ARSNEAULT, Shelly <br/><br/>
Welfare policy innovation and diffusion :  section 1115 waivers and the Federal System 

 -  2000 
<br/><br/> Examined in this article are state welfare reform efforts from 1982-1995, specifically state use of Social Security Act, Title IV, Section 1115 waivers of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program. At the time, states were heralded as the true policy innovators in welfare, whereas the federal government received little credit for any changes in the welfare system. This study uses the concept of "permissive federalism" to illustrate that reform was a complex and cooperative process, with each level of government sharing innovative policy ideas through a combination of vertical and horizontal policy diffusion