Temporary Assistance For Needy Families Participation Research Articles

Testing the Multiple Disadvantage Model of Health with Ethnic Asian Children: A Secondary Data Analysis.

This study of ethnic Asian children in the United States asked whether their health exhibited relationship with any of six factors: social disorganization, social structural factors, social relationships, the health of their parents, their access to medical insurance, acculturation. The sample of 1350 ethnic Asian children was extracted from the 2018 National Survey of Children's Health. Logistic regression results showed that these children's excellent/very good/good health was associated positively with safe neighborhoods, family incomes, family cohesiveness, family support, and receipt of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). In turn, health was associated negatively with single-mother households. Implications of the present results in terms of interventions promoting family support, TANF participation, safe neighborhoods, and professionals' cultural competency are discussed.

Easing Cash Assistance Rules During COVID-19 Was Associated With Reduced Days Of Poor Physical And Mental Health.

Unemployment rates soared at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, increasing financial stress that can affect physical and mental health. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is the primary cash assistance program for low-income families in the US, with benefits conditional on work activities and subject to suspension. However, many states loosened requirements during the pandemic. Using TANF policy data and data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System from the period January2017-December2020 with a triple-difference design, we found a general protective effect of supportive changes to TANF on poor physical and mental health days and binge drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic for likely TANF participants. For example, providing emergency cash benefits to those not already participating in TANF, waiving work requirements, waiving or pausing sanctions, and automatically recertifying benefits were associated with reductions in the number of mentally unhealthy days. This study provides support for increasing generosity and easing administrative burdens in safety-net programs to buffer against negative impacts of public health and economic crises.

Citizenship Status and Restrictive Policies Affect Participation in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

Abstract This study examined relationships between participation in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs and citizenship status, and between TANF participation and restrictive TANF policies. Its sample of 8,657 adults (yielding 66,680 person-years, the units of analysis) was extracted from a 2001–2009 national longitudinal data set. Generalized estimating equations showed TANF participation to be associated in a positive direction with prior TANF receipt and with poverty, single motherhood, number of dependent children, and race/ethnicity (specifically African American, Hispanic, and other racial/ethnic minority groups). Negative associations were found between participation and the following: citizen status, being less educated, being unemployed, being younger, and availability of state funds for noncitizens. The variables birth outside United States and policy of rendering noncitizens ineligible were not significantly associated with participation. This study’s main finding was that noncitizens were less likely than citizens to participate in TANF, regardless of nativity or restrictiveness of TANF policies. This debunks the notion that immigrants should be barred from the United States because they burden its welfare system. Other implications for policy are discussed as well.

The effects of welfare time limits on access to financial resources: Evidence from the 2010s

AbstractThe Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 established the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program within the United States. TANF mandated 60‐month lifetime time limits for federal cash assistance dollars. Because states reserve the right to set their own stricter or more generous time limits, the 60‐month lifetime limit did not bind in all cases. In recent years, however, several states imposed TANF time limits for the first time or made existing time limits more stringent. Using administrative and survey data, I find that stricter time limits decrease TANF participation within the past 12 months by 26%. Unlike previous research, I find heterogeneous effects of time limits on labor supply. I show that expected effects on employment and earnings decrease—and eventually become negative—as a state's unemployment rate increases. Evidence suggests that removing welfare recipients from TANF during periods of high unemployment inhibits their access to financial resources.

Substance use and participation in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: the role of unobserved heterogeneity

ABSTRACT Background The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act created Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and granted states permission to implement drug testing as an eligibility requirement. As more states pass legislation requiring suspected drug users submit to drug tests, it is necessary to understand how substance use impacts participation. While several studies have estimated the association between substance use and participation, the literature has generally ignored the potential endogeneity of substance use. Method Using data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we estimate the effect of substance use on mothers’ TANF participation using a system of equations, addressing the potential endogeneity of substance use via unobserved heterogeneity that affects both substance use and TANF participation decisions. Results Our estimates suggest past-30-day substance use decreases the probability of current participation. Unobserved characteristics that increase the probability of participation also increase the probability of substance use. Our results are consistent across a range of sensitivity analyses. Conclusions Endogeneity plays an important role in substance use and TANF participation decisions. At face value, our results suggest legislative efforts to identify and exclude substance users from TANF may be misplaced. More research is needed to understand the causal mechanisms at work before making definitive policy recommendations.

