Alison Jacknowitz

Food Stamps and the Elderly: Why Is Participation so Low?

Estimates imply that only one-third of elderly persons who are eligible for food stamps actually participate in the program, which is half the rate that exists among younger people. This study investigates potential reasons for the relatively low take-up rate among the elderly. Analyzing new data, we conclude that the low take-up rate is not explained by measurement error and little is explained by various behavioral factors. Despite this much lower take-up rate, elderly who are eligible for assistance but not enrolled in the program do not appear to be especially needy.

Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children and Infant Feeding Practices

OBJECTIVE. This study examined the association between participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and adherence to 4 American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations on infant feeding. METHODS. We used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, which is nationally representative of children born in 2001. We estimated regression models to assess relationships between program participation and adherence to American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations on exclusive breastfeeding and the introduction of infant formula, cows milk, and solid foods. RESULTS. Regression results indicated that WIC participation was associated with a 5.9-percentage point decrease in the likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding for ≥4 months and a 1.9-percentage point decrease in the likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding for ≥6 months. Program mothers were 8.5 percentage points less likely than nonparticipants to adhere to the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation to delay introduction of infant formula until month 6. Program mothers were 2.5 percentage points more likely than nonparticipants to delay the introduction of cows milk until month 8. Program participants were 4.5 percentage points less likely than nonparticipants to delay the introduction of solid foods for ≥4 months. However, the difference between participants and nonparticipants disappeared by month 6. CONCLUSIONS. Results suggest that, although program participants are less likely to breastfeed exclusively than eligible nonparticipants, program-provided infant formula is an important option for mothers who do not breastfeed exclusively. The program faces the challenge to encourage breastfeeding without undermining incentives to follow other recommended infant feeding practices. Recent changes proposed to the food packages by the US Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service are consistent with the goal of increasing adherence to recommended infant feeding practices among participants.

Is Full Better than Half? Examining the Longitudinal Effects of Full-Day Kindergarten Attendance

Kindergarten policy varies widely both across and within states. Over the past decade, a number of states have instituted a full-day kindergarten requirement and a number of others are considering it as a way of increasing educational achievement. Many parents also support full-day kindergarten as a source of child care. This paper uses the Early Child Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 to evaluate the efficacy of this policy. In ordinary least squares, probit, county fixed effects, and instrumental variables models, we find that there are initial benefits for students and the mothers of students that attend full-day kindergarten, but that these differences largely evaporate by third grade. Contrary to claims by some advocates, attending full-day kindergarten is found to have no additional benefit for students in families with income below the poverty threshold.

Transient, but Not Persistent, Adult Food Insecurity Influences Toddler Development

In this study, we examined characteristics associated with experiencing persistent and transitional adult food insecurity and how persistent and transitional adult food insecurity influences toddler cognitive and motor development, along with toddlers weight and health status. Using the first 2 waves of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, 4 mutually exclusive variables capturing persistent and transitional adult food insecurity were created to capture those adults that experience adult food insecurity in the following: both waves, in 1 wave (at 9 or 24 mo after birth), and never experience food insecurity. We used logistic regression models to estimate characteristics associated with the likelihood of experiencing persistent and transitional adult food insecurity. Ordinary least squares regression models were used to estimate how persistent and transitional adult food insecurity influences toddler development. Similar factors influenced ones likelihood of experiencing adult transitional and persistent food insecurity; individuals who experienced any food insecurity were more economically disadvantaged. Thus, outreach efforts do not need to vary by duration of food insecurity. Whereas negative effects of food insecurity on school-aged children are found in the literature, it appears toddlers are buffered from the effects of persistent adult food insecurity. Our findings suggest that toddlers residing with a temporarily food-insecure adult compared with a never food-insecure adult experienced immediate, but small, negative effects on their development. Hence, outreach and assistance may lessen immediate impacts of food insecurity on toddler development.

The Role of Workplace Characteristics in Breastfeeding Practices

ABSTRACT The present analyses were undertaken to understand the role of workplace characteristics in the breastfeeding practices of working women. The effects of the perception of the availability of employer-sponsored child care, the perception of the availability of a flexible schedule, hours worked at home, and worked a fixed schedule on breastfeeding outcomes were estimated using a sample of 1,506 births from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. The availability of employer-sponsored child care increased the likelihood of breastfeeding six months after birth by 47 percent. In addition, working an additional eight hours at home per week, at the mean, increased the probability of breastfeeding initiation by 8 percent and breastfeeding six months after birth by 16.8 percent. Workplace characteristics show promise as an effective way to increase breastfeeding rates among working women.

Are Student Absences Worth the Worry in U.S. Primary Schools

Student absences are a potentially important, yet understudied, input in the educational process. Using longitudinal data from a nationally representative survey and rich administrative records from North Carolina, we investigate the relationship between student absences and academic performance. Generally, student absences are associated with modest but statistically significant decreases in academic achievement. The harmful effects of absences are approximately linear, and are two to three times larger among fourth and fifth graders in North Carolina than among kindergarten and first-grade students in the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. In both datasets, absences similarly reduce achievement in urban, rural, and suburban schools. In North Carolina, the harm associated with student absences is greater among both low-income students and English language learners, particularly for reading achievement. Also, in North Carolina, unexcused absences are twice as harmful as excused absences. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Transitions into and out of the WIC Program: A Cause for Concern?

Despite the health benefits that can be achieved by participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), many eligible households do not participate in WIC during pregnancy, and others exit after a child turns 1 year old. This research analyzes data from the first two waves of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort, to advance understanding of transitions into and out of WIC. The findings suggest that participants who exhibit better economic health across a variety of dimensions are more likely to delay entry into the program or to exit after a child turns 1 year of age.

WIC Participation Patterns: An Investigation of Delayed Entry and Early Exit

USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides nutritious foods, nutrition counseling, and referrals to health and other social services to low-income women and their infants/children up to age 5. Despite the health benefits of WIC participation, many eligible women do not participate during pregnancy, and many households exit WIC when a participating child turns 1 year old. The authors of this report use the first two waves of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) to understand these transitions into and out of WIC. Findings show that households that are more economically advantaged are more likely to delay entry into the program or exit after a child turns 1 year old. Some of the mothers exiting the program reported that WIC requires too much effort and that its benefits are not worth the time (26.2 percent of those exiting) or that they have scheduling and transportation problems (almost 10 percent of those exiting), suggesting that the costs of participation may be a barrier to continued WIC participation.

The Economic Status of Elderly Divorced Women

Over the past 35 years the gap in poverty between divorced and married women increased from 2:1 (in 1967) to 4:1 (in 2001). Despite high poverty rates, divorced women are no less educated than married women. Labor market earnings are a particularly important source of income for elderly divorced women; Divorced womens level of labor force participation is comparable to that of married men; however, retirement of divorced women experiences no spike at ages 62 and 65, as is the case for married men. Divorced women are quite distinct from separated women, with the latter much less educated, lower income, and minority; grouping these two populations together, as is often done, is a mistake. Initial analyses suggest that the reduction in the requirement on length of marriage from 20 to 10 years to receive Social Security divorcee benefits had little or no effect on alleviating divorcee poverty. A large number of questions remain unanswered, but given the speed at which the cohorts with high prevalence of divorce are approaching old age, the time is now to address these questions.