"Welfare Policy Innovation and Diffusion: Section 1115 Waivers and the Federal System".

• Author: SCHWARZ, BRENNAN
• Position: Federal-state relations in development of welfare policy in the United States - Brief Article

Arsneault, Shelly

State and Local Government Review, Winter 2000, pp. 49-60

In this article, the author uses the concept of "permissive federalism" to analyze the development of welfare policy over the past two decades. Permissive federalism is defined as "a sharing of power and authority between the national and state governments, but...the state's share rests upon the permission and permissiveness of the national government." During the 60-year history of welfare policy, federal actions have played an integral role in policy diffusion. The author notes, however, that the opposite has been true as well, with the federal government taking cues from state led innovations such as workfare programs of the early 1980's. Using the concept of permissive federalism, the author advances an argument saying that although many of the initiatives leading to welfare reform were catalyzed by the states, the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, along with previous welfare reforms, was a state...