Welfare Reform

The passage of the Welfare Reform Act, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, legislated the most sweeping changes to public assistance to poor people. The major focus of the act was to reduce caseloads and spending on public assistance. The most controversial component of the act, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), replaced the older Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). TANF embodied the welfare to work principle with provisions that needy families could only receive assistance for 2 years at a time and a total of 5 years in a lifetime, and that the poor must take personal responsibility to become self-supporting through employment. Welfare reform included changes to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) which make it more difficult for disabled children to qualify for benefits. Reductions in the Food Stamp program were also included in welfare reform. This paper discusses the details of the Welfare Reform Act and calls attention to concerns that reforms may have negative effects on poor people.     

TANF’s 15th Anniversary and the Great Recession: are Low‐Income Mothers Celebrating Upward Economic Mobility?

This article examines the impact of welfare reform for the upward economic mobility of low‐income families at the fifteenth anniversary of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The reformed policy was based on assumptions about participating families’ morality and encouraged states to move families off welfare through work and marriage without considering whether they were still poor. TANF was also implemented during an economic boom. Today, the US economy is suffering from the effects of the Great Recession, with many fearing a double dip recession. Poverty rates rose during the last 3 years and are currently above 15 percent. For the first time since 1996, the welfare rolls are increasing in many states. Welfare reform’s ‘work first’ approach did not create lasting upward economic mobility for low‐income families. As an alternative, I explore how higher education for welfare mothers will create opportunities for lasting upward mobility, even in times of recession.     

Do employment and type of exit influence child maltreatment among families leaving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families?

Research has documented that the transition from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) can be a critical period that results in elevated stress for families. The present study utilizes administrative data to examine the experiences of families exiting TANF and factors that influence subsequent child maltreatment, with particular focus on type of exit from TANF and earned income from employment. Families in the study are 18,023 female-headed households from an urban Ohio county who exited TANF between January 1, 1999 and December 31, 2002. Of these families, 894 (4.96%) experienced an indicated or substantiated finding of maltreatment within two years of their initial exit from TANF. Cox proportional hazard models identified several significant predictors of child maltreatment. Findings indicate that families with an involuntary exit from TANF were at increased risk of a substantiated or indicated finding of maltreatment while families with higher earnings from employment were at a reduced risk of maltreatment. These findings suggest that policy makers and program staff may need to reconsider their approach with these families to ensure the well-being of children. Strategies to improve employment opportunities and limit involuntary exits are discussed.     

Welfare and Welfare to Work in the United States

Summary

Despite social work's historic ambivalence toward income support programs, the policy changes introduced by the TANF welfare to work program demand the profession's attention. Although social workers are not directly responsible for the administration or implementation of the program, many serve TANF clients whose lives have been affected by these changes. Tracing social work's historic but reluctant involvement with income support, this paper urges the profession to respond to the challenges posed by the TANF program in a more systematic way and to contribute more effectively to the wider task of poverty eradication.     

Children with serious emotional disturbance: the impact of poverty and receipt of public assistance on behavior, functioning, and service use

The present study examines the associations between poverty status, receipt of public assistance, service use, and children's mental health. Using a sample of children with serious emotional disturbances, findings from logistic regressions indicated that although no significant associations were found between poverty status and emotional or behavioral problems, families living below the poverty threshold were more likely to receive fewer services, even after controlling for receipt of Medicaid or SSI. Significant associations were also found for child's age, race/ethnicity, caregiver education, Medicaid and TANF receipt, child and family mental-health-risk factors. Poor families were more likely to have older children, be non-white, have fewer years of education, receive public assistance, and have more family mental-health-risk factors, but less child mental-health-risk factors. While a higher percentage of nonpoor families received medication management and residential treatment services, more poor families received support services such as transportation and flexible funds. Implications for the findings are discussed.     

The Role of Family Income in the Intergenerational Association of AFDC Receipt

Daughters from low‐income families who did not receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) are compared to daughters from low‐income families who did receive assistance to better account for family income in the intergenerational association of AFDC. The research models the timing of a daughter's first birth and, for those who become mothers, the number of years a daughter receives any AFDC. Women whose families received AFDC during their childhood are more likely to receive AFDC as adults relative to those women whose families did not receive AFDC. Controlling for family income in a more careful and comprehensive way than past research explains part but not all of the effects of childhood AFDC receipt. Among daughters from chronically poor families, however, parental AFDC use is not associated with additional years of AFDC participation. Although the present research cannot confirm or deny a causal role for parental welfare use, the intergenerational transmission of financial resources does explain part of the intergenerational association of welfare use.     

The welfare/self-sufficiency gap among single mothers through theoretical lenses

ABSTRACT

Poverty has been a recurring issue in America since time immemorial and become the target of a panoply of corrective measures from the federal government. One of these measures is, of course, the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), the key welfare policy under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Since its inception, TANF has constantly been the subject of vehement controversies among politicians, lawmakers, community advocates, social researchers, and government officials. Indeed, there has been a growing concern about the effectiveness of the program in galvanizing economically disadvantaged families toward economic self-sufficiency. This paper presents a historical overview of the political context that led to the passage of the TANF policy, identifies barriers associated with TANF implementation, explains the concept of self-sufficiency, and critically analyzes the gap between welfare receipt and economic self-sufficiency through the lenses of four theoretical benchmarks: policy design and social construction, culture of poverty, racial classification, and social control. Implications for research are discussed.     

