Welfare Reform and Child Well-Being

Since the implementation of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Act in 1996, many studies have been conducted to show the effects of welfare reform on families receiving assistance. With the issue of reauthorization for TANF (The TANF Reauthorization Act of 2001, H.R. 3113.IH) on the agenda, policy-makers must review and take into consideration the effects these programs are having on the well-being of children receiving welfare. "Changes now being implemented in welfare policies and programs take many forms, but most of them have one thing in common-they are almost all driven by adult-focused goals. However, two-thirds of recipients of the former welfare program called Aid to Families with Dependent Children were not adults they were children."¹ The 1996 TANF Act has been a success in the sense that more mothers are working and welfare cases have declined considerably. Unfortunately, these positive results for adults have had no positive outcomes for our nation’s children. Children are still experiencing problems in the areas of family income, health, education and behavior. Moreover, children generally remain disadvantaged or at risk.²

According to the 2002 annual report issued by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, the poverty rate for children living with family members has decreased substantially since 1993 when it reached a high of 22 percent. In 2000, 16 percent of children lived in families with incomes below the poverty threshold of an annual income of less than $8,500, the lowest poverty rate among children since 1979.³ With the implementation of the welfare-to-work programs, poverty among children did decline, but this decline did not substantially raise the standards of living for children. "Five years after parents had entered welfare-to-work programs, earnings substantially increased, but in many cases, family income did not increase since cash-assistance benefits decreased."⁴ Also, current legislation being debated would require an increase in work requirements from 30 hours a week to 40 hours a week. This would mean a need for longer hours of childcare, causing a great strain on a family’s financial situation. According to the Almanac of Policy Issues, some families, especially those with modest incomes, experience difficulty financing their childcare costs which range from $4000 to $10,000 a year. The Child Care and Development Fund assists states with funding to help low-income working families pay for childcare. With a possible increase in work requirements, more funding will be needed for childcare programs in order for parents to work longer hours without putting a further strain on their household income.

Health is also another area of concern. There was a very small improvement in children’s health status during the late 1990’s. Low-income children were much less likely than higher-income children to have good or excellent health.⁵ According to a report issued by the Center on Hunger and Poverty at Brandeis University, there is strong evidence that children who live in households lacking sufficient food are more likely to be in poor health than children from food-secure households. Furthermore, studies suggest that undernourished children are more susceptible to certain illnesses and infections, more frequently experience sore throats, colds, stomachaches, and headaches, and also are more likely to be hospitalized. Several studies of low-income households have concluded that iron deficiency anemia is associated with hunger and food insecurity. ⁶ A recent study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine indicates that welfare sanctions and benefit decreases are associated with significantly increased rates of hospitalizations in young children. This study also found that families with infants and toddlers whose welfare benefits have been terminated or reduced by sanctions have approximately a 50 percent higher risk of being food insecure than similar families whose benefits have not decreased.⁷

All of the problems discussed so far also have an impact on a child’s education and behavior. A research conducted by Abt Associates Inc. found that children in TANF households miss substantially more school than others. A national sample of third graders show high absenteeism for 29 percent of welfare children, but only 17 percent of non-welfare children. The corresponding statistics are 43 and 25 percent for seventh graders and 53 and 26 percent for ninth graders. The study also found that the reasons for these absences were health related and not behavioral related.⁸

never been on welfare."⁹ Food insecurity also yields behavioral problems. Children experiencing food insecurity have higher levels of aggression, hyperactivity, and anxiety as well as passivity. They also have difficulty getting along with other children and have an increased need for mental health services. This causes a diminished capacity to learn, lower test scores and poorer overall school achievement.¹⁰

C Welfare reform can be an opportunity to improve a child’s well-being. Urge your policymakers to implement policies that will help improve child growth and development.

C Urge lawmakers to invest in not only childcare through the Child Care and Development Fund, but in early childhood development programs for young children.

C To assess how children are doing under welfare reform, urge your legislators to include specific child outcomes in the ongoing monitoring policy to learn what works best.

C Federal Funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) dropped by 26%, or more than $ 1 billion. The Office of Management and Budget projects that national SCHIP enrollment will decline by 900,000 children between 2003 and 2006. We must urge Congress to extend the availability of the expiring funds, to place those funds in the states that need them, and to restore full federal SCHIP funding for the next two years.¹¹

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