Receipt Of Public Assistance Research Articles

Women’s Employment Outcomes Following Gender-Sensitive Substance Abuse Treatment

Employment problems are common among low-income, substance abusing women. The present study links an empirically developed quantitative measure of gender-sensitive (GS) substance abuse treatment to employment outcomes among substance abusing women ( N = 5,109) treated in 13 mixed-gender intensive inpatient programs (IIPs) in the Washington State. Hierarchical linear models were used to test the relationship between GS treatment and subsequent employment. Propensity scores and receipt of public assistance were used to control for the preexisting differences among women. Men’s employment outcomes were used to control for potential confounding at the program level. The study found that women treated in more (vs. less) GS treatment programs were more likely to be employed 12 months after treatment admission, though not for the hypothesized 24 months. Treatment completion did not affect the relationship between GS treatment and employment. Findings point to recent progress in tailoring generic substance abuse treatment to women’s needs.

Prenatal exposure to antibiotics, cesarean section and risk of childhood obesity.

Cesarean section (CS) and antibiotic use during pregnancy may alter normal maternal-offspring microbiota exchange, thereby contributing to aberrant microbial colonization of the infant gut and increased susceptibility to obesity later in life. We hypothesized that (i) maternal use of antibiotics in the second or third trimester of pregnancy and (ii) CS are independently associated with higher risk of childhood obesity in the offspring. Of the 727 mothers enrolled in the Northern Manhattan Mothers and Children Study, we analyzed the 436 mother-child dyads followed until 7 years of age with complete data. We ascertained prenatal antibiotic use by a questionnaire administered late in the third trimester, and delivery mode by medical record. We derived age- and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) z-scores using the CDC SAS Macro, and defined obesity as BMI z⩾95th percentile. We used binary regression with robust variance and linear regression models adjusted for maternal age, ethnicity, pre-gravid BMI, maternal receipt of public assistance, birth weight, sex, breastfeeding in the first year and gestational antibiotics or delivery mode. Compared with children not exposed to antibiotics during the second or third trimester, those exposed had 84% (33-154%) higher risk of obesity, after multivariable adjustment. Second or third trimester antibiotic exposure was also positively associated with BMI z-scores, waist circumference and % body fat (all P<0.05). Independent of prenatal antibiotic usage, CS was associated with 46% (8-98%) higher offspring risk of childhood obesity. Associations were similar for elective and non-elective CS. In our cohort, CS and exposure to antibiotics in the second or third trimester were associated with higher offspring risk of childhood obesity. Future studies that address the limitations of our study are warranted to determine if prenatal antibiotic use is associated with offspring obesity. Research is also needed to determine if alterations in neonatal gut microbiota underlie the observed associations.

Critical Race Theory: Opportunities for Application in Social Work Practice and Policy

Critical race theory (CRT) provides a framework for examining power structures that maintain racial inequities and developing strategies for action and change. Though social work acknowledges racial disparities and the role of racism when identifying and attempting to ameliorate social problems, the profession has not fully incorporated CRT. This article introduces CRT, articulates its alignment with social work's professional mission and values, describes its central tenets, and applies the tenets to racial disparities within three areas of practice particularly relevant for social work: child welfare system involvement, receipt of public assistance, and access to mental health treatment. CRT's broader implications for social work practice are identified and discussed.

Food assistance and family routines in three American Cities

The major food assistance programs in the United States—the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children—all share the fundamental goal of helping needy and vulnerable people obtain access to nutritious foods that they might not otherwise be able to afford, but the programs may also affect households’ well-being in other ways. In this study, we examine how the receipt of public and private food assistance is associated with regular family routines, using longitudinal data on low-income families with children from the Three City Study. Estimates from fixed-effects regression models indicate that WIC participation is positively associated with homework routines and consistent bed times. However, receipt of other assistance is not strongly associated with family routines.

Sex Differences in Adult Outcomes by Changes in Weight Status From Adolescence to Adulthood: Results From Add Health

ObjectiveChanges in weight status from adolescence to adulthood may be associated with varying social, vocational, economic, and educational outcomes, which may differ by sex. We studied whether there are differences in adult outcomes by sex for different weight status changes in the transition to adulthood. MethodsUsing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, participants were categorized by weight status from adolescence into adulthood. We examined self-reported outcomes in adulthood for living with parents, being married, being a parent, employment, receipt of public assistance, income, and college graduation by weight groupings (healthy–healthy, healthy–overweight/obese, overweight/obese–overweight/obese, overweight/obese–healthy). The effect of changes in weight status on the adult outcomes was modeled, controlling for sex, age, parental education, and race/ethnicity. ResultsThere were differences by sex for many of the self-reported outcomes, especially educational and economic outcomes. Female subjects who became overweight/obese between adolescence and adulthood or remained so had worse economic and educational findings as adults compared to male subjects. ConclusionsOverall, for female subjects, becoming and remaining overweight/obese was associated with worse outcomes, while for male subjects, adolescent obesity was more important than isolated adult obesity. The relationship between obesity and life situations may be more negative for female subjects in the transition to adulthood. The findings emphasize that adolescent obesity, and not just obesity isolated in adulthood, is important for characteristics achieved in adulthood.