Non-income effects of welfare receipt on early childhood cognitive scores

Child poverty in America has become an enduring part of the social landscape that many families must navigate. As prior research has established that income transfers can affect child outcomes, we focus our attention on the conditions under which these transfers occur. Using panel data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we examine the non-income effects of TANF participation on children's early cognitive development using methods to address statistical concerns about endogeneity and selection. Our results indicate that participating in TANF is negatively associated with cognitive development. Furthermore, we are able to identify maternal stress as a viable causal pathway between TANF receipt and cognitive development, a result that we are unable to replicate with a falsification test involving the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Our results suggest that the structure of cash transfers may have effects on early childhood outcomes.     

Public Assistance Use among U.S.‐Born Children of Immigrants1

U.S.‐born children of immigrants may be less likely to receive some social services than are children of native‐born parents if foreign‐born parents who are themselves ineligible are less likely to apply on their children's behalf. We use retrospective data from a sample of about 2,400 lowincome households in three U.S. cities to determine whether children with foreign‐born caregivers are less likely than children with native‐born caregivers to receive benefits from any of five programs over a two‐year period: TANF, SSI, Food Stamps, Medicaid, and WIC. The most significant disparities between children of citizen and noncitizen caregivers are in TANF and food stamp use.     

Income Volatility and Family Structure Patterns: Association with Stability and Change in Food Stamp Program Participation

Using the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study, this research investigated how income volatility and family structure patterns influence participation patterns of stability and change in Food Stamp Program participation among a sample of young families (n = 1,263). Multinomial logistic regression models suggested that families that experienced significant declines in income were more likely to persistently participate and initiate participation than to never participate. Furthermore, stably married families were more likely to never participate; while other stable family structures (cohabitating couples and singles) and transitional unions were associated with persistent participation compared to other participation patterns. Immigration status, health, multiple indicators of economic hardship, and participant access rates were also significant in predicting patterns of participation. Strategies to increase participation are discussed.     

The independent effects of socio-demographic and programmatic factors on economic strain among parents in a Child Savings Accounts program

This study examines the independent effects of socio-demographic variables and program social services on the degree of economic strain among lower income parents who had an opportunity to open child savings in a subsidized savings accounts program known as Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Downpayment (SEED). SEED is a policy, practice and research initiative designed to test the efficacy of and inform policy for a national system of asset-building accounts for children and youth. Findings suggest that overall, the degree of economic strain was not significantly different at baseline and at the second wave between parents who opened accounts and those who did not open accounts for their children. However, household income, having a household savings account, and receipt of means-tested welfare programs affected the degrees of economic strain. Implications are directed toward helping lower income families effectively participate in child savings programs.     

State TANF Time Limit and Work Sanction Stringencies and Long-Term Trajectories of Welfare Use,Labor Supply,and Income

While the 1996 welfare reform increased employment and reduced the participation of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program immediately after its inception, little is known about the extent to which the reform and stringencies of time limit and work sanction policy features have impacted individuals in the long term. This study used the Survey of Income and Program Participation 1996, 2001, and 2004 panels (1996–2007) and a difference-in-difference-in-difference design to follow low-skilled single mothers’ trajectories of welfare use, labor supply, and income for 10 years after the welfare reform and compare how these trajectories differ by stringencies of state work sanction and time limit policies. The findings indicate that welfare reform had sustained impacts on reducing welfare use (TANF and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP] program) and increasing employment. Stringent work sanction and time limit policies were associated with lower TANF participation rates in the long term, but only short time limit policies were associated with reduced SNAP participation. Neither stringent policy feature increased employment nor income. The differential effects by race were also examined and discussed.

     

Patterns and correlates of involuntary unemployment and underemployment in single-mother families

Economic downturns, trends in the increased number of single-mother families and women entering the workforce, recent welfare reforms that make receipt of cash benefits contingent on employment, and changes in the economic environment that have increased employment problems, all highlight the importance of examining unemployment and underemployment particularly among single-mother families. The current study used the 2004 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to examine patterns and correlates of unemployment and underemployment among single-mother families. The results indicate fairly substantial employment problems. Although approximately one-half (55.6%) of the single mothers had adequate employment, 30% experienced unemployment or involuntary job gaps, and approximately 15% experienced underemployment. Results further indicate that age, education level, past work experience, and homeownership are related to a reduced risk of employment problems. On the other hand, work disability, other family income, receipt of cash benefits, and state unemployment rates place single mothers at an increased risk of unemployment and underemployment. The findings suggest social policy implications and targeted assistance for those at-risk single mothers trying to secure adequate employment.     

