Kristin S. Seefeldt

Barriers to Employment and the ‘Hard to Serve’: Implications for Services, Sanctions, and Time Limits

Falling welfare rolls in the US has focussed attention on those remaining on the caseload, variously termed the ‘hard to serve’ or ‘difficult to employ’. Using data from the first three years of the Womens Employment Study, a sample of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) recipients drawn in an urban county in Michigan, this article examines the barriers that inhibit people moving off welfare. The analysis indicates that the kinds of skill deficits and other personal problems experienced by welfare recipients are not frequently and systematically addressed within the rapid-employment, welfare to work models widely implemented across the USA.

Housing instability and health: Findings from the Michigan recession and recovery study

The recession of the late 2000s has increased interest in the consequences of housing instability. Previous research has shown poorer health among those experiencing housing instability, but extant studies generally have focused on selected populations (e.g., homeowners or renters) or studied only one type of housing instability (e.g. homelessness). Using new data from the Michigan Recession and Recovery Study, a population-based sample of working-aged adults from Southeastern Michigan, U.S.A., in late 2009-early 2010, we found that about one-third of respondents recently experienced some type of housing instability. Many, but not all, types of instability were associated with health. Even after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics and earlier health, individuals who had moved for cost reasons in the past three years were more likely than those with no housing instability to report a recent anxiety attack, while those who experienced homelessness in the past year had a higher likelihood of reporting fair/poor self-rated health and of meeting criteria for major or minor depression. Renters behind on rental payments were more likely to meet criteria for depression, while mortgage-holders behind on their mortgage or in foreclosure had a higher likelihood of reporting fair/poor self-rated health or a recent anxiety attack. Among respondents who had ever owned a home, those who completed a foreclosure recently were more likely to report major or minor depression or an anxiety attack. However, frequent moves were not associated with poorer health, and doubling up and eviction were not associated with poorer health after adjustment for characteristics that sort people into different housing instability experiences. Our findings suggest the importance of considering multiple types of housing instability and using appropriate risk groups and comparison categories.

Sanctions and Material Hardship under TANF

Relatively little is known about families who have been sanctioned since the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. We use panel data from the Womens Employment Survey to examine the predictors of sanctioning and consequences for material hardship among a sample of welfare recipients under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Approximately 12 percent reported being sanctioned by fall 1998. Statistically significant predictors include being African American and lacking a high school education. Controlling for a wide range of personal and demographic characteristics, we find that sanctions predict utility shutoffs, engaging in hardship‐mediating activities, and subjective perceptions of economic hardship.

Housing Instability Among Current and Former Welfare Recipients

OBJECTIVES We examined correlates of eviction and homelessness among current and former welfare recipients from 1997 to 2003 in an urban Michigan community. METHODS Longitudinal cohort data were drawn from the Womens Employment Study, a representative panel study of mothers who were receiving cash welfare in February 1997. We used logistic regression analysis to identify risk factors for both eviction and homelessness over the survey period. RESULTS Twenty percent (95% confidence interval [CI]=16%, 23%) of respondents were evicted and 12% (95% CI=10%, 15%) experienced homelessness at least once between fall 1997 and fall 2003. Multivariate analyses indicated 2 consistent risk factors: having less than a high school education and having used illicit drugs other than marijuana. Mental and physical health problems were significantly associated with homelessness but not evictions. A multivariate screening algorithm achieved 75% sensitivity and 67% specificity in identifying individuals at risk for homelessness. A corresponding algorithm for eviction achieved 75% sensitivity and 50% specificity. CONCLUSIONS The high prevalence of housing instability among our respondents suggests the need to better target housing assistance and other social services to current and former welfare recipients with identifiable personal problems.

Substance Use among Welfare Recipients: Trends and Policy Responses

Substance use by welfare recipients is frequently mentioned as a barrier to well‐being and social performance. This article uses nationally representative cross‐sectional data and Michigan‐specific panel data to summarize trends in substance use among AFDC/TANF recipients. It also examines the prevalence of substance dependence within the welfare population. Although almost 20 percent of welfare recipients report recent use of some illicit drug during the year, few satisfy criteria for drug or alcohol dependence as indicated by the short‐form Composite International Diagnostic Interview. The article concludes by considering policy responses to substance use disorders following welfare reform.

