This 2010 report reviewed research on the impact of the 1996 welfare reform law on the economic mobility of TANF recipients and their children. The review found that research investigating the impact of welfare reform on the economic outcomes of children was limited, but the research that did exist showed no evidence that children had seen large benefits or harm as a result of the legislation.

The challenge of long-term unemployment has persisted over the last year, even as the overall unemployment rate has improved somewhat. A Year or More: The High Cost of Long-Term Unemployment, a report released by the Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative in April 2010, found that in December 2009, 23 percent of the 14.7 million unemployed had been out of work for a year or longer.

This March 2010 report provided a comprehensive examination of the implementation, operation, public confidence and usage of online voter registration in Arizona and Washington.

For the first time in nearly 40 years, the number of state prisoners in the United States has declined, according to Prison Count 2010, a survey by the Pew Center on the States. more

This 2009 study found that voter registration in Oregon cost more than $8.8 million* during the 2008 election, a cost of $4.11* per active registered voter or $7.67* per voter registration transaction (adding new or updating existing voter records).  Using this analysis as a model, other states will be able to better estimate their registration expenses and therefore identify opportunities for reform. (*The study's data were updated in 2010.) more

This March 2010 report explains how the Pew Center on the States, through the Voting Information Project, is working with election officials across the nation to provide cutting edge technology tools to make voting information accessible online to all Americans.

States that ignored public sector retirement challenges now face growing bill coming due—bills that may have significant consequences for taxpayers. This report from the Pew Center on the States examined the roots of the problem and how the economic crisis is spurring states into action.

New research on Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) program shows that HOPE probationers served or were sentenced to an average of 48 percent fewer days in jail and prison. more

This 2010 report examined intergenerational economic mobility trends in Canada and the U.S. 

This 2009 report looked closely at nine states that were particularly affected by the Great Recession: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.