Past Projects
W-2 Policy Reform
Sanctioned by Design: W-2 Punishment Policies that
Hurt Families and Best Practice Models that Would
Help
Author: Kathleen Mulligan-Hansel, Ph.D. (IWF)
Date: January 2005
This report shows how Wisconsin’s welfare sanctions policies undermine participants’ progress toward self-sufficiency and offers best-practice ideas from other states that would improve Wisconsin performance. (24 pp.)
Online Versions:
» Full Report (PDF)
Unfair Sanctions: Does W-2 Punish
People of Color?
Authors: Kathleen Mulligan-Hansel, Ph.D. (IWF) & Pamela S. Fendt (Center for Economic Development/University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
Date: October 2002
This report shows racial and ethnic disparities in the use of sanctions. The report calls for policy changes that would ensure more protection for all participants, and especially people of color, against unfair sanctioning. (10 pp.)
Online Versions:
» Full Report (PDF)
» Summary (PDF)
(available online only)
Related: Press Release
TANF Reauthorization: The Bush
Administration Proposal and Wisconsin's W-2 Program:
Problems and Pitfalls for Families in Poverty
Authors: Kathleen Mulligan-Hansel, Ph.D. (IWF) & Pamela S. Fendt (Center for Economic Development/University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
Date: March 2002
This paper summarizes research on the effects of the W-2 program on families in poverty and looks at the key dimensions of the Bush Administration proposal and its potential effects on Wisconsin. It includes a recommendation of priorities for TANF reauthorization. (9 pp.)
Online Versions:
» Full Report (PDF)
(available online only)
Passing the Buck: W-2 and Emergency
Services in Milwaukee County
Authors: Kathleen Mulligan-Hansel, Ph.D. (IWF), Pamela S. Fendt (Center for Economic Development/University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), and Marcus White (Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee)
Date: December 2001
The demand for emergency assistance increased dramatically between 1995 and 2000, according to this report. The report tracks utilization of community services that help families maintain food security and access to medical care and assist families with housing crises. This research sheds new light on Wisconsin's welfare reform experiment, which dismantled the government programs that support families in crisis. The result: more pressure on community organizations and congregations to provide a private voluntary safety net for Milwaukee's low-income families. (37 pp.)
Online Version:
» Full Report (PDF)
» Summary (PDF)
Related: Press Release
Education and Training Crucial
to Make W-2 Work
Author: Institute for Wisconsin's Future
Date: Summer 2001
This brief report, in a tri-fold format for use as a handout, provides an overview of education and training approaches that can improve employment options for W-2 recipients. It includes research-based recommendations and best practice models. (6 pp.)
Order Print Copies (unavailable online)
The Impact of Welfare Reform on
Wisconsin's Hmong Aid Recipients
Authors: Thomas Moore, Ph.D. & Vicky Selkowe (IWF)
Date: December 1999
The data collected from 137 Hmong families statewide indicates that the W-2 program does not adequately address the needs of these vulnerable families. Most Hmong W-2 participants surveyed lack the job skills, educational attainment or language ability needed for employment and yet are receiving little or no skill training through the W-2 program. The majority of Hmong respondents experience serious difficulty communicating with their W-2 caseworkers and a substantial number are unable to meet their basic food and clothing needs. (38 pp.)
Online Version:
» Full Report (PDF)
» Summary (PDF)
Related: Press Release
Domestic Violence Victims in Transition
from Welfare to Work: Barriers to Self-Sufficiency
and the W-2 Response
Authors: Thomas Moore, Ph.D. & Vicky Selkowe (IWF)
Date: September 1999
Surveys completed by 274 statewide victims of domestic violence provide evidence of the destructive role domestic violence plays in preventing low-income women from succeeding in employment or education efforts. The study indicates that Wisconsin's welfare system, W-2, is not able to adequately identify or support victims of domestic violence. The report contains recommendations for W-2 improvements developed by IWF and statewide advocacy groups. (26 pp.)
Online Version:
» Summary (PDF)
Order Print Copies (Full Report also available)
Related: Press Release
Overview
of Current Research on Wisconsin Works (W-2), Vols.
1 & 2
Authors: Michael Grover (IWF) (Vol.
