The School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland has created an academy to help state and local officials, private social service providers, and other interested parties take full advantage of the 1996 welfare reform law. While the law puts pressure on public officials and service providers to make their programs more efficient and better targeted, it also presents an unprecedented opportunity for states to reshape their programs.
Since early 1997, the Welfare Reform Academy has provided training in program design, implementation, and evaluation for the new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Food Stamp, Medicaid, job training, child care, child welfare, and child support programs. Instruction has covered the following topics:
- Understanding the new welfare reform/block grant environment,
- Estimating the costs and behavioral consequences of policy decisions,
- Implementing programs,
- Monitoring programs and evaluating program effects, and
- Performance contracting for services.
The academy maintains a small staff of professionals skilled in program management and program development. Directing the academy is Douglas J. Besharov, a member of the faculty who teaches courses on family policy, welfare reform, and the implementation of social policy. Behsarov is the Joseph J. and Violet Jacobs Scholar in Social Welfare Studies at AEI. Gordon Green, also of AEI, is the assistant directory of the Welfare Reform Academy.
