The Impact Maximum Benefit Amounts Have on the Length of Time Families Receive Afdc‐basic Benefits

Abstract

Analysts and program evaluators have rightly focused on the impact policies have on participants achieving programs' goals and objectives. Yet a potentially neglected aspect of these analyses is the impact policies themselves have on who is initially eligible to participate in the programs and the impact policy parameters have on the length of time people participate in the program. This article reports the findings of a study on the length of time families receive AFDC (now TANF) benefits in two counties in a high benefit state, Wisconsin, between 1987 and 1989 and a low benefit state, Texas, from mid-1989 through 1992 and the influence the states' maximum benefits have on who is eligible to receive benefits and how families lose eligibility. Results of a life table analysis indicate that families in Texas receive benefits over significantly less time. However, results of a multivariate analysis indicate that when selected personal and familial attributes are held constant, the difference disappears. Copyright 2002 by The Policy Studies Organization.