Low Income Families' Utilization of the Federal "Safety Net": Individual and State-Level Predictors of TANF and Food Stamp Receipt

Two of the primary programs through which the federal government provides benefits to low income families are the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and the Food Stamp program. However, many eligible low income families do not actually receive these benefits. We combined state-level policy data with rich data on a national sample of low income families to investigate family and state-level predictors of TANF and Food Stamp receipt. Our findings indicate: 1) families experiencing more economic hardship and health challenges are more likely to receive benefits, and 2) states' coverage is associated with families' receipt of TANF, but not Food Stamps. Implications for policy and research are discussed.     

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.     

Does income support increase abortions?

Currently, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs in 32 American states allow low-income childless pregnant single women (CPSW) to receive monthly cash assistance, while 28 states and the District of Columbia use lump-sum payments to divert low-income families from TANF. Past research has not investigated the possible consequences on abortions of these two welfare policies. We construct a theoretical model of low-income CPSW to investigate them. The results of the theory yields the following hypotheses: (1) diversion payments to low-income mothers lower abortion incidence; and (2) diversion payments and CPSW eligibility together raise abortion incidence. We use data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Abortion Surveillance, and a system GMM dynamic panel, two-way fixed-effects empirical model to test our hypotheses. Our empirical results provide statistically significant evidence for the first hypothesis, but not the second.     

A Literature Review of the Experiences of African American and Caucasian TANF Women Transitioning from Welfare to Work

This study examined African American women's perceptions of their adolescent children's well-being since gaining employment. This study departed from other studies that focused on the entire Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) population and/or compared subgroups within the population. In this study, the sample population is composed of all African American mothers and all of the mothers receive Temporary Assistance to Needy Families benefits and have gained employment. The study explored the relationship between adult supervision of adolescent children that resided in distressed communities and adolescent overall well-being as measured by academic well-being, emotional well-being, and social well-being.     

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.

     

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.     

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.     

Children residing with no parent present

Although foster care and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families “child-only” caseloads have fallen from heights in the 1990s, detailed household relationship data from panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) establish that the share of children residing with no parent present (NoPP) has been rising for decades. Characteristics of NoPP children and the composition and poverty rates of their households are traced over time. Most NoPP spells are found to last 2 years or more. Special attention is paid to “informal care” children, the majority of NoPP children not in contact with foster care or income support programs designed to assist children with no parent present and provide access to health care. By several measures of well-being, informal care children occupy a margin between all children and other NoPP children. Children residing with only one parent are at higher risk of entering NoPP status than those with both parents present.     

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.     

Using Distance Learning to Increase Literacy Among TANF Participants

Technology and Education for Career Heights (Project TECH) was designed to help Temporary Assistance to Needy Families participants enhance their literacy through distance learning as a means to promote job retention and career advancement. The evaluative research presented in this report was intended to gather information from the participants of Project TECH about their experience with distance learning training curriculum. The report describes Project TECH and what happens when participants who are low-income workers are given a computer, basic training software, Internet access, and training coupled with instruction form a instructor who met with them face to face weekly and provided daily online coaching and instruction. It highlights participants' experience with online instruction and the use of computers in their homes, and it concludes with lessons learned from the project. The information is useful for those wanting to design and develop a distance learning program to increase adult literacy for families that needs to comply with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families work requirements and other demands.     

Reaching Temporary Time Limits

Abstract

Concerns about long-term welfare dependency provided the primary reason for the nation's time-limited welfare benefits. This study compares the likelihood of reaching temporary time limits between families who repeatedly attempted to leave Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and those who remained on the rolls continuously. Using logit analysis, we find that relatively few families reach the 24 month time limits in Nevada because most families left on their own for employment, marriage or for other reasons. This finding raises the question of whether time limits are even necessary. Government needs to further explore the service needs of families who are about to reach their time limits.     

