This study examines welfare dynamics in Mississippi under the newly created TANF program. Specifically, it examines welfare-to-work transition between 2001 and 2009 and tests several hypotheses regarding individual and contextual characteristics. The data come from multiple sources that include administrative records and publicly available data. Data on TANF transitions come from the Mississippi Department of Human Services. Data on TANF employment come from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. Data on training come from the Mississippi workforce investment system. Information on both neighborhood and labor market characteristics come from the 2000 Census. The findings clearly support the hypothesis that individual and contextual conditions influence the ability of a poor single mother to exit TANF and gain employment. On the other hand, there is weak evidence supporting the hypothesis of welfare dependence when controlling for unobserved characteristics for multiple spells within individuals. The main implication here is that TANF might have indeed addressed the longstanding concern about welfare dependency. The results, however, show that individual and contextual factors still play a role in determining welfare dynamics across poor single mothers with different individual and contextual backgrounds.

The purpose of this study is to revisit the question of whether welfare benefit levels influence female headship, and whether the effect differs between the two main eras of welfare policy relevant to female headship, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). This study adds to the existing literature by including more up to date data allowing for a comparison between the AFDC and TANF eras. Results show that the effect of welfare benefits on female headship rates changes from negative to positive after welfare reform occurred among blacks, while no change occured among whites.

The 1996 welfare reforms were part of a bipartisan consensus led by Democratic President Bill Clinton and a Republican Congress about the downfalls of the existing United States welfare system. Under these reforms, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), which was an entitlement program that had been in effect since 1935. Similar to AFDC, TANF intended to serve as a safety net that provides cash assistance to needy families, but it also aimed to reduce government dependence by attempting to instill values in welfare recipients through stricter work requirements and eligibility criteria. The goals of TANF included promoting job preparation, reducing the incidence of births to unmarried mothers, and increasing the formation and maintenance of two-parent families. Many of TANF’s goals were driven by the theory that family structure is important for economic and social stability, but states have a lot of freedom in how they choose to distribute TANF funding and implement the program. This research examined TANF funding allocation and social outcome differences between predominantly Republican (red) and predominantly Democratic (blue) states in order analyze TANF’s ability to reduce out-of-wedlock birth rates and divorce rates. There was limited, but interesting, evidence that there were differences in how red and blue states were funding TANF programs. On average, red states allocated greater proportions of their funding to categories that were inconsistent with the purposes of TANF than blue states. Most states provided very little funding to goals associated with family structure. So, while out-of-wedlock birth rates and divorce rates were different in 1996 (pre-TANF) and 2016 (post-TANF), these changes are unlikely associated with the program. Similarly, blue states had significantly less divorces than red states, but it is unlikely that TANF is responsible for this difference.

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With the introduction of welfare reform in 1996 – the culmination of Bill Clinton's campaign promise to 'end welfare as we know it' – means-tested cash assistance became conditional upon participation in the labor market. The current welfare program Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) is dependent on recipients being able to find work, typically in the low-wage service sector. In addition, this reform handed the states considerable autonomy in TANF's implementation and administration. The literature, citing increased caseworker discretion and state-level policies, has also shown substantial evidence of favorable treatment toward white recipients (e.g. less sanctioning) compared with that of blacks and Hispanics. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-1997 cohort, this study examines the impact of TANF before and during the Great Recession of 2008 by comparing socioeconomic outcomes among TANF recipients and similarly situated 'non-entrants' with an added focus on racial disparities in these outcome measures. Also, the role of state-level policy context is explored by assessing employment, income, and healthcare coverage outcomes among white, black, and Hispanic recipients living in states whose TANF policies are comparatively strict. Main findings include a significantly negative relationship between TANF participation and socioeconomic outcomes when controlling for relevant factors. No evidence was found, however, linking state TANF policy strictness with decreased socioeconomic outcomes among program participants. / Ph. D.

The impact of the length of time that Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients receive benefits on their path out of poverty is not clear. The purpose of this qualitative study with a phenomenological design was to increase understanding of the comparative experiences of TANF recipients who reached their lifetime limit of 60 or 24 months to determine the impact of time limits on their path out of poverty and the fulfillment of the TANF goal and second purpose. Human capital theory provided the framework for the study. Using a purposive, homogenous sampling method, 6 social service professionals were selected to participate in this study. Only social service professionals who began serving in their role prior to November 1, 2011 were considered for participation because that is the date Kansas first reduced maximum TANF eligibility from 60 months. Data were collected from questionnaires and interviews with these 6 social service professionals. Inductive coding and theme analysis indicated that TANF participation did not reduce the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage. Although the reduction in the number of lifetime TANF eligibility months resulted in TANF participants being more focused and intentional in following TANF participation guidelines, poverty persisted. Findings may be used to influence Kansas legislators to enact social service policies at the county and local levels to increase financial self-sufficiency for Kansans exiting TANF.

This paper examines how the definition of family, within Federal public housing and welfare policy, corresponds with changes in family patterns in America from 1950 to 2000. The definition of family as used to determine welfare eligibility is extremely important not only for how it defines recipients of cash aid but also because of how it affects public housing clients. In the name of economic vitality, needy individuals might choose to define their family according to the lowest common denominator to gain access to both welfare and public housing, thus negating diverse forms of family. Since family definition serves as an important gate-keeping device for program benefits to otherwise eligible families, it is important to establish if policy definitions of family reflect changing patterns of need or perceived normative definitions of "proper" family form. While public housing policy is the focal point of this research, it is necessary to review both housing and welfare policy to ascertain the impact of welfare policy's definition on overlapping participants. The changes in policy definition will be juxtaposed with cultural and legal shifts in family form to explore the policy's interaction with larger social trends. Public housing and welfare policy beginning with their respective inaugural legislation, the Wagner-Steagall Housing Act of 1937 and the Social Security Act of 1934, and their subsequent revisions are examined to track modifications to family definition. U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Reports, Series P20-537, "America's Families and Living Arrangements" data from 1950-2000 and Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters (POSSLQ) forecasting have been used to track social trends related to family composition patterns. Additionally, Federal and State Supreme Court rulings related to family formation and Domestic Partner legislation in California and Vermont have been used to gauge the legal legitimacy of varying family forms. Among the study's findings is public housing legislation's ongoing broad definition of family, the degree of influence welfare policy has historically had on the family form of public housing residents, and public housing's new "mixed family". Recommendations for future research include an examination of public housing's new "mixed family" issue and an examination of the impact on family form of the current public housing and welfare legislation: Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act (QHWRA) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

Efforts to meet the needs of poverty stricken Americans have resulted in the passage of numerous federal and state policies. Current Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policy emphasizes sharing the responsibility for meeting citizens’ needs through partnerships with those in poverty. Such reforms challenge local administrators to define and assess the terms of welfare policy reform success. This study’s adaptation of the theory of positionality examines how position in public organizations can inform employees’ views of welfare policy performances. Specifically, it seeks to determine if the type of administrative responsibility and interaction (positionality) with citizens leads to differing views of performance policy success, needed policy reforms, and varying views on the importance of including welfare clients in welfare policy reform discussions, development and evaluation. The study finds that current TANF policy is effective at meeting clients’ needs, but administrators differ in how they define and apply self-sufficiency, and they are not supportive of involving clients in the administration of welfare policies.

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