Welfare Reform

Aid to Families with Dependent Children is commonly known as AFDC, the program was in place to help needy families. When enacted in 1935, it was designed to help widows with minor children. The cost was shared between the Federal and State governments. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands had an AFDC plan. The benefits of AFDC were calculated by what is known as a standard of need. Each state set its own standard of need that is how much it cost a family to live in that state. …