Poverty research and social policy

The present approach to welfare reform, as embodied in the Final Report of the Reference Group on Welfare Reform (2000), relies heavily on the rhetoric of 'mutual obligation' and 'welfare dependency' while placing little emphasis on original research and relevant data that might inform and support its reform agenda. In marked contrast are the research-driven policy processes aimed at the alleviation of child poverty that took place during the Hawke-Keating government in the late 1980s. In this paper we illustrate the value of research in relation to two government strategies, the Family Allowance Supplement (FAS) and the Child Support Scheme (CSS), that were instrumental in bringing a significant number of children out of poverty. We suggest that any commitment to further the reduction of child poverty requires resources for ongoing research programs.