Marah A. Curtis

TANF Sanctioning and Hardship

This article estimates the effects of being sanctioned, that is, of being subject to a governmental decision to reduce or eliminate welfare benefits, on material hardships and health among mothers on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and their children. Compared to nonsanctioned mothers, those who are sanctioned are at high risk for hunger, homelessness or eviction, utility shutoffs, inadequate medical care, any material hardship, poor health, and relying on family or friends for housing. Results suggest a causal connection to hunger, utility shutoffs, any material hardship, poor maternal physical health, and relying on others for housing.

Maternal Depression as a Risk Factor for Family Homelessness

OBJECTIVES We estimated the effects of maternal depression during the postpartum year, which is often an unexpected event, on subsequent homelessness and risk of homelessness in a national sample of urban, mostly low-income mothers. METHODS We used logistic regression models to estimate associations between maternal depression during the postpartum year and both homelessness and risk of homelessness 2 to 3 years later, controlling for maternal and family history of depression, prenatal housing problems, and other covariates. Risk factors for homelessness included experiencing evictions or frequent moves and moving in with family or friends and not paying rent. RESULTS We found robust associations between maternal depression during the postpartum year and subsequent homelessness and risk of homelessness, even among mothers who had no history of mental illness, whose own mothers did not have a history of depressive symptoms, and who had no previous housing problems. CONCLUSIONS This study provides robust evidence that maternal mental illness places families with young children at risk for homelessness, contributes to the scant literature elucidating directional and causal links between mental illness and homelessness, and contributes to a stagnant but important literature on family homelessness.

Postincarceration Policies for Those With Criminal Drug Convictions: A National Policy Review

This article provides social workers with a review of the current federal, state, and local government policies that mandate consequences post incarceration for individuals with criminal convictions related to illicit substance use or sales. The review indicates tremendous state variation with respect to policies that negatively affect employment, housing, voting, and income assistance opportunities post incarceration. In the most restrictive states, those reentering the community are barred from employment at organizations that receive government funds, from public housing, from applying for TANF or food stamps for more than 5 years, and from voting. Social workers need to know these policies because of the racial/ethnic disparities of their impact, and because, upon reentry to the community, this is a high-need population with few opportunities.

Subsidized housing, housing prices, and the living arrangements of unmarried mothers

Abstract Although many studies estimate the effects of welfare benefits on mothers’ living arrangements, housing subsidies and prices are rarely the focus. This article uses a new longitudinal birth cohort study, the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, to examine the relationship between subsidized housing, housing prices, and the living arrangements of unmarried mothers three years after a nonmarital birth. Results suggest that the availability of subsidized housing is negatively associated with marriage relative to living alone. Eligibility criteria and means testing in subsidized housing may make marriage a costly choice. Housing prices are positively associated with marriage, cohabitation, and living with family members relative to living alone. Economies of scale may be particularly important for single‐earner households when housing prices increase. Failure to control for housing costs and subsidies leads to underestimates of the effects of welfare and unemployment rates on the living arrangements of unmarried mothers.

Conceptualizing Housing Careers for Vulnerable Youth: Implications for Research and Policy

Research on the experiences of youth leaving foster care as they enter adulthood has identified their risk for homelessness and housing instability. Although this finding has been consistent, it has not received sufficient empirical or conceptual attention. In this article, we (a) review the recent findings on housing outcomes for former foster youth; (b) identify relevant theoretical frameworks to examine housing outcomes for these youth, with specific attention to the concept of housing career; (c) describe existing policy; and (d) propose further strategies for understanding and, therefore, influencing outcomes for this population. Based on this analysis, we conclude with implications for policy, practice, and further research to assist these young people.

Maternal depression as a risk factor for children's inadequate housing conditions.

