Suchergebnisse

AbstractObjectiveThis brief report takes a life course approach to describe how first‐time mothers with low incomes participate in Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF) before and after birth.BackgroundBy providing cash assistance to low‐income mothers with children, TANF functions as a major family policy.MethodPopulation data from a cohort of all births in Oregon across 2016–2017 are linked to TANF participation and employment histories. Centering on the birth event, the study window spanned 24 months before and after the first birth. Multivariate models are used to predict TANF participation around birth. A combination of sequence and cluster analyses illuminate within‐group patterns.ResultsAround one‐quarter of low‐income mothers relied on TANF at any time in the two‐year study window with about 70% of those participating in TANF during the 6 months after birth. The most common trajectory pattern (41%) was one of TANF enrollment around birth with high likelihood of exit by 6 months following birth, suggesting TANF may function as a short‐term substitute for paid work, that is, paid leave. Other trajectories were characterized by timing of enrollment (prenatal or postnatal) and duration of participation. Clusters with longer participation were comprised of mothers who were young, single, and with less labor market attachment.ConclusionsThe majority of low‐income single mothers who rely on TANF around birth participate in short spells and exit the program within 1 year. As more states implement paid family leave policies, low‐income mothers who previously enrolled in TANF may opt for paid leave.

As the cost of higher education rises, a growing body of theory and research suggests that asset holding in the form of savings and net worth positively influence education expectations and outcomes. Native Hawaiians, like other Indigenous peoples, have disproportionately low college enrollment and graduation rates tied to a history of colonization. Using data from an Individual Development Account (IDA) program for Native Hawaiians, I examine the trajectories through the program and find: (a) welfare receipt and unemployment reduces the chances of IDA enrollment; (b) net worth increases the probability of IDA graduation; and (c) IDA graduates were more likely to gain a college degree over time compared to non-graduates. The study provides empirical evidence to the debate on asset-based interventions for Indigenous peoples.

Two movements are shaping social work in Hawai'i in the era of globalization: (a) the Assets Movement, and (b) the Indigenous Peoples Movement. Data from an asset-based Individual Development Account (IDA) program for indigenous Hawaiians are analyzed. Findings suggest that, under certain conditions, asset-based interventions may promote social development among indigenous peoples.

A household is considered asset poor if its assets (financial assets or net worth, taken separately) are insufficient to maintain well‐being at a low‐income threshold for 3 months. We provide the first national‐level estimates of asset poverty for Canada, using the 1999, 2005, and 2012 cycles of the Survey of Financial Security, and juxtapose these estimates with income poverty. The analysis provides new insight into economic insecurity by showing that asset poverty rates are consistently two to three times higher than income poverty rates. In addition to the prevalence of asset poverty across socio‐demographic groups, we analyzed how the composition of the poor change over time. Age and geography shape the risk for asset poverty in distinct ways. We found that while education appears to play a comparable role in shaping both income poverty and asset poverty, immigration places Canadians at a relatively higher risk of income poverty but not asset poverty.Key Practitioner Message: • Practitioners ought to consider assets as well as income in assessing economic vulnerability; • Asset poverty levels are 2–3 times higher than income poverty levels; • Certain groups (e.g., immigrants) may be income poor but maintain sufficient assets.

AbstractThe construct of material hardship has been introduced to broaden the understanding of living conditions beyond household income. However, much remains unclear about how much variation in material hardship can be explained by income and other economic indicators such as asset holdings. To get advance knowledge on these related but distinct relationships, using the Korean Welfare Panel Study we tested the association between material hardship and three poverty indicators (joint income‐asset, asset‐only, and income‐only). For income poverty and asset poverty, we found a statistically significant association between a household's poverty condition and material hardship. The joint income‐asset poor were most likely to experience hardship (with respect to food, utility, and health). In addition, householders who rented rather than owned their own home, and householders whose heads were younger, single, less‐educated, and only temporarily employed suffered more hardship than their counterparts. Future longitudinal research that identifies the casual relationships between poverty and hardship is needed.Key Practitioner Message: •Considering only overall hardship may mask within‐group differences in living conditions; thus, practitioners may gain greater insight into client populations by assessing various types of hardships such as food, utility, and health; •Because the asset‐only poor suffer from hardship despite their above‐poverty‐level income, the asset poverty‐related programs should be more responsive to the problems of the asset poor; •Based on our findings showing that the income‐only poor, especially the relatively older age group, suffers from difficulties in cash flow despite their high homeownership rate, policies are needed to help older homeowners leverage their home equity or other real estate to alleviate their financial difficulties.

In 2010, the Korean government introduced the Hope Growing Account (Hope) program. The Hope program combines elements of a social assistance scheme (monthly income grants) with matched funds for savings to encourage the working poor to increase income and build assets. This longitudinal study estimated changes in household economic well‐being among 895 low‐income households who participated in Hope between 2010 and 2012. Economic well‐being was measured by changes in household monthly income and income‐to‐needs ratio. The adjusted difference‐in‐differences estimation revealed that the impact of Hope varied over household income distributions: lower income households were more likely to increase their monthly earned income and income‐to‐needs ratio compared to demographically similar non‐participants, while higher income households were less likely to increase their income and income‐to‐needs ratio. We describe how future research is needed to better understand how the Hope program impacts household assets and behavioral changes in the long run.

While the 2008 global economic crisis is over and many countries are into a recovery phase, the impacts continue to linger. Analysis of its aftermath offers insight into how economic shocks reverberate through modern economies to affect the lives of children and families and how governments respond to economic crises. We calculate child poverty rates before and during the Great Recession in five nations - Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and United States. Data are from the latest nationally representative and harmonized household survey data available from the LIS Cross-National Data Center (Waves VII and VIII, approximately aligning with years 2007 and 2010). The study adds new knowledge in several ways. Welfare policies of the selected countries share common reliance on means-tested social assistance, higher economic inequality, and less unionization. While prior studies have examined within-country and cross-country variation in child poverty outside of the Recession, this paper investigates variation within welfare regime during a crisis. Second, within each country, we quantify the impact that market, social policy transfers, and taxes had on child poverty. Last, within countries, we examine how children's family structure affected their chances of living in poverty. We find large variations in child poverty rates during this period. Using a poverty threshold anchored in the 2007 distribution, across countries child poverty increased the most in Ireland and Australia and decreased the most in the UK and Canada. The US experienced only marginal changes in child poverty. Within countries, we find that children in married families have the lowest risk of poverty, except for the UK where the probability of being poor was lower for single and cohabitating families. Decomposing poverty rates by income source (labor, transfers, and taxes) over time, we quantify the contribution to the change in poverty rate. Labor earnings explained the poverty reduction in Canada and UK changes in poverty occurred primarily via transfers. In the US, the transfer system offset what would have been a large increase in poverty (4-percentage point). We then disaggregate these changes within country by family structure, finding significant variations in how earnings and social transfers affected children. Together, these findings document the impact of the different levels of cushioning provided by liberal welfare states in the Great Recession and the resulting differing relative poverty risks of different family structures.