1.  What is the actual policy? Who is it for? What are the intended outcomes?
- Get a copy of the original policy from:

Earned Income Tax Credit - Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Earned Income Tax Credit - Benefits.gov

Housing Assistance - U.S. Department of House and Urban Development

Medicaid - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Medicaid - Medicaid.gov

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) - Food and Nutrition Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) - U.S. Social Security Administration

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TAFN) - Office of the Administration for Children & Families (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

-- Google and/or Wikipedia can be helpful with background information, names, and original sources, but should not be used as sources in your assignment.

2.  Where did the policy start?  How did it come about? What were the initial reactions to the policy?

• Historical Development of the U.S. Welfare System from the U.S. Social Security Administration
   

3.  What have others written about the policy?
- peer-reviewed articles and studies in scholarly databases (listed below)
- newspaper articles (see News Resources below)
- relevant associations or organizations
- conference proceedings

4.  What historical, political and economic information is relevant?
- newspaper articles (see News Resources below)
- online news sites
- government information (see Government Information below)

5.  What demographic information is relevant?
- census data (see Census Information below)
- housing trends (see Chicago Communities below, or contact local library)
- economic levels (see Statistics Resources below)
- educational attainment (see Statistics Resources below)

Several of these guides link to Social Explorer. Here is a handy tutorial! Social Explorer/Mapping Chicago Communities Guide