Wedding Bell Blues.(marriage and welfare)

Marriage and Welfare Reform

When Congress passed historic welfare reform legislation in 1996, it had three goals: replacing welfare with work, decreasing the number of children born out of wedlock, and promoting marriage. Progress toward the first goal has been impressive. Caseloads have dropped dramatically as millions of previously welfare-dependent heads of households have entered the paid labor force.

But what about the other two goals? How much progress has been made in reducing out-of-wedlock childbearing and promoting stable two-parent, married househ