The effect of disabilities on exits from AFDC

Abstract

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 replaces AFDC, the largest means‐tested cash assistance program for low‐income families, with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. Unlike AFDC, assistance under TANF is limited to five years in a lifetime, and states are required to move families from the assistance rolls into jobs. But not all adult welfare recipients can easily move to work because either they themselves are disabled or they have a child with disabilities requiring special care. This article examines the extent and impact of disability among families on AFDC to gain insight into the potential impact of changes under TANF. Using data from the 1990 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), we find that in nearly 30 percent of the families on AFDC either the mother or child has a disability. Furthermore, we find that having a disability significantly lowers the probability that a woman leaves AFDC for work but not for other reasons, such as a change in living arrangements. Finally, we find little evidence that having a child with a disability affects the probability of leaving AFDC for any reason. © 1998 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management

Using Public Housing to Achieve Self-Sufficiency: Can We Predict Success?

“…Women who are married were more likely to leave welfare (Harris, 1996;Meyer and Cancian, 1996;Leahy et al, 1995). Older women tend to spend less time on welfare (Plotnick, 1983;Acs and LoPrest, 1999). Freeman (1998) suggests that although life-cycle factors may be important in predicting moves out of public housing, cultural or rational choice explanations are more important when all are included in a single explanatory model.…”

“…Exits from welfare are more likely to occur among those who have a previous work history (O'Neill et al, 1987;Kimenyi, 1991) and some attachment to the labor force during their time on welfare (Harris, 1996;Kimenyi, 1991;O'Neill et al, 1987). Welfare exits are less likely to occur among those with no high-school diploma (Leahy et al, 1995;Acs and LoPrest, 1999;Seninger, 1998). For public and assisted housing, the impact of education is mixed (Hungerford, 1996;Freeman, 1998).…”

Resource use of rural low-income families caring for children with disabilities

“…Some past studies showed associations between having a child with a disability and reduced parental employment (Kuhlthau and Perrin 2001;Thyen, Kuhlthau, and Perrin 1999;Hill 1993, 1995) and another study found that availability of child care influenced the mother's decision to quit a job (Acs and Loprest 1999). This study supported those findings.…”

“…The literature indicated a high prevalence of child disability among low-income families and that many families receiving government assistance had at least one child with a disability or chronic health problem (Acs and Loprest 1999;Lukemeyer, Meyers, and Smeeding 2000).…”

“…The literature shows that many low-income families receiving government assistance had at least one child with a disability or chronic health problem. Percentages ranged from 12% (Acs and Loprest 1999) to 20% (Lukemeyer, Meyers, and Smeeding 2000) Á about two times higher than the rate of children in the general population (Meyers, Lukemeyer, and Smeeding 1998). Moreover, Newacheck (1994) found that poor families had a higher risk of experiencing severe chronic conditions while assistance to families caring for children with disabilities had a less ameliorative effect because their expenses were higher (Davidoff 2004).…”