In response to the Great Depression, President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act of 1935 into law as part of his New Deal. The law allowed the Department of Health and Human Services to introduce the Assistance to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. Under AFDC, welfare benefits were targeted more toward poor widows, allowing them to stay at home and raise their children. However, as the number of women in the workforce increased, the benefits provided came under criticism because they encouraged single mothers to rely on federal assistance. Critics, such as author Charles Murray, claimed that AFDC created a system that contributed to the problem. because, although it helped the unemployed economically, it discouraged welfare recipients from attempting to obtain employment. As the cost of the welfare program increased, so did the general animosity of American taxpayers. The federal government noticed the growing dissent within the states and began to allow experimentation with restrictions on their social programs. After his inauguration in 1992, Bill Clinton fulfilled his promise to “end welfare as we know it” by signing the Declaration on Personal Responsibility. and the Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was praised for replacing AFDC with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). TANF functioned to end entitlement to welfare benefits that encouraged the formation of two-parent families. On September 28, 1996, the bill was introduced in the House where it was sent to the Committee on Ways and Means (thomas.loc.gov). . In October of the same year, the Senate made...... middle of paper ...... the years following the adoption of the reform were due to the booming economy and we must examine the impacts of the reform now during difficult times in the economy to see if the reform has actually produced the expected results. (heritage.org) Works Cited Welfare Reform Act http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?r104:4:./temp/~r104MLF97ohttp://aspe.hhs .gov/hsp/abbrev/prwora96.htmhttp://clinton5.nara.gov/WH/Accomplishments/eightyears-02.htmlhttp://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/queryhttp://www.welfareinfo.org /http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/tanf/index.htmlhttp://ebooks.abc-clio.com/reader.aspx?isbn=9780585000435&id=WELFAE-h2-10http://www.heritage .org/research/testimony/the -impact-of-welfare-reformhttp://hudson-consulting.org/Documents/PRWORA%20through%20the%20Lens%20of%20Brewer.pdf