The Status of Low-Income Families in the Post-Welfare Reform Environment

Abstract

Low-income families face an enormous burden to achieve economic security since the deterioration of a guaranteed safety net. Health insurance coverage is uneven, affordable childcare falls short of demand, and wage earnings insufficiently support family needs. This analysis focuses on recent trends in family formation, the impact of policy changes on families of color and of immigrant status, and explores the daily challenges and coping strategies low-income families use to survive despite insufficient resources. Four key findings emerge from this body of knowledge: (1) Low-income families experience severe hardships when relying on cash assistance, work, or a combination of both; (2) Low-income families are resilient and resourceful; (3) Low-income families face significant barriers to using public and private services along with increasing earnings from work; and (4) The quality of life for families of color and immigrant families is directly affected by employment and service sector practices. Future research needs to focus on identifying the critical unmet needs of low-income families.

The Hidden Work of Exiting Homelessness: Challenges of Housing Service Use and Strategies of Service Recipients

“…Furthermore, parents have described competing and conflicting requirements of single programs (e.g., must have a job to be eligible but must take off multiple days of work to apply, thereby jeopardizing their employment; Schlay et al., ) and multiple programs (e.g., meeting eligibility for one service disqualifies them for another; Schlay et al., ; or a subsidy increases net income resulting in loss of other services; Hastings, Taylor, & Austin, ). Even when individual services have logical and reasonable requirements and rewards, families who have the highest level of need and use multiple services (such as those who become homeless), may find that the service environment, as a whole, introduces Catch‐22s that prevent them from achieving goals (McKnight, ).…”

“…Bogard () found that women in homeless shelters identified and took advantage of “opportunities for effective action” (p. 229) despite the restrictions imposed by the shelter environment. Phenomenological studies of poor families highlight the time and tenacity required for successful service use, in addition to negotiation, advocacy, organization, and presentation skills (Bogard, ; Brodsky, ; Canvin, Marttila, Burstrom, & Whitehead, ; Hastings et al., ). Such work is analogous to the overlooked and undervalued “hidden work” performed in the home to care for children, prepare meals, and other tasks that make daily life possible (Star & Strauss, ; Canvin et al., ).…”

An Ecological Perspective on Rural, Low-Income Mothers' Health

“…Yet those without health insurance were less likely to have a health care provider or to utilize preventive medical services within their community (Taylor, Cohen, & Machlin, 2001). The financial burden associated with accessing basic medical care often prevents low-income families from seeking treatment for treatable illnesses, despite having insurance (Hastings, Taylor, & Austin, 2005). For example, rural residents reported spending 32% more on prescription medications than urban residents in 2011 (Hawk, 2013).…”

Impoverished Women With Children and No Welfare Benefits: The Urgency of Researching Failures of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program

“…39 When children grow up in families that are poor, basic health and normative development are put at risk. 40 Implementation of TANF in the strong economy of the late 1990s resulted in a rise in employment and a fall in welfare caseloads. 41 …”