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Economic well‐being of low‐income single‐mother families following welfare reform in the USA
Author(s) -
Ahn Haksoon
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of social welfare
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1468-2397
pISSN - 1369-6866
DOI - 10.1111/ijsw.12095
Subject(s) - single mothers , welfare reform , earned income tax credit , net income , earnings , welfare , labour economics , survey of income and program participation , economics , subsidy , income in kind , income support , low income , demographic economics , comprehensive income , income tax , family income , workforce , gross income , public economics , economic growth , state income tax , tax reform , finance , psychology , developmental psychology , market economy , macroeconomics
This study explored changes in net disposable income for low‐income single‐mother families before and after the 1996 welfare reform in the USA . Although many studies on welfare reform have focused on employment or total family income as a way to measure low‐income single‐mother families’ economic well‐being, little is known about their net income after expenses related to entering the workforce. This study analyzed net disposable income after tax deductions and childcare costs to provide a more accurate understanding of income changes using data from the S urvey of I ncome and P rogram P articipation conducted by the US C ensus B ureau. The results revealed that while low‐income single mothers were working more after welfare reform, their net disposable income decreased during this time because their earnings were low and offset by an increase in childcare costs and a decline in means‐tested benefits, including T emporary A ssistance for N eedy F amilies benefits. Key Practitioner Message: ● To understand effects of the 1996 welfare reform on low‐income families’ economic well‐being ; ● To understand comprehensive income sources and work related expenses of low‐income families ; ● To provide policy suggestions for comprehensive childcare subsidies to support low‐income single mothers’ employment .