Those Left Behind: Enduring Challenges Facing Welfare Applicants

The Milwaukee Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) applicant study followed 1,075 family heads who applied for assistance between March and August 1999. The sample represents applicants to each of the Wisconsin Works (W-2) agency sites in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. The study tracked outcomes from a representative sample of the help-seeking population that were eligible for TANF over a period of six months. The focus of the study was to discover characteristics and outcomes of those families that remained on TANF without over-representing the experiences of long-term welfare recipients.

The sample was 95.9% female, and 81.5% African-American. Two-thirds lacked a high school diploma, and nearly 80% had never been married. All cared for at least one child; the median number of children was two. Baseline survey data were collected at the time of application. Two additional interviews were conducted over the five year span of the study. Between July 2000 and May 2001, 79% were re-interviewed; Between March 2002 and December 2002, 77% of the original applicants were re-interviewed. The three interviews evaluated individual and family demographics; employment and earnings; child care; education and training; housing; government program participation; economic hardships; and parenting.

The TANF program only provided services that the participants specifically requested. The researchers sought to discover if the services provided by the W-2 TANF program helped the applicants address the situations that brought them to apply for assistance. The applicants were placed in four groups:

• Employed or "job ready" individuals received no monthly cash payments
   
• Without work experience but "job ready" individuals were eligible for subsidized minimum-wage jobs with employers who received a stipend to defray training costs
   
• Without work experience and not "job ready" individuals were assigned to community service jobs plus education and a monthly cash stipend of $673
   
• Participants facing barriers to employment and training such as disability, poor health, or a family member who required care, received a monthly grant of up to $628 and were directed to counseling, rehabilitation, or other treatment, in addition to education and training

Barriers to employment persisted for the participants. Initially 85.3% reported one or more barriers. On the second interview, 79.6% reported one or more barriers. At the third interview 75% reported one or more barriers. The most persistent barrier was lack of a high school diploma or General Education Diploma (GED) certificate. Alcohol and drug problems reduced from 5% to 4.8% in the second survey, to 3.8% in the third. Mental health problems (either self reported or diagnosed depression) was a barrier for 51.7% at the first interview, 40.7% at the second, and was reported as a barrier by 37% at the third interview. Poor or fair health or a limiting disability were barriers for 46.2% initially, 44.8% reported these barriers in the second interview, and 40.8% reported these barriers in the third interview.