Depression among mothers with young children is an important public health issue that not only has implications for their own well-being, but can also potentially affect their childrens health and developmental trajectories. This study explored the extent to which maternal depression is a risk factor for inadequate housing conditions related to utilities, a noteworthy risk factor for poor child health. Using data on 2965 mothers and children from a national urban cohort of U.S. births in 1998-2000, we estimated multivariate logistic regression models of associations between maternal depression during the postpartum year and a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) measure of severely inadequate housing due to heating issues, as well as a broader measure of energy insecurity that encompasses various types of utility problems. We also considered outcomes that incorporated housing instability and food insecurity in conjunction with housing inadequacy. Mothers who experienced depression had about 60% higher odds of experiencing severely inadequate housing due to heat (OR: 1.57) and 70% higher odds of experiencing energy insecurity (OR: 1.69) compared to mothers who did not experience depression. Maternal depression was even more strongly associated with multiple hardships in the forms of housing inadequacy plus housing instability and/or food insecurity than it was with housing inadequacy. This study provides robust evidence that maternal depression is a risk factor for inadequate housing and multiple hardships during a critical period of childrens development. The findings suggest that policy efforts should not occur in mental health, housing, and food security silos.

The Impact of Housing Subsidies and Prices on Mothers' Living Arrangements: Evidence from the Census

Although rarely the primary focus of study, housing subsidies and prices influence the most fundamental decisions about family living. This analysis uses 1980, 1990 and 2000 US Census data to examine the effects of housing prices and subsidies on the living arrangements of mothers with young children while controlling for welfare benefit levels, unemployment rates, gender ratios, child support enforcement and personal characteristics. Results suggest that housing prices are positively associated with all shared arrangements relative to living alone, while housing subsidies are negatively associated with marriage and living with family relative to living alone.

The Effect of Incarceration on Urban Fathers’ Health

This study examines the effects of incarceration on the health of urban fathers. Using the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study, which surveys parents in 20 large U.S. cities across the country, the relationship between fathers’ incarceration patterns and health status was examined while controlling for poor preexisting health and individual impulsivity. Findings indicate that fathers who have previously been incarcerated at some time are markedly more likely to rely on medications for physical or mental health problems, whereas recently incarcerated repeat offenders have reduced odds of being in poor health relative to those who have never been to prison. Improvements in health among recently incarcerated repeat offenders relative to those who have not been incarcerated may be related to prison health care and the overall disadvantaged circumstances of these fathers.

Housing insecurity among urban fathers

This article examines housing insecurity among an understudied population: urban fathers of young children. Housing security is of particular importance for vulnerable populations, and urban fathers, many of whom face unemployment and monitoring from the child support and criminal justice systems, often rely on this security to mitigate the socioeconomic challenges they face. By assessing the extent and type of housing insecurity affecting urban fathers, we identify a potentially serious source of disadvantage facing families more broadly. A year after the birth of a new child, fully a quarter of fathers reported significant housing insecurities with 3% experiencing homelessness. Results suggest that from 9 to 12% of fathers are doubling up, relying on others for living expenses, and moving more than once every year. Finally, only half of fathers had been able to maintain housing security over the three to four years since the focal child?s birth.

Housing Instability and Children's Health Insurance Gaps

OBJECTIVE To assess the extent to which housing instability is associated with gaps in health insurance coverage of preschool-age children. METHODS Secondary analysis of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, a nationally representative study of children born in the United States in 2001, was conducted to investigate associations between unstable housing-homelessness, multiple moves, or living with others and not paying rent-and childrens subsequent health insurance gaps. Logistic regression was used to adjust for potentially confounding factors. RESULTS Ten percent of children were unstably housed at age 2, and 11% had a gap in health insurance between ages 2 and 4. Unstably housed children were more likely to have gaps in insurance compared to stably housed children (16% vs 10%). Controlling for potentially confounding factors, the odds of a child insurance gap were significantly higher in unstably housed families than in stably housed families (adjusted odds ratio 1.27; 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.61). The association was similar in alternative model specifications. CONCLUSIONS In a US nationally representative birth cohort, children who were unstably housed at age 2 were at higher risk, compared to their stably housed counterparts, of experiencing health insurance gaps between ages 2 and 4 years. The findings from this study suggest that policy efforts to delink health insurance renewal processes from mailing addresses, and potentially routine screenings for housing instability as well as referrals to appropriate resources by pediatricians, would help unstably housed children maintain health insurance.