Social Welfare Policy
A guide to social welfare policy resources.
Helpful Tip for Hearings
HELPFUL TIP: Try searching for Congressional Hearings post-enactment of your public law. These hearings, sometimes called "oversight" hearings provide Congress with information regarding implementation, problems and solutions. Use Congressional Publications: Select only Hearings from the facets on the left and enter the title of your law or keywords in the search box; adjust the dates covered range as well. Search example: (oversight or implementation) AND "energy policy act of 2005"
Featured Government Publications
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Teen Pregnancy: Federal Prevention ProgramsMay 13, 2020
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Poverty Among Americans 65 and OlderJuly 1, 2019
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Social Security: Major Decisions in the House and Senate Since 1935Congressional Research Service, March 28, 2019
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Unemployment Insurance: Programs and BenefitsOctober 18, 2019
GOVERNMENT ANALYSIS/ RESEARCH REPORTS
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Congressional Research Service-Federation of American ScientistsIn response to requests from Congress, the CRS issues publications that include background studies, pro/con arguments, policy/legislative analysis and legislative histories on subjects of interest to Congress. Searchable source of CRS reports-enter "crs and your topic." Also, many relevant reports will be listed on the "Miscellaneous Topics" page.
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CRS-University of North Texas LibrariesAnother searchable collection of Congressional Research Service Reports. We also have a microfilm collection of CRS reports-in the Library Catalog, enter the terms "congressional research service and your topic."
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Congressional Research Reports-Archive-ItSearches of many sites that archive Congressional Research Service reports can be conducted on this site.
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Congressional Budget OfficeThe CBO provides objective, nonpartisan economic analyses of pending legislation. Under Publications, you can browse by subject.
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Government Accountability Office (GAO)The GAO supports the work of Congress by performing audits and evaluations of government programs and activities. See the Reports and Testimonies tab.
Journal Articles
(A more complete list is here.) See the Getting the Article page of this guide for more info on searching for scholarly journal articles.
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Social Sciences Premium Collection (ProQuest)This resource abstracts and indexes over 10,000 titles in the social sciences, while also providing access to over 1,800 scholarly journals. Includes both PAIS INDEX and Worldwide Political Science Abstracts.
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HeinOnlineA legal research collection that features full-text searching of scholarly legal and criminal justice periodicals and related materials such as the Code of Federal Regulations, a Federal Register Library, U.S. Attorney General Opinions, a U.S. Federal Legislative History Library, and U.S. Statutes at Large.
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Web of ScienceMultidisciplinary-Indexes major journals in the sciences, social sciences and humanities.
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ScopusA citation and abstract database of peer-reviewed literature in the areas of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, arts, and humanities.
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Google ScholarSearches peer-reviewed papers, dissertations, books, preprints, reports from academic publishers, professional societies, universities and other scholarly organizations.
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QuickSearchSearches the library catalog
Newspaper Databases
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New York Times-DigitalFirst-time users, please select “Create Account” to create an NYTimes.com personal account. After creating your account, you may use it to log into NYTimes.com and The New York Times app from any location on any device.
Student accounts remain valid through December of the graduation year you select in the signup process. Faculty/Staff accounts created between June 2020-June 2021 remain active for 1 year. After 1 year, you will need to re-activate your account by re-authenticating via the link on this page. Once you have re-activated your account, it will remain active for 4 years. New faculty/staff accounts created after June 2021 remain active for 4 years. After 4 years, you will need to re-activate your account by re-authenticating via the link on this page. -
Access World NewsNJ Star Ledger and other local papers, as well as national and global publications.
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Westlaw Campus ResearchCurrent New York Times and Washington Post can be searched in this database, as well as many other news publications.
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FactiviaThe current Wall Street Journal is available through this database. New York Times and Washington Post are also accessible via Factiva. See this guide to using Factiva.
Policy Organizations, Research Centers and Think Tanks
American Policy Directory think tanks, advocacy groups by topic via University of Oregon Libraries
Think Tank Search via Harvard Kennedy School
Policy File Index This is a collection of public policy research reports from over 350 think tanks, nongovernmental organizations, research institutes, university centers, and advocacy groups
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Annie E. Casey FoundationThe primary mission of the Foundation is to foster public policies, human-service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today’s vulnerable children and families.
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Brookings InstitutionOne of the oldest think tanks in the United States, the Brookings Institution is an independent, nonpartisan organization that focuses on research and analysis of economic, foreign, and social policy issues. Among its divisions are the Metropolitan Policy Program and the Center on Children and Families.
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Cato InstituteThe Cato Institute is a non-profit policy research foundation that resides on the conservative/libertarian side of the political spectrum. Policy analyses, briefs and reports are available online.
