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Article Excerpt
This study examined the types and combinations of public and private assistance received by three types of low-income households, including those with children, without children, and elderly without children. Using data from the 1996 and 2001 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), the results indicate that a large percentage of low-income households rely on public assistance, and receipt of private assistance is much less common. Approximately 7% of the sample use both types of assistance. The findings highlight differences in combinations of public and private assistance used by different household types. We also found some significant differences in the factors that determine receipt of public and private assistance. Practice and policy implications are discussed.
Keywords: pubic assistance; private assistance; combination of assistance; poverty; TANF
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Approximately 37 million people (12.6% of the United States population) live in poverty, an income level that the federal government estimates cannot provide the basic necessities of living (U. S. Census Bureau, 2006). Poverty rates among various population groups are not constant, but reflect social policy decisions and racial/ethnic, gender, and citizenship status divisions that exist within this country. For example, the elderly experience a relatively low rate of poverty (10.1%), compared to children (17.1%). Only 8.3% of non-Hispanic white children are poor, while 24.9% of Black and 21.8% of Hispanic children live in poverty. Approximately 29% of single female heads of households are poor, more than two times the poverty rate of single male heads of households, and more than five times the poverty rate of married couples. The percentage of non-citizens who live in poverty (20.4%) is almost double that of citizens.
When income from earnings, assets, other transactions in the market place, and social insurance programs does not meet the needs of low-income individuals and families, they rely on assistance from other public and private sources (Danziger, Corcoran, Danziger, & Heflin, 2000; Edin & Lein, 1996; Hollar, 2003; Teitler, Reichman, & Nepomnyaschy, 2004). Public sources include means-tested government benefits such as welfare, food stamps, subsidized housing, and Medicaid. Charitable and non-profit organizations, such as churches, food emergency providers, and other community groups, and social networks are the two main sources of private assistance. Private sources provide a variety of assistance, including cash, clothing, food, and child care.
As the literature review that follows demonstrates, recent social policy changes have weakened the safety net for low-income individuals and families. The federal government's reduced commitment to low-income households highlights the importance of the current study, which identifies the types and combinations of public and private assistance that low-income households rely on to meet their basic needs.
Public Sources of Assistance
Since the 1970s, several major changes reflecting the conservative Reagan era, George Bush Sr.'s "thousand points of light," Bill Clinton's "welfare reform," and most recently George W. Bush's "faith-based and community initiatives" have been made in federal social policy that affect the poor and vulnerable (Brooks, 2004; Marwell, 2004). The changes include cutting federal government funding for public benefits, increasing reliance on volunteer and private activity, shifting federal funds to the private sector (referred to as "privatization"), and shifting administrative decisions related to program participation, such as eligibility and benefit levels, from the federal government to lower levels of government (referred to as "devolution").
According to Hacker (2004), these post-1970s changes have not collapsed this country's welfare state, but they have eroded social protection for vulnerable households in at least three main ways. First, privatization and devolution have altered, sometimes radically, the administration of previously stable social policies. Second, social programs now cover fewer of the economic risks faced by many households as a result of recent changes in employment (e.g., increases in low-wage, part-time, and unstable employment) and family structure, including high rates of marital disruption and single-parent households. Finally, significant changes in welfare policy have occurred, with the most extensive changes occurring as a result of the passage of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA).
PRWORA replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). Instead of providing an entitlement to cash benefits for poor families with children, TANF provides temporary, employment-based cash assistance. States have increased discretion in designing and implementing their TANF programs, resulting in variability in eligibility requirements, benefits, and services. PRWORA also reduced other program benefits for low-income households. Examples of these include restrictions on food stamp eligibility for able-bodied adults without dependents who fail to meet work requirements, more stringent rules to qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for individuals with disabilities, and further decreases in immigrants' eligibility for many federal program benefits (for an extensive review of these changes, see Greenberg et al., 2002).
The TANF program has resulted in dramatic declines in welfare caseloads and is related to increased employment, earnings, and economic well-being for low-income families (Cancian, Haveman, Meyer, & Wolfe, 2002; Danziger et al., 2000). Despite these positive outcomes, other families exiting or declining to receive TANF benefits are poor, are worse off financially than under the previous AFDC program, secure short-term, low paying employment providing few or no benefits, and continue to receive some type of means-tested benefits (Cancian, Meyer, & Wu, 2005; Ozawa & Yoon, 2005). Receiving assistance from means-tested benefit programs is common among all low-income households (Mosley & Tiehen, 2004; Teitler et al., 2004).
With recent changes in government benefit programs, private sources of assistance, including charitable and other non-profit organizations and social networks, become increasingly important to the economic well-being of low-income households.
Private Sources of Assistance
Charitable/non-profit organizations. Since the 1980s, private, nonprofit social agencies and other community-based organizations have relied heavily on financial support from the federal government. Instead of providing direct material or income assistance to low-income households, these organizations primarily provide a range of supportive assistance such as child care, employment training, and community development activities, some of which can contribute to the economic well-being of low-income households (Lynn, 2002; Marwell, 2004). Other local non-profit and charitable groups have responded to the unmet needs of low-income households by providing clothing and limited cash assistance and by establishing shelters and food assistance programs (Daponte, 2000; Edwin, 1991).
Food emergency program use among low-income households is common, with approximately one-third of these households using a food pantry or soup kitchen within a year (Ahluwalia, Dodds, & Baligh, 1998; Daponte, 2000). Both current and former welfare recipients frequently access assistance, including shelter, food, and clothing, from churches, community groups, and private, nonprofit organizations (Danziger et al., 2000; Edin & Lein, 1996; Hollar, 2003). Assistance from private sources can be particularly critical to unemployed mothers, as Danziger et al. found that approximately 50% of them receive assistance from private community sources. For unauthorized immigrants, who are ineligible to receive public benefits, assistance from private sources can be especially important (Moretti & Perloff, 2000).
Assistance from private community sources is important to low-income households. However, when low-income individuals and families cannot meet their basic needs through earnings and/or public benefits, they tend to seek assistance from community-based agencies only after assistance is not available from their social networks (Ahluwalia et al., 1998).
Social Networks. Social networks, referring to the personal connections individuals have with others, such as extended family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and acquaintances, can provide a variety of assistance to low-income households (Ahluwalia et al., 1998). Scholars have defined types of social support received from social networks in various ways (e.g., Henly, Danziger, & Offer, 2005; Thoits, 1995). Common categories of social support include emotional (communicating reassurance, caring, and concern), informational (giving advice, opinions, and information), and instrumental (providing transportation, child care, and other economically-related assistance). This review focuses on instrumental assistance.
A recent study of former and current welfare recipients and a review of similar literature (Henly et al., 2005) suggest that receipt of cash assistance from low-income individuals' social networks is uncommon; and when such financial assistance is received, it is small compared to income from welfare benefits or monthly earnings. Researchers, however, acknowledge that social networks are an important safety net for low-income households (Danziger et al., 2000; Edin & Lein, 1996; Hollar, 2003; Litt, Gaddis, Fletcher, & Winter, 2000). In addition to providing small amounts of cash, social networks provide food, housing, clothing, childcare, and transportation, support employment, and prevent hardships such as homelessness (Harknett, 2006; Henly et al., 2005; Passero, Zax, & Zozus, 1991).
Compared to more economically advantaged households, low-income households have the greatest needs and experience the highest...
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