Understanding the Discipline Gap from an Ecological Perspective

This study investigated school exclusion's relationships with student characteristics, mother characteristics, parental involvement, school location, and service provision. The researchers examined data from 4,837 students in seventh to 12th grade extracted from a national data set. Multivariate results showed that student's age, gender, race, or ethnicity; mother's receipt of public assistance and full-time employment; meeting guidance counselor; no parental involvement in individualized educational plan; teacher contacts; and receipt of non-school/state health care services increased the likelihood of school exclusion. However, mother's age and education level, non-English speaking, parental participation in school, and parental satisfaction with school reduced such likelihood. Implications for policies and intervention are discussed. Language: en

Public assistance receipt among older youth exiting foster care

There is increasing evidence that youth aging out of the foster care system encounter substantial challenges in their transition to adulthood. Receipt of public assistance following discharge from care is one important indicator of the extent to which these youth experience economic difficulties, but prior research on the topic has a number of key limitations. Building on existing research, this study examines public assistance receipt following exit from care among a cohort of 7492 youth who were discharged from an out of home placement in Los Angeles County between 2002 and 2004 and who were aged 16 or above at their time of discharge. Results show that approximately 28% of youth in the study sample received either CalWORKs, which is California's version of the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, or General Relief (GR), which is LA County's general assistance program for indigent adults, at some point over the study's follow-up period. Additionally, “crossover youth,” who have a history of involvement in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems are more likely than their counterparts who were only involved in the child welfare system to receive both types of public assistance. Differences in the risk profiles for GR and CalWORKs receipt centered around gender, as males were far less likely to receive CalWORKs but more likely to receive GR. Findings from this study provide additional evidence that older youth who age out of or otherwise exit foster care struggle to achieve economic self-sufficiency and also suggest that crossover youth constitute a distinct sub-group of youth exiting foster care who should be targeted for specialized forms of assistance.

Delinquency in Adolescent Girls: Using a Confluence Approach to Understand the Influences of Parents and Peers.

Determining the interdependence of family and peer influences on the development of delinquency is critical to defining and implementing effective interventions. This study explored the longitudinal relationship among harsh punishment, positive parenting, peer delinquency, and adolescent delinquency using data from a sub-sample of the Pittsburgh Girls Study. Participants were 622 adolescent girls (42% European American, 53% African American); families living in low-income neighborhoods were oversampled. After controlling for the effects of race, living in a single parent household, and receipt of public assistance, harsh punishment and peer delinquency in early adolescence were positively related to delinquency in mid-adolescence. No significant main effects of positive parenting or interaction effects between parenting and peer delinquency were observed. Thus, the effects of harsh parenting and peer delinquency are independent and perhaps additive, rather than interdependent. Results indicate the continued importance of targeting both parenting and peer relationships to prevent delinquency in adolescent girls.

Financial Literacy and Economic Empowerment of Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: Examining the Differences Between Public Assistance Recipients and Nonrecipients

Financial literacy helps build economic empowerment and self-sufficiency among economically vulnerable groups. This article explores the effect of financial literacy on the economic empowerment of survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) and investigates whether the relationship might differ for women receiving public assistance. Using survey data from 120 survivors of IPV, regression models examine the direct and interactive effects of financial literacy and public assistance receipt. Findings indicate that though being a public assistance recipient seems to be related to higher levels of economic empowerment, this effect disappears when controlling for financial literacy levels and their interaction with benefit status.

Economic insecurity and access to the social safety net among Latino farmworker families.

Farmworkers experience pervasive economic insecurity in part because of the seasonal nature of agricultural work and limited employment protections. Yet little is known about the adequacy of the social safety net in responding to farmworker needs. Using data from the 2005-2009 National Agricultural Workers Survey (N = 10,469), the current study analyzed predictors of social welfare participation among Latinos, who represent approximately 80 percent of all farmworkers. Nearly 95 percent are immigrants, although almost half of them have lived in the United States for more than 10 years. Descriptive analyses showed that, even among farmworker households whose income fell below the poverty line or that were headed by legally documented individuals, social services use was very low. Logistic regression analyses revealed that degree of social integration influenced social welfare participation, controlling for education, poverty status, family composition, and employment characteristics. Latino farmworkers who were recent immigrants (that is, in the United States for less than five years) had significantly lower odds of access to social insurance and public assistance programs relative to their U.S.-born counterparts. Low self-reported English ability significantly decreased access to most social insurance programs but not public assistance receipt. The findings indicate the need for social workers to engage in outreach efforts and policy advocacy to improve farmworkers access to social welfare.