Examining the Early Impact of COVID-19 on Single-Parent TANF Caseloads: a Brief Analysis of New Jersey

Hard economic times often force a greater number of families to turn to public benefits and programs for financial help. These larger safety net caseloads are more diverse than those of strong economic times, including families who are brand-new to the safety net as well as families who, under different economic circumstances, may have needed only short-term assistance. These families may differ from traditional recipients in terms of characteristics and circumstances. To understand how the New Jersey single-parent Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) caseload changed in response to COVID-19 between April of 2019 and April of 2020, we conducted a two-step cluster analysis that identified six different types of families. Compared to the April 2019 (pre-pandemic) caseload, we found that the number of the TANF participants increased in April 2020 (during the COVID-19 pandemic). Interestingly, we also found that the largest proportional increases in the caseload were driven by single jobless adults who are older, have at least a high school education, do not have a disability, and have fewer and older children, while the largest declines were driven by single adults with a job. Taken together, it seems that single adults with relatively better demographic circumstances are having a harder time finding jobs, and so turned to or remained on TANF in April 2020. In response to the pandemic, some, but not all, states have relaxed or temporarily suspended TANF work requirements and time limits. Our findings suggest that such changes in TANF requirements reflect empirical changes in the caseload and merit further attention, particularly in terms of federal and state budget strain.

Telehuman Services Improves the Engagement of Low-Income Populations

The paper describes a range of evidence-informed strategies that a Historically Black, Colleges and University (HBCU) work readiness program adopted to increase the engagement of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program successfully engaged half of the program participants through two-generational (2Gen) approach. The 2Gen approaches target low-income children and parents from the same household and combine parent and child interventions to interrupt the cycle of poverty. These approaches emphasize early childhood education, economic supports, postsecondary education, social capital and health and well-being to create a legacy of economic security. The paper highlights the human services delivery strategies utilized to engage individuals into work readiness training activities during the pandemic. The paper presents data where certain 2Gen activities engaged TANF participants more than other 2Gen activities. The data reveals that half of the participants completed online digital literacy courses and earned training certifications. The intent of the paper is to offer state and local human service agency policymakers’ guidance on strategies to increase TANF participant engagement.

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.

Some Factors in State TANF Participation by Immigrants: An Examination Using the Group Threat Hypothesis

ABSTRACT This study asked what happens as the proportion of immigrants on states’ Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) rolls changes, employing the group threat hypothesis to analyze data dating 2000–2017. The data examined were extracted from compilations of information by federal agencies indicating states’ population by race/ethnicity, poverty and unemployment rates, and TANF participation by immigrants (as a percentage of total participation). Results showed states with relatively larger African American populations often had a lower percentage of immigrants enrolled in their TANF programs. Results also showed a negative association between percentage of TANF participation by immigrants and state unemployment rate. Policy implications are discussed.

The effect of paid maternity leave on low‐income families' welfare use in the US

AbstractDespite the critical role that paid maternity leave can assume in the economic lives of low‐income families, research to date has paid insufficient attention to whether paid maternity leave reduces welfare use for low‐income families. Using the Current Population Survey (CPS) March Supplement 2007–2014 with the difference‐in‐difference (DiD) technique, this study finds a significant policy effect of paid maternity leave on reducing the probability of using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), TANF benefit amounts and TANF participation length. This study confirms that paid maternity leave is likely to prevent low‐income families from using welfare during job interruptions stemming from the birth of a child. Given that TANF is often associated with negative political and social connotations, paid maternity leave can be used as an important social policy to improve economic security as well as offer empowerment in overall social standing for low‐income mothers. The discussion focuses on the implications of the findings in a broader context of American welfare states.

The Effects of Welfare Time Limits on Access to Financial Resources: Evidence from the 2010s.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 established the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program within the United States. TANF mandated 60-month lifetime time limits for federal cash assistance dollars. Because states reserve the right to set their own stricter or more generous time limits, the 60-month lifetime limit did not bind in all cases. In recent years, however, several states imposed TANF time limits for the first time or made existing time limits more stringent. Using administrative and survey data, I find that stricter time limits decrease annual TANF participation by 22 percent and annual transfer income by 6 percent. Consistent with binding TANF work requirements, widespread unemployment, and increases in employment among those on the welfare caseload, stricter time limits do not tend to increase employment or earnings among single mothers in states without generous TANF programs at baseline. Evidence suggests that macroeconomic conditions and the labor market potential of TANF recipients play large roles in determining labor-supply effects of decreased TANF generosity.

Mental health treatment and work among African American and Caribbean Black welfare recipients.

