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"Some Days Are Harder Than Hard": Welfare Reform and Women With Drug Convictions in Pennsylvania

Publication year: 1999 | Cataloged on: Oct. 31, 2006
ANNOTATION: Low income women are adversely affected by a provision contained within the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). This federal welfare reform legislation states "that unless a state affirmatively passes legislation to the contrary, any individual with a felony drug conviction for conduct after August 22, 1996 is permanently banned from receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits or food stamps (p.1)." This report describes this special population and offers policy recommendations that will support these women's recovery, prevent recidivism and relapse, and assist them to make their lives better. The majority (65%) of the women interviewed had no prior convictions, and their felony convictions were for very small quantities of drugs ($5 to $10 worth).
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