWORA-related changes in food assistance programs, not on the impact of these changes in public assistance more generally. These topics are, of course, closely related, and numerous studies are under way to measure and evaluate the far-reaching effects of welfare reform.1 Although some of these evaluation efforts have been cited in this report as effective models for program evaluation that could be applied to food assistance programs, this report is not intended to provide a comprehensive review of the current research in the evaluation of welfare reform.
The agenda for the workshop was developed in consultation with ERS staff to ensure that workshop discussions would provide them with the information they were seeking. Workshop speakers, identified through literature reviews and peer nomination, were invited to make brief presentations on the issues they feel are of most concern in their particular field. Because of time constraints and the numerous topics to be addressed, some participants were asked to make 15-minute presentations, and others were asked to lead off discussions with two or three minutes of remarks. General discussion among all participants present followed each agenda session. The issues presented in this report as well as the suggestions and ideas for future directions in program evaluation are the opinions of attendees of the workshop. (See the Appendix for the workshop agenda and the list of participants.)
It is appropriate to note that, since the workshop was held, ERS has outlined their plans to spend the funds allocated for the evaluation of the food assistance programs and established the Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program (FANRP). In FY1998, through competitive grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts, FANRP funded several extramural research projects that examine many of the key research issues of the food assistance programs.2 Nevertheless, it is hoped that the ideas presented and the issues discussed in this report are found useful to all involved in the evaluation of the food assistance programs and remain applicable to all future evaluation efforts.
1 |
For a list of major welfare reform studies, see National Research Council and Institute of Medicine (1998: Appendix B). |
2 |
A summary of the research projects that were funded by FANRP in FY1998 as well the announcement of the program's focus for FY1999 can be found at the ERS website: www.econ.ag.gov. |
Acknowledgments
Many people contributed valuable help and assistance to the workshop on evaluating food assistance programs in an era of welfare reform and the preparation of this report; the Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT), the Board on Children, Youth, and Families (BCYF), and the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) appreciate their cooperation and input. We would like to thank all of the people who presented at the workshop, sharing their expertise, experiences, and concerns through presentations that brought clarity and focus to this emerging issue, and for their thoughts and comments that helped shape this report. We also thank those who participated in the discussions, contributing to a prolific exchange of ideas. Thanks are due especially to Charles Manski, CNSTAT member, who, as chair of the workshop, provided valuable advice during the planning stages and the leadership necessary for conducting a successful workshop.
The agenda for the workshop was developed in consultation with Susan Offutt, administrator of the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Shannon Hamm, and other ERS staff, whose input was essential in identifying of the objectives of the workshop.
Particular appreciation is due to those who worked to organize the workshop and prepare this report. Elizabeth Evanson of the Institute for Research on Poverty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison served as the rapporteur for the workshop and prepared the initial draft of this report. The Institute for Research on Poverty generously contributed to the enterprise through their support for Evanson's time. Miron Straf, CNSTAT director, led and oversaw the planning of the workshop, from its development to the preparation of this report. CNSTAT staff members Terri Scanlan and Telissia Thompson were responsible for all of
the details involved in organizing the workshop, ensuring its successful fruition, and preparing this report. Jane Durch of the CNSTAT staff was responsible for the initial background work and planning of the workshop. During the development of the workshop, valuable advice was contributed by Deborah Phillips, BCYF director, and Allison Yates, FNB director. Janet Overton edited the final draft and Terri Scanlan revised the report in response to many comments from reviewers and others.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the Report Review Committee of the National Research Council. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report: Isabel R. Contento, Program in Nutrition and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University; Julie DaVanzo, RAND, Santa Monica, California; Johanna T. Dwyer, New England Medical Center, Boston; Sanders Korenman, School of Public Affairs, Baruch College, City University of New York; Betsy Lozoff, Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan; Ernesto Pollitt, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis; Benjamin Senauer, Center for International Food and Agricultural Policy, University of Minnesota; and Sarahelen Thompson, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois.
Although the individuals listed above have provided constructive comments and suggestions, it must be emphasized that responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
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