We investigated the widely held premise that welfare participation causes women to refrain from marriage. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 3,219), we employed an event history approach to study transitions to marriage among mothers who have had a nonmarital birth. We found that welfare participation reduces the…

Adult (age 30) educational, economic, and social-emotional adjustment outcomes were investigated for participants in the Abecedarian Project, a randomized controlled trial of early childhood education for children from low-income families. Of the original 111 infants enrolled (98% African American), 101 took part in the age 30 follow-up. Primary…

Uses data from National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to trace poverty status and welfare use in five years following an exit from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). Results show substantial diversity in economic well-being. Women who were working when they exited from AFDC do better, and, to a lesser extent so do those who were…

Investigated incidence of, and factors associated with, marriage and separation/divorce in welfare recipients. Race significantly affected probability of marriage; young child in the household and wife's employment status correlated with marital dissolution. Changes in welfare benefits, number of public assistance programs received, and length of…

This report uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study (a nationwide survey that collects data on married and non-married parents at the time of the child's birth) to determine how much marriage could reduce poverty among couples who are not married at the time of birth. To determine the impact of marriage on children's and…

The promotion of marriage and two-parent families as a strategy to reduce welfare dependency continues to be a major public policy goal of the 1996 welfare reform. Based on the assumption that women will marry employed men and that their earnings will lift poor mothers and their children from public dependency, this objective raises important…

Analyzed data from National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to determine whether impact of adolescent childbearing on women's subsequent contact with welfare system differed for Black women and White women (n=1,894). Results supported hypothesized patterns of association between early birth, educational attainment, years spent as single parent, years…

The impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) on working families was analyzed. The analysis established that the EITC is, on balance, a highly effective program that meets its primary objectives well. The following benefits of the EITC were identified: (1) it reduced the poverty rate in 1999 by an estimated 1.5 percentage points; (2) it is…