Correlates of Employment Among Welfare Recipients: Do Psychological Characteristics and Attitudes Matter?

This study examines whether and how a wide range of potential barriers to work,including psychological characteristics and attitudes, are associated with current employment in a recent sample of welfare recipients in Michigan (N = 672). Psychological factors include measures of depressive symptoms, work attitudes, and perceived risks associated with leaving welfare. Over and above demographic, economic, and contextual factors, positive psychological characteristics and attitudes were found to be moderately associated with currently being employed. Implications for welfare-to-work programs and policy are discussed.

Perceived job insecurity and health: the Michigan Recession and Recovery Study.

Objective: To examine the association between perceived job insecurity in the next 12 months and current health with a sample representing working-aged employed adults in southeast Michigan in late 2009/early 2010 (n, 440 to 443). Methods: Logistic regression was used to compare the health of participants who perceived job insecurity with those who did not, with adjustments for objective employment problems and social characteristics. Results: Insecure workers were more likely to report fair or poor self-rated health (odds ratio [OR], 2.68; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14 to 6.32), symptoms suggesting major or minor depression (OR, 6.76; 95% CI, 3.34 to 13.3), and anxiety attacks (OR, 3.73; 95% CI, 1.40 to 9.97), even after correction for confounding factors. Conclusion: This study provides evidence that perceived job insecurity may be linked to health even among those who avoided unemployment in the late-2000s recession.

Drug testing welfare recipients—false positives, false negatives, unanticipated opportunities

Substance abuse and dependence are among the most common psychiatric disorders among pregnant and parenting women. These disorders among welfare recipients have attracted special concern. Chemical testing has been proposed to identify illicit drug use in this population. This analysis scrutinizes the potential value of drug testing, using recent data from the Womens Employment Study and the National Household Survey of Drug Abuse. One-fifth of recipients reported illicit substance use during the previous year. However, less than 5% satisfied diagnostic screening criteria for illicit drug dependence. Most recipients with psychiatric disorders or alcohol dependence reported no recent illicit drug use, and, thus, would not be detected through chemical tests. Although illicit drug users are rarely dependent, many face barriers to self-sufficiency. Screening and assessment programs should distinguish use from dependence, and should also identify alcohol dependence and psychiatric disorders. States should provide a range of treatment services to address these concerns.

Ending Welfare Through Work First: Manager and Client Views

This paper examines how one state implemented a “work first” approach to moving welfare recipients into employment. It also looks at how program managers and clients evaluate the adequacy of this program model in light of the diverse needs of welfare recipients and how those needs affect their success in the labor market. We describe the evolution of work first policies and question the appropriateness of this quick labor force attachment model as the exclusive strategy for assisting all recipients. We use data from an implementation study of local welfare programs in Michigan and from a survey of a random sample of single mothers who received welfare. Local Work First program managers and recipients give the Work First program mixed appraisals, and the two studies identify many barriers that may keep clients from effectively participating and finding jobs. The barriers noted in both studies are sometimes consistent with each other, but Work First program managers tend to underestimate the prevalence of some problems. If future policy and program changes were responsive to these concerns, work first programs would expand assessment of client needs and provide additional services, supports, and training opportunities.

Mixed Methods and Causal Analysis

Interest in and use of mixed methods research in the social sciences has grown tremendously in recent years and has the potential to assist in addressing core challenges in causal inference. We discuss ways in which the addition of a qualitative component can serve multiple roles in causal analyses, including understanding treatment definition, concept measurement, selection into treatment, causal effect mechanisms, and effect heterogeneity. We also describe how quantitative and qualitative methodologies can be and have been combined in studies seeking to make causal claims, highlighting some of the key research design decisions in integrating qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Given the ability of qualitative research to greatly enhance quantitative studies concerned with causality, we argue that more causal studies should incorporate mixed methods approaches into their research designs.