Welfare or Work: Which Is Better for Canadian Children?

Abstract

This study examined whether the employment status of parents in poor families is a predictor of child development by comparing the verbal development of preschool children in working poor and welfare-dependent families. Findings show that verbal development scores of both groups of children were below the norm, regardless of parents' source of income. Findings also indicated that children from working poor families had slightly higher levels of verbal development than children from welfare-dependent families and that these developmental differences were only partially attributable to differences in home and family characteristics of the two groups. The study has a number of important implications for welfare reform policy and research in Canada.