Does the Family Cap Alter Children’s Living Arrangements? The Case of New Jersey

Radha Jagannathan, Rutgers University
Michael J. Camasso, Rutgers University

This paper will examine changes in family structure that can be attributed to welfare reform, particularly family caps. We will look at the case of New Jersey and its Family Development Program (FDP), a welfare reform program that included a family cap. The program was implemented using an experimental design with random assignment of 8,373 welfare recipients to the FDP group and a control group, and data are available on these individuals for a period of four years (1992-1996). We will augment the experimental study of family cap effect on children’s living arrangements with a quasi-experimental, pre and post family cap analysis. The latter analysis will employ data on the entire New Jersey welfare caseload spanning the six-year period 1991-1996. We will compare the experimental and quasi-experimental estimates of family cap effect and discuss policy implications.