Rachel Sheffield is research fellow in welfare and family policy in the Center for Health and Welfare Policy at The Heritage Foundation. Read her research.
View all authorsSocietyCommentary
Is there a connection between strong families and a thriving economy? A new study, “Strong Families, Prosperous States,” takes a step toward answering the question. “Despite… Read More
SocietyCommentary
A thriving society needs a strong economy. The reverse is just as true: A healthy economy is built on a vibrant culture that promotes individual… Read More
SocietyCommentary
The federal government is now calling abstinence and monogamy “the most reliable way to avoid transmission of STDs,” rather than just “a reliable way.” This… Read More
EconomyCommentary
President Obama’s new tax plan, which he discussed in part in the State of the Union, lays out new proposals that he claims would help… Read More
SocietyCommentary
What’s the story on American marriages and families from 2014? Here is a list of just some of the findings: 1. Americans Still Like Marriage… Read More
SocietyCommentary
What do Americans think about marriage and relationships? And do these attitudes line up with what research shows is best for relationships? A new, nationally… Read More
SocietyCommentary
”Divorce is on the rise.” At least, that’s the story Americans often hear, as New York Times reporter Claire Cain Miller explained earlier this month…. Read More
EducationCommentary
President Obama’s administration just announced a $1 billion initiative ($750 million in federal grants and the remainder from private funding) to enroll more children in… Read More
SocietyCommentary
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty. Since that time, annual means-tested welfare spending has increased by 16-fold, now costing taxpayers nearly… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Most Americans agree that able-bodied adults should be required to do some type of work to receive welfare assistance. But two nonprofit groups and a… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Thirty-two percent of the growth in family income inequality since 1979 can be linked to the decline in the marriage rate. That’s according to a… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Child poverty rates have decreased slightly, according to the latest Census data. Child poverty dropped from 21.8 percent to 19.9 percent between 2012 and 2013…. Read More
SocietyCommentary
More than 14 percent of American households are “food insecure,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual “Household Food Security” report. But does this… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Whether you live happily ever after could have more to do with what happens before you say “I do” than people may realize What men… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Marriage isn’t the answer to poverty. That’s the argument made last week in The New Republic by Carter Price, who asserts conservatives are too preoccupied… Read More
EconomyCommentary
On Thursday at the American Enterprise Institute, Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., outlined plans to reform welfare and fight poverty. Ryan’s policies are well… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Millennials don’t seem to think getting married and having children is very important to society. According to a recent Pew survey, only 29 percent of… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Americans are no stranger to these words from the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…”… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Among young adults, first comes baby, then (maybe) comes marriage. This increasingly is the new normal. According to a new study from Johns Hopkins University,… Read More
SocietyCommentary
It’s Father’s Day this Sunday. But as The Washington Post points out, even on Dad’s day, he is often the butt of the joke. As… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Children with involved fathers are more likely to graduate from college—particularly among middle- and upper-income families but also among those from lower-income backgrounds, a recent… Read More
It was 50 years ago today that Lyndon B. Johnson gave his famed “Great Society” speech. His Great Society included a massive system of government… Read More
Poor Americans may be “better off” today than before the government’s War on Poverty began in the 1960s, as a New York Time article published… Read More
A Slate article this week suggests that because working-class men have more trouble today finding steady employment, women find it difficult to see them as… Read More
More mothers are staying home with their kids, says a new Pew report. The number of stay-at-home mothers reached an all-time low of 23 percent… Read More
It took Congress months to come up with a farm bill, but in the end all it did was make a miniscule tweak to a… Read More
When it comes to welfare, Paul Ryan’s budget takes some steps in the right direction. It has a work requirement, which is absolutely crucial to… Read More
Three states are trying to get around a new minor reform Congress made to the food stamp program. In the farm bill it passed earlier… Read More
Sen. Mike Lee (R–UT) introduced legislation last week to make welfare meet needs more constructively while exercising fiscal responsibility. His new bill—whose House companion will… Read More
What’s one of the best ways to ensure a child is protected from poverty? Marriage. As such, it also helps protect families from ending up… Read More