1)
Vicky Selkowe & Patricia Neale (IWF) (Vol. 2)
Dates: March 1998 & July 1999
These booklets provide an introduction to and overview of current W-2 research and monitoring efforts, as well as contact information for statewide organizations leading these efforts. Key findings are also included for completed projects. The booklets are designed to continue and expand a dialogue on the need for research and advocacy coordination. (50 & 56 pp.)
Online Versions:
» Full Booklet, Vol. 1(PDF)
» Full Booklet, Vol. 2 (PDF)
Order Print Copies(Vol. 2 only)
The Growing Crisis Among Wisconsin's
Poorest Families: A Comparison of Welfare Caseload
Declines and Trends in the State's Poverty Population,
1986-1997
Authors: Thomas Moore, Ph.D. & Vicky Selkowe (IWF)
Date: June 1999
This study tracks income trends among food stamp households with children and reveals that, despite the dramatic decline in Wisconsin’s cash assistance caseloads, Wisconsin has not seen a commensurate decline in poverty. The study also shows a substantial increase in the number of households with incomes less than 50 percent of the poverty level. (23 pp.)
Online Version:
» Summary (PDF)
Order Print Copies (Full Report also available)
The W-2 Job Path: An Assessment
of the Employment Trajectory of W-2 Participants
in Milwaukee
Author: Institute for Wisconsin's Future
Date: July 1998
Interviews with 700 Milwaukee W-2 participants and nearly 300 local employers reiterate the gap between the education and skill levels required by employers and the skills and training of the W-2 population. The interviews reveal that the W-2 program does not adequately address this gap and indicates as well that clients are not being informed of critical support services. (26 pp.)
Online Versions:
» Full Report (PDF)
» Summary (PDF)
Order Print Copies (Full Report available)
Transitions to W-2: The First Six
Months of Welfare Replacement
Author: Institute for Wisconsin's Future
Date: June 1998
This report examines W-2’s early implementation problems, including inappropriate turning away of W-2 applicants, mistaken labeling of clients as "job ready," and failure of W-2 agencies to inform applicants about support services. (16 pp.)
Online Version:
» Full Report (PDF)
W-2 (Wisconsin Works): An Analysis
of Impact on Families and Children
Authors: Anne Statham (University of Wisconsin-Parkside) & Pamela Fendt (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
Date: November 1995
This report offers early analysis of the W-2 system and projections about its potential impacts on Wisconsin’s low-income families and children based on labor market information and discussion of W-2 policy components. It is the second part of a two-part study and serves as a companion to W-2 (Wisconsin Works): An Analysis of Feasibility and Impact (below). (23 pp.)
Online Version:
» Full Report (PDF)
Order Print Copies (Full Report available)
W-2 (Wisconsin Works): An Analysis
of Feasibility and Impact
Author: Anne Statham (University of Wisconsin-Parkside) & Pamela Fendt (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
Date: October 1995
This report offers early analysis of the W-2 system and projections about its potential impacts on participants, Wisconsin’s low-income workers, and the state's economic system based on labor market information and discussion of W-2 policy components. It is the first part of a two-part study and serves as a companion to W-2 (Wisconsin Works): An Analysis of Impact on Families and Children (above). (14 pp.)
Online Version:
Full Report (PDF)
Low Wage Workers & Self Sufficiency
Danger Zones: When Earning More
Can Mean Getting Less
Authors: Kathleen Mulligan-Hansel, Ph.D. (IWF) & Steve Holt (Holt & Associates Solutions/New Hope Project)
Date: November 2003
This paper documents the relationships among three support programs (Food Stamps, childcare subsidies, SCHIP health insurance) and two tax credits (EITC and Homestead Credit) and traces the impact these relationships—creating effective hidden penalties or high marginal tax rates—have on the total household resources available to working families in Wisconsin. (21 pp.)
Online Version:
» Full Paper (PDF)
(available online only)
Treading Water in the New Economy:
An Overview of Wisconsin's Low-wage Working Families
Authors: Kathleen Mulligan-Hansel, Ph.D. & Jack Norman, Ph.D. (IWF)
Date: September 2001
Wisconsin's growing population of working poor families are earning too little to meet many basic needs and receiving few benefits from either their employers or the state. This study shows that these working families are experiencing more severe economic problems than policymakers ever anticipated and the programs designed to alleviate such problems are not adequately serving their needs. As a result, fundamental changes in public and private support programs are needed if the working poor are to achieve self-sufficiency. (36 pp.)
