Whose welfare? Book calls for new attention to children

As new welfare reform programs take effect across the nation, more effort is needed to measure how those reforms will impact children, a new book says.

Indicators of Children’s Well-Being (Russell Sage Foundation) examines current efforts to assess children from before birth through their adolescent years and recommends other assessment tools for measuring well-being.

The book’s chapters were written by a number of leading social science experts and edited by Robert M. Hauser of UW–Madison, Brett V. Brown of Child Trends, Inc., and William R. Prosser of Georgetown University.

“This is not an argument against the (welfare reform) changes taking place; rather, it is an argument for investing in the capacity to measure the well-being of vulnerable populations, particularly children, as reform is realized,” writes Thomas J. Corbett, associate director of the Institute for Research on Poverty and assistant professor of social work at UW–Madison, in the book’s foreword.

Throughout the book, experts from academia, government and the private sector assess the collection and analysis of data on economic security, education, family and neighborhood conditions, physical development and social behavior. They also explain what the findings reveal and what improvements are needed to create a more comprehensive and relevant measurement system.

Children’s material well-being must not be measured only by income, several essays argue. Data on education, food consumption, housing, household spending and medical care must also be considered, the authors say. Other contributors evaluate the usefulness of child welfare records, juvenile court statistics and human-service agency records and urge refinement of existing survey instruments, such as the U.S. Census and the Current Population Survey.

Hauser, the book’s lead editor, is a professor of sociology and an affiliate with IRP. He is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Brown is a research associate at Child Trends, Inc., and Prosser is an adjunct professor in the Georgetown University Public Policy Program.

UW–Madison contributors include Corbett; Hauser; Gary D. Sandefur, professor of sociology and affiliate with IRP; James Sears, a doctoral candidate in economics; and Barbara L. Wolfe, IRP director and professor of economics and preventive medicine.

In addition to Corbett’s foreword, Hauser authored a chapter titled “Indicators of High School Completion and Dropout”; Sandefur co-authored a chapter titled “Family Structure, Stability, and the Well-Being of Children”; and Sears and Wolfe together authored a chapter titled “Health Indicators for Preschool Children, Ages One to Four.”

Copies of Indicators of Children’s Well-Being are available through the Russell Sage Foundation at (800) 524-6401.