No. 4 in Series, "Snapshots of America's Families III"
The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.
About six out of 10 adults receiving welfare in 2002 reported that during the previous 12 months they had either worked or engaged in activities to prepare for work. Many held paid jobs; some took job training or job preparation classes; others took high school or postsecondary classes; and some participated in more than one of these activities. This level of activity demonstrates one important aspect of the success of states' Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs and individuals' responses to new program rules that encourage work.
DATA AT A GLANCE
ABOUT SIX OUT OF 10 ADULTS RECEIVING WELFARE IN 2002 REPORTED THAT THEY HAD EITHER WORKED OR ENGAGED IN ACTIVITIES TO PREPARE FOR WORK DURING THE PREVIOUS 12 MONTHS.
THE SHARE OF WELFARE RECIPIENTS WORKING DURING THE PRECEDING 12 MONTHS ROSE FROM 31 PERCENT IN 1997 TO 44 PERCENT IN 1999 BEFORE FALLING TO 39 PERCENT IN 2002. |
Federal TANF rules mandate work requirements for welfare recipients and minimum annual work participation standards for states. While current rules require states to engage 50 percent of all families in work activities, a "caseload reduction credit" reduces these requirements considerably. States can count paid or unpaid work, up to 12 months of education and training, and up to three months of job search activities as participation. In FY 2001, the national average monthly participation rate for all families on TANF was 34 percent (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2003).
In all three rounds of the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF), conducted in 1997, 1999, and 2002, interviewers asked low-income adults whether they worked in a paid or unpaid job, took high school or college courses, engaged in job training courses, and took classes or workshops to help them look for work during the past 12 months. This Snapshot reports work activities among adults receiving welfare who are the primary caretakers of the children in the family (usually the mothers). Results differ from administrative data on work activities because the findings reported here rely on individuals' reports of activity, include only the mother's activities, and include all work activity during the past year even if it occurred while the mother was not receiving welfare. The 12-month activity measure also will be higher than the official participation rate because the 12-month rate includes all activity during the year and many adults participate in work activity for part of the year, whereas the official rate measures participation at one point in time.
Most Recipients Engaged in Some Work Activity
Six out of 10 adults receiving welfare in 2002 had engaged in some work activity during the past 12 months (figure 1). Total work activity in 1999 and 2002 was significantly higher than in 1997, when federal reforms were just rolling out in the states, mostly because paid work increased. The proportion of recipients working either currently or in the past year rose from 31.1 percent in 1997 to 43.8 percent in 1999 and then fell to 39.2 percent in 2002.1
Almost half of the caseload reported other types of work preparation activities in all three years, although the type of activity changed somewhat across time. Significantly fewer took high school or college classes in 1999 and 2002 than in 1997, perhaps reflecting restrictions on the amount of education that states can count as work activity. In all three years, about one in 10 mothers on welfare reported taking a job training course. The proportion of recipients engaged in job search workshops did not change significantly during this period.
Targeting Work Activity Requirements
Patterns of work activity differ somewhat depending on the education level of welfare recipients (figure 2). One in five high school dropouts were working on their GEDs in 2002, and one in 10 were training for a specific job or vocation. Only about one in 10 mothers on welfare who had completed high school were enrolled in postsecondary education classes. The majority of mothers were engaged in work activities during the past 12 months regardless of their education status.
Conclusion
A large share of adults on welfare engage in work activities during the course of the year. The level of activity indicates that most recipients are trying to move into employment, and that states' welfare policies are facilitating work activity. Work activity, especially paid work, increased significantly at the beginning of welfare reform and remained high in 2002 despite the weakened economy.
Reauthorization proposals that require states to increase work activity among welfare recipients should recognize the prevalence of part-year work activities. All work activity helps to move families off welfare and should be considered in the assessment of states' work participation policies.
Figures
References
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2003. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF), Fifth Annual Report to Congress. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/annualreport5/, accessed July 8, 2003. Washington, D.C.: The Administration for Children and Families.
Zedlewski, Sheila R. 2003. "Work and Barriers to Work among Welfare Recipients in 2002." Snapshots of America's Families III, No. 3. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute.
Endnote
1 See Zedlewski (2003) for analysis of the change in work and barriers to work between 1999 and 2002.
Sheila R. Zedlewski is the director of the Income and Benefits Policy Center at the Urban Institute, and Jennifer Holland is a research assistant in the Income and Benefits Policy Center.
About the Series
Snapshots III presents findings from the 1997,1999, and 2002 rounds of the National Survey of America's Families(NSAF). Information on more than 100,000 people was gathered from approximately 40,000 representative households in each round. The NSAF is part of the Assessing the New Federalism project (ANF).Information on ANF and the NSAF can be obtained at http://www.urban.org/anf.
This Snapshot was funded by The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The Assessing the New Federalism project is also currently supported by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation,The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and The Ford Foundation.
Alan Weil is the director of Assessing the New Federalism. Kenneth Finegold is the editor of Snapshots III. Design is by Bremmer & Goris Communications.
The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.
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