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Center for American Progress"The Center for American Progress is an independent nonpartisan educational institute dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action."
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Center for Family Policy and Practice"The Center for Family Policy and Practice is a progressive nonprofit organization with expertise in child support and social welfare policies. We advocate for policies, programs, and services that respond to the needs of low-income individuals, families, and communities." A focus of CFFPP is on barriers faced by never-married, low- income fathers and their families.
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Center for Law and Social Policy-CLASPCLASP is a national, nonprofit organization that conducts research, policy analysis, and advocacy on issues related to economic security for low-income families with children. This site is a rich source of electronic publications on many issues including welfare policy, child welfare, child support and low-income fathers, couples and marriage policy, and child care and early education.
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Center for the Study of Social PolicyUsing data, extensive community experience and a focus on results, CSSP promotes public policies that strengthen families and protect and lift children from poverty. The Center was founded in 1979 to assist federal, state, and local governments in improving human services for low-income and other disadvantaged populations. Its mission is to effect change through the analysis of existing policies and the development of new ones.
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Center on Budget and Policy PrioritiesA policy institute and nonpartisan research organization that analyzes a range of government programs and polices, with an emphasis on those affecting low and moderate income people. Areas of research include low-income housing, poverty and income, welfare reform/TANF, food assistance, and health policies
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Commonwealth FundThis organization promotes a health care system that achieves better access, improved quality and efficiency, particularly for low-income people, the uninsured, minority Americans, young children and elderly adults. The Fund supports research on health care issues and policy. Publications and data and statistics are available from the website.
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Economic Policy Institute"The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank created in 1986 to include the needs of low- and middle-income workers in economic policy discussions."
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Guttmacher InstituteThe Institute produces a wide range of resources on topics pertaining to sexual and reproductive health.
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Henry J. Kaiser Family FoundationThe Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private organization focusing on the major health issues facing the nation. The website features publications and data.
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Heritage FoundationThe Heritage Foundation is a conservative think tank that promotes public policies based on "…the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense."
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Institute for Policy Research-Northwestern UniversityResearch areas include children/families, communities, urban policy, and poverty/inequality.
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Institute for Women's Policy ResearchAs its name indicates, this policy organization is devoted to issues that are relevant to women and their families. There are links to the institute's research and public policy areas such as poverty, welfare and income security, work and family, and the status of women in the states. See also the Publications link.
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MDRCThis social policy research organizations focuses on low-income people. Policy areas covered include public education, children and families, workers and communities, and welfare and barriers to employment.
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National Center for Children in PovertyThe mission of this nonpartisan policy organization is to "identify and promote strategies that prevent child poverty in the United States and that improve the lives of low-income children and families." Strengths of organization include its policy analysis, research, and demographic statistics. The site includes an easy-to-use data wizard for comparing states on a variety of variables.
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National Poverty CenterThe National Poverty Center (NPC) at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan was established in the fall of 2002 as a university-based, nonpartisan research center. We conduct and promote multidisciplinary, policy-relevant research, and inform public discourse on the causes and consequences of poverty.
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Pew Center on the StatesThis site provides state-by-state information and news on innovative public policies in the states, as well as statistics. Easy access to information is through the Issues link.
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Pew Research Center"Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. We conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research."
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Policy for Results-CSSPThis site is geared to legislators/policymakers and "summarizes the evidence for policies’ impact on the lives of children and families." It provides state-by-state trend data, shares examples of effective policies from other states, with links to specific legislation, implementation guides, suggests financing strategies to sustain proven policy and results, etc.
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PolicyLab"The mission of PolicyLab at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is to achieve optimal child health and well-being by informing program and policy changes through interdisciplinary research. PolicyLab develops evidence-based solutions for the most challenging health-related issues affecting children."
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Population Council"Throughout its history, the Council's unique role has been to conduct biomedical, social science, and public health research and disseminate evidence to shape more effective policies, programs, and technologies that improve lives around the world." A variety of publications and working papers are accessible online.
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Population Reference BureauThe Population Reference Bureau was established in 1929 and is a private, nonprofit organization that gathers, interprets and disseminates information about U.S. and international population trends and their policy implications. The "Data Finder" is great and there are numerous reports including PRB Reports on America, World Population Data Sheet, Population Bulletin.
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RAND CorporationRAND provides research and analysis covering many policy issues, including children, population and aging, education, health and health care.
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Urban InstituteThe Urban Institute conducts research that informs policy across a broad range of topics including children, health policy, housing, welfare reform, immigration, cities and metropolitan regions, the nonprofit sector, and tax policy.