Untreated depression among Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants greatly reduces chances of securing and holding gainful employment. Logistic regression models were estimated on data describing 1,000 African American and Caribbean Black TANF recipients and 2,123 African American and Caribbean Black non-TANF recipients obtained from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Black TANF participants were more likely than Black non-TANF participants to be depressed and treated. Treatment odds were lower for Caribbean Black than for U.S.-born Black TANF participants. Results indicated that mental health treatment was likely among Black TANF participants if depression was identified. TANF participants working less than full-time did not receive as much treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Program and Economic Outcomes by TANF Work Exemption Status

Objective: Welfare-reform research has treated the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program as a homogenous work program despite the commonality of exemptions from work requirements. To address this shortcoming, we compare program and economic outcomes between three groups of TANF participants: work-exposed (workers), work-exempt to care for an infant (new mothers), and work-exempt due to a disability (participants with a disability). Method: Using 2006 administrative data for a cohort of Wisconsin TANF entrants (N = 682), we describe differences in individual characteristics, TANF participation, and work and income patterns between groups. We use discrete-time regression models to examine the between-group correlates of exiting TANF and exiting TANF to work. Results: Descriptive analyses reveal significant differences between groups in individual characteristics and TANF, work, and income patterns. On average, new mothers have more education and work experience, fewer and shorter TANF spells, and greater earnings and income in the year following TANF entry compared to other participants. Discrete-time regression analyses, however, suggest that pre-entry education and work experience are the strongest predictors of employment outcomes. Conclusions: To address the diversity of outcomes between TANF groups, policymakers should consider program alternatives such as disability and paid-leave programs.

Paid Leave, Welfare, and Material Hardship After a Birth

ObjectiveTo examine the relationships between state‐sponsored paid leave, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) generosity and participation, and material hardship among low‐income single women following a birth.BackgroundPast research has examined the relationship between public assistance and paid leave after a birth, finding reductions in program enrollment. This research has not accounted for variation in program benefits across states and has largely overlooked implications for family well‐being.MethodWe use a sample (N = 1,174) of low‐income single women who gave birth between 1997 and 2001 from the Survey of Income and Public Program Participation and include measures of TANF generosity across states and over time that were constructed from the Welfare Rules database. A series of multivariate probit regression models are used to estimate the relationship between TANF generosity, paid leave availability, welfare participation, and material hardship while controlling for relevant individual and state‐level characteristics.ResultsPaid leave was associated with less TANF participation, but these reduction are related to the program's generosity. Paid leave, states' welfare work exemptions for mothers of infants, and TANF earnings eligibility limits were associated with a lower likelihood of experiencing some forms of material hardship.ConclusionSome forms of paid leave and TANF program generosity are related to reductions in TANF participation and material hardship after a birth for low‐income single women.ImplicationsThis study demonstrates that researchers should account for variation in TANF programs when considering changes in program enrollment associated with paid leave. Results suggest paid leave may help alleviate some forms of economic stress after a birth, which has implications for maternal, infant, and family well‐being.

Cash is Still King? TANF Effective Benefit Guarantees, Tax Rates, and Participation, 2000-2016

The role of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in the US social safety net has dropped considerably as caseloads have declined sixty percent since 2000. This paper measures the evolution TANF by estimating effective benefit guarantee levels, tax rates, and participation rates between 2000 and 2016. Administrative TANF data reveal that effective benefit guarantees for single-parent families decreased by 24 percent on average between 2000 and 2016 while earned and unearned tax rates decreased slightly. American Community Survey data show effective welfare benefit guarantees dropped only 14 percent and display reduced cross-state benefit inequality. Effective welfare participation has decreased alongside TANF caseload reductions, verifying that reduced caseloads are not due to increased earnings or family composition changes. As of 2016, only fourteen percent of single-parent households without earnings received cash assistance. However, the phase-out of participation with respect to earned income has decreased by half over this time period.

Family-Focused Services for TANF Participants Facing Acute Barriers to Work: Pathways to Implementation

In 2014, California implemented the Family Stabilization (FS) program within its Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs). FS fills two key service gaps in TANF that have been identified in the literature—namely, addressing participant barriers to work and supporting child well-being. Research on programs addressing these gaps in TANF remains limited. This qualitative policy implementation study describes FS program design and implementation in 11 California county human service agencies and explores links to agency and community context. We find that state-encouraged flexibility resulted in three distinct approaches to FS services, staffing, and structure. Alignment between agency context and program design emerged as central to implementation decisions. These findings yield implications for research, policy, and management practice among welfare-to-work administrators.

A Public Health Nursing Model Assists Women Receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Benefits to Identify a Usual Source of Primary Care.

Women enrolled in Florida's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program experience high rates of chronic health problems and often lack a usual source of care. Thus, in this study, we aimed to identify variables related to being in a usual source of care at time of study enrollment and determine whether a public health nursing case management intervention affected the obtainment of a usual source of care. To achieve these aims, we conducted a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of a public health nursing case management intervention, which included women with chronic health conditions enrolled in TANF (n = 432). Results indicated 35% of the women did not identify a usual source of care at time of study enrollment, and the public health nursing intervention was effective in helping women obtain a usual source of care (OR = 2.5, 95% CI 1.004-6.491). Thus, a public health nursing case management intervention is an effective way to connect TANF participants to a usual source of care, which may lead to improved health outcomes in this vulnerable population of women.

