The Effect of Welfare Reform on Low-income Single Mother's Use of Income Packaging: Paid Work, Program Participation, and Network Support

• Activity Number: 196
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 8, 2005 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Social Statistics Section
• Author(s): Katherine Walker*+
• Companies: U.S. Census Bureau
• Keywords: welfare reform ; income packaging ; low-wage labor market ; merged administrative and survey data

Abstract

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 marked a fundamental change in income support policies for single mothers with dependent children. Repealing AFDC eliminated entitlement to cash assistance and put in place work requirements for most welfare recipients. Under this policy initiative, single mothers who depended on welfare now face uncertainty in providing necessities for their families. The focus of this paper is how these women make ends meet in this new environment. A unique dataset constructed by merging earnings data from the Social Security Administration's Detailed Earnings Records covering 1978--2002 with survey data from the 1996 SIPP panel is used. An indicator categorizing women as having minimal, moderate, or substantial paid work experience facilitates examination of past employment on current outcomes. Survival analysis is used to examine how these groups of women packaged income from paid work, government programs, and personal networks from 1996 to 1999.