How Does Public Assistance Use Affect Charitable Activity? A Tale of Two Methods

How does receiving public assistance affect an individual’s charitable giving and volunteering? Using the 1994 to 2005 Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and 2005 Center on Philanthropy Panel Study (COPPS) data, we use a series of comparison group and propensity score matching approaches to overcome sticky issues of selection bias and to explore this question. We find that neither current public assistance receipt nor the amount of public assistance income has any effect on an individual’s charitable contributions of time and money. Cumulative past public assistance appears to suppress charitable giving but not volunteerism.

Income Packaging and Economic Disconnection: Do Sources of Support Differ from Other Low-Income Women?

Income packaging, or piecing together cash and non-cash resources from a variety of sources, is a common financial survival strategy among low-income women. This strategy is particularly important for economically disconnected women, who lack both employment income and public cash assistance receipt. Using data from the confidential Census Bureau versions of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, this study compares the use of public and private supports between disconnected and connected low-income women, controlling for differences in state welfare rules and county unemployment rates. Findings from bivariate comparisons and multilevel logistic regressions indicate that disconnected women utilize public non-cash supports at similar rates to connected women, but rely more heavily on private sources. Conclusions focus on the policy implications for outreach and program development.

Income Packaging Strategies of Economically Disconnected Women and the Implications for Social Policy and Practice

Income packaging, or piecing together cash and non-cash resources from a variety of sources, is a common financial survival strategy among low-income women. This strategy is particularly important for economically disconnected women, who lack both employment income and public cash assistance receipt. Using data from the confidential Census Bureau versions of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, this study compares the use of public and private supports between disconnected and connected low-income women, controlling for differences in state welfare rules and county unemployment rates. Findings from bivariate comparisons and multilevel logistic regressions indicate that disconnected women utilize public non-cash supports at similar rates to connected women, but rely more heavily on private sources. Conclusions focus on the policy implications for outreach and program development.

Does generosity beget generosity? The relationships between transfer receipt and formal and informal volunteering

This paper examines whether receipt of public or private assistance is associated with recipients’ own generosity in the form of formal and informal volunteering. Using matched data from the 2007–2011 American Time Use Survey and the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey, this paper finds that receipt of private assistance from friends and relatives is negatively associated with the time women spend caring for non-household adults and the time men spend caring for non-household children. Receipt of public assistance is found to be negatively associated with men’s care of non-household adults. No associations are found between either type of assistance and time spent volunteering for a formal organization.

Abstract P248: Assessing for Bi-Directional Relationships between Body Mass Index and Mental Health Symptoms in Girls

Introduction Obesity and mental health problems are increasing in youth; both are often under-treated. The interplay between mental health and body weight development in adolescent girls is not well understood. Hypothesis Bi-directional associations will be established between mental health symptoms (depression and conduct symptoms) and BMI in urban pre-adolescent girls. Methods We examined data from participants in an accelerated longitudinal cohort study of largely disadvantaged urban girls from a single US city (n=2,451; 53% African American). Data were collected annually over 6 years, starting in 2003 when girls were age 8-11. Depression and conduct symptoms (oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder symptoms combined) were collected via the validated Child Symptom Inventory (CSI-4) and height and weight were measured. Transitional models assessed for bi-directional associations between mental health symptoms and BMI. Random-effects mixed models identified within-subject and between-subject effects in models examining whether mental health symptoms predicted BMI. All models were adjusted for race, age, and receipt of public assistance, and when applicable, included interaction terms. Results Transitional models showed that prior depression symptoms (β=0.27; p&lt;0.001) predicted an increase in BMI while prior conduct symptoms (β=0.04; p=0.05) showed a small and borderline significant effect on BMI. An increase in prior BMI predicted an increase in depression symptoms (β=0.074, p&lt;0.001) but not conduct symptoms (β=0.028, p=0.125). Mixed models revealed significant between-girl and within-girl effects (β = 0.38 and 0.038, respectively, both with p&lt;0.001) for depression symptoms predicting BMI. Conduct symptoms showed a significant between-girl effect (β=0.51; p=0.045) but a non-significant within-girl effect (β=0.011; p=0.080) when used to predict BMI. Conclusions We identified a clear bi-directional relationship between depression symptoms and BMI in under-privileged girls, and mixed models confirmed that a change in depression score is associated with increased BMI. While an increase in conduct symptoms shows a weak positive association with BMI, the association was not bi-directional. The potential for BMI and depression to each reinforce the other may represent a mechanism for the development of high-risk weight patterns in girls. Early identification of those at risk may facilitate preventive measures for both weight and mental health outcomes.

