An increasing number of people no longer enrolled in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) experience periods of “disconnection” after exiting the welfare program. The present research, based on data from a large longitudinal state welfare leaver study, explores the circumstances and characteristics of welfare leavers who receive no formal employment earnings but do not return to cash assistance for at least 1 year after exiting welfare. Using a variety of administrative program data and welfare caseworker notes, the size of the various subgroups within the disconnected population and their possible needs were examined. Cluster analysis revealed 6 important subgroups with differing needs and barriers. The findings focus on policy implications, particularly in relation to the Congressional reauthorization of TANF.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AcsG., & LoprestP (2004). Leaving welfare: Employment and well-being of families that left welfare in the post-entitlement era. Kalamazoo, MI: Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
2.
BesharovD. J. (2002). Leaving welfare without working: How do mothers do it? And what are the implications?Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute.
3.
BlankR. M. (2007). Improving the safety net for single mothers who face serious barriers to work. The Future of Children, 17, 183–197.
4.
BornC. E., OvwighoP. C., KolupanowichN., & PattersonK. (2009). Life after welfare: Annual update. Baltimore: University of Maryland School of Social Work.
5.
BrockT., CoultonC., LondonA., PolitD., Richburg-HayesL., ScottE., & SeithD. (2002). Welfare reform in Cleveland: Implementation, effects, and experiences of poor families and neighborhoods (MDRC report). Retrieved from http://www.mdrc.org/publications/50/overview.html
6.
BrownJ. B., & LichterD. T. (2004). Poverty, welfare, and the livelihood strategies of nonmetropolitan single mothers. Rural Sociology, 69, 282–301.
CleavelandC. (2007). Without wages of benefits: Disconnected TANF recipients’ struggles to achieve agency. Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work, 22, 321–333.
9.
DeParleJ. (2009, February 2). Welfare aid isn't growing as economy drops off. New York Times, A1.
10.
EdinK., & LeinL (1997). Making ends meet: How single mothers survive welfare and low-wage work. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
11.
FletcherC. N., WinterM., & ShihA. T. (2008). Tracking the transition from welfare to work. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 35, 115–132.
12.
IversonR. R., & ArmstrongA. L. (2006). Jobs aren't enough: Toward a new economic mobility for low-income families. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
13.
LoprestP. (2003). Disconnected welfare leavers face serious risks (No. 7, Snapshots of America's Families IIIseries). Washington, DC: Urban Institute.
MiranneK. B. (1998). Income packaging as a survival strategy for welfare mothers. Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work, 13, 211–233.
16.
OvwighoP. C. (2001). Life on welfare: Have the hard-to-serve been left behind? Changes in the TANF caseload over the course of welfare reform. Baltimore: University of Maryland School of Social Work.
17.
OvwighoP. C., SaundersC., & BornC. E. (2008). Barriers to independence among TANF recipients: Comparing caseworker records and client surveys. Administration in Social Work, 32, 84–110.
18.
OvwighoP. C., SaundersC., PattersonK., KolupanowichN., & BornC. E. (2007). Life after welfare: Annual update. Baltimore: University of Maryland School of Social Work.
19.
TurnerL. J., DanzigerS., & SeefeldtK. S. (2006). Failing the transition from welfare to work: Women chronically disconnected from employment and cash welfare. Social Science Quarterly, 87, 227–249.
20.
WoodR. G., & RangarajanA. (2003). What's happening to TANF leavers who are not employed?Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research.
21.
WoodR. G., MooreQ., & RangarajanA. (2008). Two steps forward, one step back: The uneven economic progress of TANF recipients. Social Service Review, 82, 3–28.
