This article examines the characteristics and income patterns associated with welfare entry and nonentry in the context of an extended application period for a sample of 1,664 women who applied for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families services in Wisconsin in the fall of 2006. The study uses data derived from the systematic review of caseworker…

Although a vast amount of literature on the characteristics of public assistance recipients exists, little is known about the characteristics of the clientele of nonprofits that provide material assistance. This study examines the question of who receives material assistance from nonprofits. Three panels of the Survey of Income and Program…

This study identified the employment and earnings trajectories of welfare recipients over six years for a sample of 14,150 women who entered the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF) in Wisconsin in its first year. Wisconsin longitudinal administrative data were used to examine differential patterns of mid-term (three years) and…

Using data from two waves of a short-term longitudinal study, the authors examined the impact of maternal socioeconomic conditions (education, employment, and income) and family processes (quality of mother-father relations, frequency of nonresident fathers' contacts with their children, and mothers' parenting stress) at time (T) 1 on maternal…

This study analyzes welfare returns for families who leave welfare for a "sit-out" period of 12 months in response to a temporary time limit requirement in Nevada. Findings reveal that relatively few families return for cash assistance after sitting out and that the majority who do return soon after their sit-out period is complete.…

Uses data concerning recipients' employment, receipt of aid, and poverty status to develop a typology of adaptations by welfare recipients. Results show that welfare reforms launched in 1996 moved dependent recipients out of welfare but had no effect on working recipients' chances of leaving welfare. Discusses factors that promoted a change in…

The authors explored the relationship among childhood sexual abuse (CSA), physical and mental health work barriers, and employment outcomes using a large panel study of current and former welfare recipients. Controlling for human capital and demographic characteristics, they found CSA was associated with significantly fewer months worked over the…

This study builds on research that examines the effects of microenterprise on poor women in the United States. Household income, income from the business, and poverty status were examined over time and comparisons were drawn among three groups of women: low-income women who participated in one of seven U.S. microenterprise assistance programs;…

This research assessed the effectiveness of a family-centered approach to out-of-home care in reunifying children with their families by comparing differential exit rates of children whose families received family-centered services with children whose families received routine child welfare services. The sample included 472 children who were in…

The authors examined how welfare recipiency is associated with savings outcomes in individual development accounts (IDAs), a structured savings program for low-income people. They investigated whether welfare recipients can save if they are provided with incentives. Data for this study ore from the American Dream Demonstration (ADD), the first…

Data from a longitudinal survey of families from three reservations (Navajo Nation, San Carlos, and Salt River) in Arizona were used to examine their probability of welfare use. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the effects of individual, family, and structural factors on welfare exit. Results indicate that their probability of…

This article documents the impact of the 1996 federal welfare legislation on American Indian families in the state of Arizona over a period of four years. The authors analyzed primary data obtained from interviews with 445 former or current welfare families with children from three Indian reservations: Navajo, San Carlos, and Salt River. Compared…

Examines a work initiative that moved welfare recipients into jobs as nurse assistants at a geriatric facility. The women's stories describe a welfare-to-work program in practice and illustrate how and why earnest efforts to mediate poverty resulted instead in the continued marginalization and stigmatization of poor people. (RJM)

Examines the extent to which personal, attitudinal, psychosocial, and human capital characteristics affect welfare-to-work training programs. Assesses these characteristics as predictors of post-program earnings. Results suggest that the personal and social characteristics that participants bring with them to the training program does affect…

Examines case management practices in welfare-to-work programs and the effects of these practices on participants' assessments of, and compliance with, the programs. Results suggest that establishment of voluntary and ongoing professional relationships of mutual trust is most effective in causing participants to make the transition from welfare to…