The New Welfare Law: Implications for Battered Women, Introduction to the Law

Written in 1996, this paper provides basic introduction to the U.S. federal welfare law entitled, The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 [PRWORA].  It provides domestic violence advocates and others working on domestic violence or welfare issues with information about this "welfare law" and its potential effects on battered women and their children.This is the first in a series of complementary welfare policy and practice papers produced by the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence as part of the Welfare and Domestic Violence Technical Assistance Initiative; this paper introduces a number of issues that are discussed in more detail in later papers.