Learning to Work: A Functional Approach to Welfare and Higher Education

Federal welfare policy has dramatically shifted from education-based poverty reduction toward work-first mandates. Davis examines the 1996 transformation when the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, departing from the Family Support Act's integrated emphasis on education and employment. While AFDC historically supported college enrollment, TANF actively discourages higher education participation by imposing strict work requirements and shorter benefit periods, funneling recipients into immediate vocational training instead. Through legal and policy analysis, Davis argues that TANF's marriage-promotion provisions and work-first philosophy have proven ineffective at reducing poverty compared to education-based approaches. The article evaluates whether federal welfare policy should be reauthorized to prioritize educational pathways, drawing on empirical evidence and normative principles of human development. Davis contends that federal law should enable—rather than obstruct—welfare recipients' access to degree-granting programs as routes out of poverty.

Topics: Administrative Law · Constitutional Law · Civil Rights

Keywords: welfare reform · TANF · AFDC · work-first policies · higher education · poverty reduction