The State Bonus to Reward a Decrease in 'Illegitimacy': Flawed Methods and Questionable Effects

A $20 million incentive, to be awarded annually for four years, to each of the five states that experience the largest declines in the "illegitimacy ratio'* and have a lower ratio of abortions to live births than they did in 1995.

Abstract

In 1994, one-third of all births in the United States occurred outside of marriage, and the rate of nonmarital childbearing was rising among women of all reproductive ages.' The role of welfare in this trend was at issue during the debates on welfare reform occurring at that time. Some commentators viewed welfare payments as the principal factor encouraging nonmarital childbearing and asserted that states could readily discourage such behavior with financial disincentives.2 In contrast, others linked nonmarital childbearing to poverty and social disadvantage, and recommended welfare reforms-government-subsidized child care, health care and job training-that might help to alleviate these conditions.3 When the new welfare law, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, was enacted, it contained a provision entitled the Bonus to Reward a Decrease in Illegitimacy. This provision, which reflected the first perspective, was ihcluded to encourage states to reduce the number of pregnancies among unmarried women, especially teenagers.4 Specifically, the law offers a $20 million incentive, to be awarded annually for four years, to each of the five states that experience the largest declines in the illegitimacy ratio'* and have a lower ratio of abortions to live births than they did in 1995. If fewer than five states qualify, the bonus would rise to $25 million each.5