EMPLOYER SPONSORED MEDICAL BENEFITS: The Influence of Occupational Characteristics and Gender

This research investigates gender differences in employer-sponsored medical fringe benefits: health insurance, dental insurance, sick leave, life insurance, and eye care coverage. Using data from a nationally representative sample of workers in the United States, human capital and structural theoretical approaches are drawn upon to explain the receipt of these benefits. The data suggest (a) men were more likely than women to receive each medical benefits from their employer; (b) occupational conditions largely account for the gender differences in coverage; (c) structural conditions of the occupation were more likely to predict the receipt of employer-sponsored medical benefits than were human capital attributes; (d) hazardous working conditions were not compensated for with medical benefits, with the exception of eye care coverage; and (e) gender did influence the relationship between several occupational conditions and benefit coverage.     

TANF child-only cases in California: Barriers to self-sufficiency and well-being

Since the United States implemented Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), or ‘welfare reform,’ the number of assistance cases without an adult receiving aid has risen dramatically. In states like California, these child-only cases now constitute the majority of all TANF cases. Despite this increase, existing research sheds little light on the composition of child-only caseloads and the status of the adults and children in such cases. Drawing on county administrative data and interviews with 143 parents associated with child-only cases in five California counties, this paper identifies both the demographics of the child-only caseload in these sites and the major barriers to employment that parents in sanctioned and timed-out child-only cases face. These include human capital, health, and family issues, in addition to other obstacles. The data suggest that, despite functioning as one administrative entity, CalWORKs, California's TANF program, has transformed into two separate programs: a welfare-to-work program and a subsistence-level cash assistance program for some members of child-only families. Given this transformation, the paper closes by suggesting a research agenda for future child-only scholarship and argues for policy innovations to meet the needs of the expanding child-only caseload.     

Does SNAP serve as a safety net for mothers facing an economic shock? An analysis of Black and White unwed mothers' responses to paternal imprisonment

In an era of increasing economic insecurity and declining welfare assistance, scholars and policy makers have increasingly recognized the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as food stamps) as an important safety net for disadvantaged families facing a loss of income. Research on welfare and race has found that SNAP use is more frequent among Black families than White families. However, scholars have overlooked another potential source of race-based variation in the use of SNAP: differences in how Black and White mothers use SNAP as a safety net when facing an economic shock such as fathers' imprisonment. Analyses using difference-in-difference-in-difference methods suggest that while Black mothers generally receive a higher level of SNAP benefits than White mothers, SNAP benefit increases following fathers' imprisonment are less effective in compensating for the loss of income among Black mothers than among White mothers. Additional analyses, including a propensity score matching model, produce consistent results. The racial difference in income shock to families caused by paternal imprisonment does not account for this racial disparity. These findings highlight an important mechanism through which an income shock such as paternal imprisonment can produce particularly negative consequences for Black children.     

The economic safety net for low-income families with children

Following the passage of welfare reform in the mid-1990s and the end of entitlement benefits under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the U.S. economic safety net has become increasingly individualized. In fact, it is no longer clear whether low-income families tend to rely on particular types of public benefits, or whether there are characteristics that differentiate benefit “packaging”.This study examines the combinations of various income sources comprising economic safety nets for low-income families participating in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The income sources we explore include earnings, child support, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, childcare subsidies, unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), housing subsidies, and Medicaid. We use cluster analysis to determine the most common patterns of income and benefit sources, and identify four distinct clusters of income and benefits that are associated with different family demographic characteristics. The findings from this investigation may be useful to social service programs as they attempt to identify relevant safety net resources for economically struggling families, and to policymakers attempting to reconcile requirements associated with programs and benefits that are regularly combined by beneficiaries.     

A Rose by Any Other Name? Lump-Sum Diversion or Traditional Welfare Grant?

Summary

Critics of diversion grants, lump-sum payments designed to alleviate short-term emergencies and prevent the need for ongoing Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) receipt, claim that recipients use monetary amounts similar to traditional welfare recipients. This paper examines the total cash grants for two cohorts of TANF applicants: those whose applications resulted in a TANF grant and those who received a diversion grant. Multivariate regression models show that diversion leads to a reduction of $1,841.44 in cash benefit receipt during the three-year tracking period (p < 0.001). Findings suggest that diversion payments are not TANF under another name.     

TANF Recipients' Barriers to Employability: Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence

Recipients of temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) encounter a variety of expectations and sanctions. Recipients face work requirements, limited resources, and barriers to employability, including the barrier of substance use. This article addresses the sanctions that are applied to clients who do not meet expectations of the policy, barriers to employability, disparities in resources, and factors influencing referrals for substance abuse treatment for TANF clients.     

Resource use of rural low-income families caring for children with disabilities

The Personal Responsibility Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, Pub.L. 104-193 (PRWORA) was passed creating the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. Since the passage of PRWORA, many families were able to leave the welfare rolls while those remaining on welfare were likely composed of families facing barriers to leaving, such as caring for children with disabilities. This project addresses the gaps in knowledge regarding low-income families caring for children with disabilities by conducting qualitative research investigating the resources used by these families to find and keep employment and child care. The study used a sample from a research project entitled ‘Rural Families Speak’ and examined the data of 26 families caring for children with disabilities. Analysis resulted in policy recommendations for increasing the efficacy of the programs designed to help these families.