Using administrative data to evaluate the effectiveness of the Healthy Families Oregon home visiting program: 2-year impacts on child maltreatment & service utilization

The present study used state administrative databases to examine the 2-year outcomes of a large-scale randomized study of the impact of the Healthy Families Oregon (HFO) home visiting program. 2727 eligible first-time mothers were randomly assigned to either the HFO program or to a community services-as-usual control group. Outcomes for the current study were tracked for 2 years post-random assignment for all study participants through administrative data linkages to Oregon's statewide child welfare system, self-sufficiency services, and substance abuse treatment programs. Results indicated that families assigned to HFO program were no more or less likely to have a substantiated child abuse report than were controls (6.3% vs. 6.0%), but were significantly more likely to have an unsubstantiated report (9.7% vs. 7.9%). Among HFO families who were reported to the child welfare system, 86.2% (94 children) were reported after they had exited the program, while 13.8% (15 children) had a report while enrolled. However, 50.5% of children with unsubstantiated reports were reported while families were receiving HFO services, suggesting a surveillance effect for unsubstantiated reports. HFO families, compared to controls, were also significantly more likely to have been enrolled in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) services for the first time, to have received more days of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and to be enrolled in publically-funded substance abuse treatment services. Results suggest that early effects of home visitation on outcomes that can be measured through administrative data are small to modest, and that findings related to documented child welfare systems involvement may require more nuanced data than are typically used and/or available from state agency systems.     

‘In a bind’: Foster mothers' experiences with welfare reform

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 has diminished government support to single mothers and further limits the options for full-time parenting, placing priority on work participation and reduction of welfare caseloads. Based upon interviews with 100 low-income foster mothers who are also Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients, this study examines their experiences with these policies while they balance multiple responsibilities as caregivers for abused and neglected children from the child welfare system. The implications of TANF policies for foster mothers and policy alternatives that support diverse family structures are also discussed.     

The impact of state TANF policy decisions on kinship care providers

Based on a survey of public assistance and child welfare agency staff, this article examines how state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policy decisions have affected kinship care providers. Findings indicate that most states have continued using TANF to provide income support to kinship caregivers, and some have used TANF to find related support services. These payments, however, are much lower than rates for licensed providers, and many kinship caregivers are subject to work, training requirements, and time limits.     

Unequal opportunities among unequal states: The importance of examining state characteristics in making social welfare policies regarding children

This paper examines the disparate social well-being outcomes children experience across states in the United States. The paper seeks to extend the study of child social well-being by examining the extent to which state characteristics influence aggregate child social well-being outcomes. The results indicate that socioeconomic and population characteristics of states influence the magnitude of aggregate child social well-being deficits. It is argued that the disparities in child social well-being outcomes for children across states should be taken into consideration in the current welfare reform climate. Because states have gained greater control over programs that assist the poorest and most vulnerable families and children, states with large child social well-being deficits will likely experience even larger deficits as many state TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) policies and practices do not adequately support poor families.     

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.     

Scaling up CBOs for second‐order devolution in welfare reform

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 created a paradigm shift in the financing, organization, and delivery of welfare programs in the United States. The act shifted revenue and authority to states, giving them great discretion to determine the specifics of their programs. First‐order devolution, combined with time limits and work requirements, set in motion a chain of events that moved Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) recipients into the labor force and off state welfare rolls. Second‐order devolution shifted revenue and authority to community‐based organizations (CBOs) to help former recipients remain employed, advance to higher paying jobs, and move their families toward economic self‐sufficiency. Early findings from project innovations in Texas and other states raise doubts about the capacity of these organizations to achieve these goals. State funders will need to provide ongoing technical assistance and support to “scale up” the capacity of CBOs to plan, implement, and manage local innovations in welfare reform.     

TANF child-only cases: Identifying the characteristics and needs of children living in low-income families

In a ‘child-only’ case the adult is not included in the welfare benefit calculation and aid is provided only for the child(ren). The proportion of child-only cases within the caseloads of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare program continues to increase while overall TANF cases decrease. Given relatively limited information about the children and adults in child-only cases, this analysis presents the major findings from a review of studies on characteristics of children and caregivers in child-only cases with implications for child welfare and welfare-to-work services.     

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.     

Social Security and SSI as safety nets for the elderly poor

Partial privatization of Social Security is being considered as an integral part of the future Social Security program for American retirees. Because privatization creates uncertainty about the amount of retirement income that future retirees may expect to receive, the issue of a safety net is critical. This article presents the findings from an empirical study that investigated the degree to which the current Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs provide a safety net, separately and in combination, to the elderly poor. The major findings were that the Social Security program not only increases the income statuses of both posttransfer and pretransfer poor elderly people considerably, but that the program also significantly equalizes the distribution of income among them. In addition, the SSI program supplements the Social Security program in establishing an even greater safety net, especially for posttransfer poor elderly people. On the other hand, Social Security benefits make the income disparity among races greater between both posttransfer and pretransfer poor elderly people. Implications for policy are discussed.