Addicted to Government? The Impact of Housing Assistance on Program Participation of Welfare Recipients

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Welfare reform brought on by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 has been the object of considerable debate and scholarship. This article shows impact over time in employment for a nationally representative sample of welfare mothers only who received welfare benefits in 1996, using the 1996 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), linked to 10 years of their IRS wage records. In 1996, nearly half of them worked for wages. The vast majority had attained a high school diploma or less. Almost a fifth reported a severe disability and either fair or poor health. In 1997, the PRWORA was implemented for the entire U.S. That year, nearly three-fifths had paid employment. Nearly three-quarters received wages by 2000. After the recession of 2001, receipt of wages decreased. By 2007, receipt of wages was back to the 1997 level. Health, age, education, and work history of these mothers impacted receipt of wages as expected, but not car ownership and number of children. Our longitudinal data demonstrate the impact of business cycles as well as health, age, education, and work history to determine paid employment outcomes. Analyses of future SIPP panels will determine whether these trends continued.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends Over Time in Employment for Mothers Who Received Welfare Benefits in 1996

Vaughan¹,

Haley²,

Dajani

2020

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“…Contrary to popular narrative, only 16% of families who received welfare in 1996 lived in HUD‐assisted housing (Haley & Dajani, 2015). 22 Thus, five out of six of the families who depended on welfare were subjected to the vagaries of a private housing market that has featured a long‐standing affordability crisis for low‐income families (Dolbeare, 1983; Dunlap & Johnson, 1992; Freeman, 2002; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1996, 2003; Welch, 1986).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…22 Thus, five out of six of the families who depended on welfare were subjected to the vagaries of a private housing market that has featured a long‐standing affordability crisis for low‐income families (Dolbeare, 1983; Dunlap & Johnson, 1992; Freeman, 2002; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1996, 2003; Welch, 1986). 23 In short, for the vast majority of families who receive TANF, the level of income needed to achieve self‐sufficiency should address the cost of housing at market rates, childcare, healthcare, proper nutrition, and, in most locations, transportation to job sites (Allard & Danziger, 2002; Barnes, 2005; Blumenberg, 2000, 2003; Breul, 1973; Brueckner & Zenou, 2003; Danielson, 1976; Dreyer, 2018; Edelman, 2014; Florida, 2011; Folbre, 2001; Gobillon et al, 2007; Haley & Dajani, 2015; Haskins & Blank, 2001; Lichter et al, 2012; Ong & Blumenberg, 1997; Pendall, 2014; Pugh, 1998; Rogers, 1997; Sard & Waller, 2002; Talukdar, 2008). 24…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ten years later: Self‐sufficiency of welfare mothers before the Great Recession

Vaughan

Haley

Dajani

2021

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This paper presents a preliminary evaluation of the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program, that was mandated by the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), showing trends over time in wages for mothers who received welfare benefits in 1996, using the power of a longitudinal data set: a nationally representative sample of 1000 welfare mothers in the 1996 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), linked to their IRS wage records from 1996 to 2007. Only one in ten of the 1996 cohort of welfare mothers received wages that were at least 175% of the poverty line by 2007. By 2007, only one in six of those with more than a high school diploma achieved this level of economic self‐sufficiency. For all time periods, the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, had a positive impact for only the lowest wage earners, that is, with earnings below half the poverty line. Our results provide a commentary on the validity of neoliberal assumptions underlying the long‐term implementation of the PRWORA. Analyses of future SIPP panels will determine whether these trends continued.

“…Following families over time is only possible for those who continue to maintain their residence in the sample. The Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), merged with HUD administrative records, is better suited for this kind of research (see, e.g., Haley & Dajani, ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Stigma Inhibit Labor Force Participation of Young Millennials Who Receive Housing Assistance?

Haley¹

2017

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Of an estimated 6.8 million households in the United States headed by young adults, aged 19–25, 5 percent receive housing assistance that is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This research looks for evidence in the 2011 American Housing Survey that the stigma associated with residence in HUD‐assisted housing has translated into low self‐efficacy and the “why try” response to becoming economically self‐sufficient. In 2011, a majority of these young householders, 58 percent, participated in the labor force, with household median incomes at 96 percent of the poverty line. Forty percent of householders with less than good health or disability participated in the labor force. The vast majority was also parenting. Small families were the norm. An estimated 526,000 children under age 18 lived in assisted housing headed by these young millennials. Of these, 158,000 children were under age 5 and living in households headed by a single adult who was not a labor force participant. Logistic regression was used to find whether there were any statistically significant predictors of labor force participation at the 0.10 level. Good health and no disability of the respondent (OR = 3.3, CI = 1.5–7.4) and educational attainment of some college (OR = 3.2, CI = 1.0–10.2) were statistically significant for the entire sample. Each additional adult in the household also increased (OR = 1.9) the odds of labor force participation by the household head (CI = .9–3.7). For households headed by a single adult, residence in the Midwest Census Region depressed labor force participation (OR = .32, CI = .10–1.00). We conclude that the discovery of these statistically significant predictors suggests that the stigma of living in assisted housing does not create such low self‐efficacy that labor force participation is avoided. Assisted housing reduces the burden on shelters and foster care systems as well as provides a significant safety net for workers who are unable to earn a living wage.