The Extended TANF Application Period and Applicant Outcomes: Evidence from Wisconsin

This article examines the characteristics and income patterns associated with welfare entry and nonentry in the context of an extended application period for a sample of 1,664 women who applied for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families services in Wisconsin in the fall of 2006. The study uses data derived from the systematic review of caseworker notes as well as administrative data on welfare participation, earnings, child support, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Earned Income Tax Credit estimates, and Supplemental Security Income receipt. It finds that about one-half of those who applied for services did not enter the welfare program within a 60-day time frame. Results indicate that those with consistent employment prior to applying for services, those with very young children, and pregnant applicants are less likely to drop out. In examining differences in economic well-being in the year following an application, the study finds that those who applied for and entered welfare (participants) and those who applied for but did not enter (dropouts) generally had similarly high levels of poverty. However, dropouts had higher rates of deep poverty, with some subgroups--such as those who had declined services--fating better than others. KEY WORDS: poverty; TANF; welfare; welfare application ********** The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-110) ushered in a new era of work-based welfare. Benefits are time limited and are no longer an entitlement; work activities are generally mandatory in exchange for cash assistance. These components of postreform Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs were designed to move low-income families off the welfare rolls and into the labor market, reducing caseloads and reliance on welfare. An expansive literature on welfare leavers has documented the dramatic decline in TANF caseloads and increased employment among single mothers, although findings point to poverty-level earnings and future spells of welfare receipt for many (for a review of welfare leaver outcomes, see Acs & Loprest, 2004; Cancian, Haveman, Meyer, & Wolfe, 2002; Cancian & Meyer, 2004; Danziger, Heflin, Corcoran, Oltmans, & Wang, 2002; Grogger & Karoly, 2005; Wu, Cancian, & Meyer, 2008). Although scholars continue to debate the impact of welfare reform policies relative to the economy on postreform caseload decline (see Danielson & Klerman, 2008), the strong work-first approach of modern welfare programs, which generally offer lower cash benefits than those earned through unsubsidized employment, shares some credit for the sharp reduction in caseloads and the increase in low-income women's employment (Blank & Schmidt, 2001; Grogger & Karoly, 2005; Moffit, 2002). There is another contributor to reduced welfare caseloads: TANF policies that redirect applicants before they enroll, often referred to as (Besharov & Germanis, 2007; Danielson & Klerman, 2008; Meyers & Lurie, 2005; Ridzi & London, 2006). Two popular diversion tools are (1) one-time cash payments offered in lieu of TANF participation and (2) extended application periods during which applicants participate in mandatory job-search activities over a prescribed number of days prior to eligibility determination. Diversion procedures are intended to attach unemployed applicants to the labor market or maintain employment for the working poor prior to TANF enrollment, thereby promoting self-sufficiency among target groups. There are, however, concerns regarding the effectiveness of diversion tools in moving applicants into employment and targeting the appropriate groups. For example, scholarship on lump-sum cash payments suggests that those who are both the best and least equipped for the labor market are targeted, and a substantial number of recipients cycle onto TANF soon after receipt of the payment (Hetling, Ovwigho, & Born, 2007; Helting, Tracy, & Born, 2006; London, 2003). …

Influence of Maternal Health Literacy on Child Participation in Social Welfare Programs: The Philadelphia Experience

We examined the influence of maternal health literacy on child participation in social welfare programs. In this cohort, 20% of the mothers had inadequate or marginal health literacy. Initially, more than 50% of the families participated in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Food Stamp Program, and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, whereas fewer than 15% received child care subsidies or public housing. In multivariate regression, TANF participation was more than twice as common among children whose mothers had adequate health literacy compared with children whose mothers had inadequate health literacy.

Determinants of TANF Participation: A Multilevel Analysis

This work uses multilevel models to estimate the effects of individual characteristics, local economies, and state policies on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participation among unmarried mothers with 1‐year‐old children. It also assesses the contributions of the different sets of factors to city variation in rates of TANF participation. Results suggest that the many predictive individual‐level factors account for one‐quarter of the between‐city variance in TANF participation. Most local economic and state policy measures are not associated with TANF participation, but those that are, together, explain another quarter of the between‐city variance. The results will help to inform policy decisions at the state level, to design programs and policies in urban areas, and to understand the factors that promote economic self‐sufficiency.