Online Versions:
» Full Report (PDF)
» Summary (PDF)
Making Work Work: Addressing
Wisconsin's Labor Shortage Through State Policies
Toward Low-Wage Workers
Author: Institute for Wisconsin's Future
Date: March 2001
This conference produced a series of papers discussing the policies toward low-wage workers that may be contributing to Wisconsin's labor shortage. The papers call attention to the problem of high marginal tax rates experienced by low-wage workers.
Conference Papers:
» Why Work Doesn't Always Pay (19 pp.) (PDF)
» Quick Summaries of Each Policy Issue (7 pp.) (PDF)
(available online only)
Barely Getting By: Wisconsin's
Working Poor Families
Authors: Institute for Wisconsin's Future, Center on Wisconsin Strategy, & Wisconsin Council on Children and Families
Date: July 2000
Despite Wisconsin's 1990s booming economy, a large segment of the state's working families is locked out of jobs that pay family supporting wages and cannot access critical support services. This report documents key factors affecting working families, combining labor market and wage data with profiles of real families from communities throughout the state. (24 pp.)
Online Versions:
» Full Report (PDF)
» Summary (PDF)
Order Print Copies (Summary only)
FIRST Model (Family Income Resource
Simulation Tool)
Producer: Institute for Wisconsin's Future
Date: May 2000
FIRST is the "first of its kind" tool which enables users to see exactly how working families are faring in our new economy. This interactive computer model can look at a variety of family compositions in Wisconsin's 72 counties and track their progress as they move up the wage ladder. (Requires Windows 95 or higher operating system and Microsoft Excel 97 or higher)
Online Version:
» Full Brochure (PDF)
Related: Press Release 1, Press Release 2
Training and Wage Levels in the
Wisconsin Job Market: An Analysis of the Relationship
Between Wage Levels and Educational Requirements
in Occupational Growth Areas
Author: Institute for Wisconsin's Future
Date: 1998
This report examines Wisconsin's labor market and fast growing occupations, revealing a large discrepancy between skill levels of AFDC/W-2 recipients and the skills required for most available positions. (7 pp.)
Online Version:
» Full Report (PDF)
Economic Development
Community Benefits in the Park
East Corridor: Building a Better Milwaukee
Author: Good Jobs and Livable Neighborhoods
Date: 2003
IWF co-chairs Good Jobs and Livable Neighborhoods, a Milwaukee coalition of over 30 organizations that has been organizing to ensure that the Park East Freeway development meets demands for job quality, affordable housing, local hiring, environmental protection, and community monitoring of the project. This brochure provides a summary of the project. (4 pp.)
Online Version:
Full Report (PDF)
Other Areas
Housing Affordability in the Milwaukee
Metropolitan Area: A Matter of Income, Race, and
Policy
Authors: Gregory D. Squires & Sally O'Connor (Department of Sociology/Urban Studies Programs/University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), & Michael Grover (Office of Research and Statistics/Minnesota Department of Economic Security)
Date: November 1998
This report provides an analysis of the causes and consequences of the unevenness of housing affordability in the Milwaukee Metropolitan area. (41 pp.)
Order Print Copies(unavailable online)
Closing the Racial Gap? Mortgage
Lending and Segregation in Milwaukee Suburbs
Authors: Gregory D. Squires, with assistance from Sally O'Connor (Department of Sociology/Urban Studies Programs/University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
Date: July 1996
This study examines mortgage lending patterns in Milwaukee, focusing on changes in the suburban racial gap during the 1990's. Results of the study show that housing segregation in suburban areas remains a serious problem. (18 pp.)
Online Version:
Full Report (PDF)
Privatizing Foster Care Services
in Milwaukee County: An Analysis and Comparison of
Public and Private Service Delivery Systems
Author: Institute for Wisconsin's Future
Date: 1996
The results of this analysis suggest that privatization will not result in either improved services or reduced cost for foster care services. (35 pp.)
Online Version:
Full Report (PDF)
(available online only)
Prevailing Wage Laws in Construction:
The Costs of Repeal to Wisconsin
Authors: Dale Belman (Department of Economics/Industrial and Labor Relations Program/University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) & Paula B. Voos (Department of Economics/University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Date: October 1995
The evidence in this study indicates that the Davis-Bacon Act and Wisconsin's prevailing wage laws are beneficial to the State of Wisconsin and its citizens. (23 pp.)
Online Version:
Full Report (PDF)
Order Print Copies (Full Report only)