A major component of Welfare Reform Legislation in 1996 was to subsidize which of the following?

• A. Expand Medicare
• B. Subsidize child care, AFDC & energy assistance
• C. Create universal basic income
• D. Increase unemployment benefits

Answer: (B)

The main idea being tested is how the 1996 welfare reform aimed to enable work by funding supports that help low-income families participate in the labor market. A big part of that reform was subsidizing services that make work possible, especially child care so parents can work, and energy assistance to keep the costs of working affordable. The reform also restructured Aid to Families with Dependent Children into TANF, preserving welfare assistance in a new framework but tying it to work requirements. Medicare expansion, universal basic income, and simply increasing unemployment benefits were not the focus of this reform. So subsidizing child care, AFDC (via the transition to TANF) and energy assistance best reflects what the reform emphasized.