Q&A: finding information on the "Aid to Families with Dependent Children" program
Question: I'm trying to find information about the Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program and was told it could be in some of the government documents at Green but I have no idea where to look. Is there a way you could point me in the right direction?
Answer: You'll be able to find a lot of information and statistics in the federal government documents collection as well as in the secondary literature (journal articles, books, and other library material). Below are a few links to get you started.
My strategy was to look for primary materials (government documents including Congressional hearings, reports and documents, reports from the Congressional Research Service or CRS which is basically Congress' think tank, and reports and statistics from the agencies involved in the program -- Social Security Administration and US department of health and human services) and then look for research and analysis in the secondary resources like books and academic journal articles. Please let us know if you need more information.
- Searchworks catalog search for "Aid to families with dependent children"
- Proquest Congressional Publications search "aid to families with dependent children" limited to hearings, CRS reports, House/Senate documents and reports. (Licensed database requires Stanford SUNet ID).
- "Aid to families with dependent children: initial findings of the 1961 report on the characteristics of recipients." by Robert H. Mugge. Social Security bulletin, March, 1963.
- Good short overview of the AFDC program's history at wikipedia.
- Definition of AFDC from the census bureau.
- Some statistics from the Natl Center for Education Statistics (NCES). *other statistics will be found at NCES site as well as the US Statistical Abstract and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Databases to search for secondary literature and research (NOTE: all of these are licensed databases requiring Stanford SUNet ID to access. Here are directions for off-campus proxy access):
Please contact the Information Center for more research assistance.