A New Strategy for Reducing Selection Bias in Nonexperimental Evaluations, and the Case of How Public Assistance Receipt Affects Charitable Giving

Prior research considers the extent to which public assistance recipients' charitable activity differs from the habits of the general population. Although receiving public assistance is negatively associated with donating money, the relationship to volunteering is unclear. In response to challenges overcoming selection bias, we conducted a multivariate cluster‐based subgroup analysis to reduce bias in our claims about the ways in which public assistance receipt affects charitable activity. This innovative approach to dealing with the problem of selection bias has implications and applications across the social sciences.

Physical Abuse in U.S. Children: Risk Factors and Deficiencies in Referrals to Support Services

More than 600,000 U.S. children are reported for physical abuse annually. Risk factors are proposed in the literature, but a comprehensive, national assessment of risk factors and support services has not been conducted. An analysis of national data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Dataset revealed that domestic violence, parental alcohol and drug use, prior child abuse and neglect, public assistance receipt, and child behavior problems are associated with higher odds of substantiated physical abuse reports, compared to unsubstantiated reports. Most families, however, failed to receive relevant support services for any of these risk factors. Screening by physicians, child protection workers, and others for these risk factors could help identify children at increased risk for physical abuse and inform prevention efforts and support-service provision.

Punishment and Welfare: Paternal Incarceration and Families' Receipt of Public Assistance

The United States criminal justice and welfare systems are two important government institutions in the lives of the poor. Despite many theoretical discussions about their relationship, their operation at the level of offenders and families remains poorly understood. This paper utilizes Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing data to examine how recent paternal incarceration is associated with families' receipt of TANF, food stamps, and Medicaid/SCHIP. Results robust to multiple tests find that incarceration is not related to subsequent TANF receipt but is significantly associated with increased receipt of food stamps and Medicaid/SCHIP. The findings suggest that greater government involvement among poor families is an unexpected consequence of mass imprisonment; however, increased participation does not include TANF-the cash assistance program of most concern to theorists.

College Graduation Reduces Vulnerability to STIs/HIV among African-American Young Adult Women

African-American women are disproportionately affected by sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. The Theory of Gender and Power (TGP) posits that socioeconomic exposures, including educational attainment, place women at increased risk for STIs/HIV. This study examined the association between educational attainment and vulnerability to STIs/HIV, as well as potential TGP-driven mediators of this association, among African-American women. Baseline data were assessed from an STI/HIV prevention intervention for African-American women (n = 848) aged 18 to 29 recruited from three Kaiser Permanente Centers in Atlanta, Georgia. Data collection included a survey of demographic, psychosocial, and behavioral measures and self-collected, laboratory-confirmed vaginal swabs for STIs (trichomoniasis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and human papillomavirus). Multiple regression analyses and multivariate mediation analyses were used to examine the association between educational attainment with a laboratory-confirmed STI and potential TGP mediators. Controlling for age and receipt of public assistance, the odds of an STI diagnosis were 73% lower among participants with a college degree or greater compared with participants who had not completed high school. There were also significant associations between educational attainment and multiple TGP mediators from the sexual division of power and the structure of cathexis. TGP constructs did not mediate the association between educational attainment and laboratory-confirmed STI. The current study suggests that graduating from college may lead to a beneficial reduction in vulnerability to STIs/HIV among African-American women. Findings from this study support expanding structural-level interventions, emphasizing both high school and college graduation, as a means of reducing vulnerability to STIs/HIV among African-American women.

Association of Childhood Obesity With Maternal Exposure to Ambient Air Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons During Pregnancy

There are concerns that prenatal exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals increases children's risk of obesity. African-American and Hispanic children born in the Bronx or Northern Manhattan, New York (1998-2006), whose mothers underwent personal air monitoring for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure during pregnancy, were followed up to ages 5 (n = 422) and 7 (n = 341) years. At age 5 years, 21% of the children were obese, as were 25% of those followed to age 7 years. After adjustment for child's sex, age at measurement, ethnicity, and birth weight and maternal receipt of public assistance and prepregnancy obesity, higher prenatal PAH exposures were significantly associated with higher childhood body size. In adjusted analyses, compared with children of mothers in the lowest tertile of PAH exposure, children of mothers in the highest exposure tertile had a 0.39-unit higher body mass index z score (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.08, 0.70) and a relative risk of 1.79 (95% CI: 1.09, 2.96) for obesity at age 5 years, and they had a 0.30-unit higher body mass index z score (95% CI: 0.01, 0.59), a 1.93-unit higher percentage of body fat (95% CI: 0.33, 3.54), and a relative risk of 2.26 (95% CI: 1.28, 4.00) for obesity at age 7 years. The data indicate that prenatal exposure to PAHs is associated with obesity in childhood.