Vicky Albert

Survival Analyses of the Dynamics of Sibling Experiences in Foster Care

The present study compares reunification for sibling groups in foster care under alternate placement conditions, including placement with kin and entering care within the same month. The findings suggest siblings placed completely or partially together reunify at a faster rate than those placed apart. The gap between siblings placed completely or partially together and those placed completely apart increases over time, in particular after the first year in care. Fewer of those placed together remain in care during the first 8 months than those placed apart. Efforts to place siblings together should be strengthened. Monetary incentives might encourage more foster parents to provide homes to keep siblings together. Training foster parents about sibling issues may lead to more intact placements.

Facing Time Limits and Kinship Placements

The study examines the relationship between temporary welfare time limits and foster care relative placement in Nevada. A logit model was specified with a binary dependent variable capturing placement with relatives as opposed to nonrelative family foster care placement or group care. The findings reveal that, all else constant, children from welfare families with more months counted toward their Nevadas time limits are not more likely to be placed with relatives than their counterparts. The findings also show that children from African American families, from large families, or from families receiving cash during removal are more likely to be placed with relatives. The authors suggest that casework activities need to occur before, during, and after children experience foster care placements with relatives.

The impact of a mandatory employment program on welfare terminations : Implications for welfare reform

ABSTRACT This longitudinal study analyzes the impact of one of the most ambitious employment and training programs in the nation, Californias Greater Avenue for Independence (GAIN), on welfare terminations. The study isolates the effects of GAIN from other effects by controlling for AFDC program characteristics and labor market conditions. The findings suggest that, all else constant, GAIN increased terminations in a modest fashion. The paper discusses the difficulties future welfare-to-work programs are likely to have in substantially increasing terminations even with stringent mandatory work requirements.

Citizenship Status and TANF Exits: A Proportional Hazard Model

ABSTRACT This study compared exits between citizen and noncitizen heads of household from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. With longitudinal monthly administrative data and a Cox proportional hazard model, the study examined how the economy and recipients’ personal characteristics affected their exits. The sample consisted of 28,308 families headed by citizens and 2,547 families headed by a noncitizen on TANF. Key findings reveal that families on TANF exit the rolls primarily during the first 8 months after entrance. Results showed that families headed by a noncitizen remain on TANF longer than families headed by a citizen. The roles of minimum wage and unemployment in shaping the risk of exit for noncitizen compared to citizen families were explored. Suggestions for further research and how to serve recipients best in times of economic downturns are provided. Similar research needs to be conducted in states where temporary TANF time limits do not exist.

Using time-series analysis to evaluate the impact of policy initiatives in child welfare

Abstract This paper discusses how a unique outcome evaluation approach was applied in the field of child welfare. This time-series approach was used to analyze the impact of Senate Bill 2669 (SB2669), commonly known as the Presely Bill, on child maltreatment reports. Californias Presely Bill requires Californias counties to identify and intervene in cases involving perinatal substance use or exposure. It also requires that cases not be reported as suspected abuse or neglect solely because of a positive toxicology screen. The paper describes the factors that influenced the researchers’ decisions concerning the method of evaluation and the selection of outcome and exogenous measures. Recommendations are made that can be useful to stakeholders, including policy makers and social service administrators that would facilitate the implementation of evaluations of this sort. Some of the recommendations include designing social policy objectives which are justified on the basis of social science findings and developing useful and credible databases which provide uniform and detailed information about childrens experiences in the child welfare system.

State Policy Choices and Responsiveness of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program During the Great Recession

ABSTRACT The Great Recession that officially began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009 was the most severe recession since the Depression of the 1930s. To accurately explain the number of families and children receiving cash assistance from Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) during the 2007 recession, it is important to capture state-level variations in recessionary periods, economies, and TANF policies. This study breaks ground by using multiple regression to explain the number of families enrolled in the TANF program when the TANF caseload peaked in each of the 51 jurisdictions’ recessions as a function of their severe TANF policies while controlling for benefit levels, unemployment rates, and size of populations. Key findings strongly suggest that all else constant, TANF did not grow as much as it would have in the 2007 recession partially due to shorter lifetime limits (less than 60 months) or temporary time limits, multiple severe policies, or benefit cuts witnessed in some states. This study is important to policy makers and academics concerned with the effect of severe policies on the enrollment of needy families with children in the TANF program. The federal government should encourage states to relax some of their requirements during recessions. Future research should examine the consequences of severe TANF policies on the well-being of families with children during recessions.

Citizenship Status, Social Safety Nets and Public Assistance Participation

Between 1990 and 2000, the U.S. foreign-born or immigrant population grew by 57% (U.S. Census, 2000). This population grew not only in size and but also in complexity: 85% of immigrant families with children are of mixed status because not all members share the same immigration or citizenship status (Fix & Zimmerman, 1999). The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 created sharp distinctions between immigrants. Qualified immigrants include documented immigrants, lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylum seekers, and persons granted deportation or removal. Nonqualified immigrants include undocumented immigrants as well as those who do not have legal permanent resident status but are legally present in the country. Under welfare reform, qualified immigrants are restricted from receiving federal cash assistance under Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) or in-kind benefits such as Medicaid or food stamps for five years after arrival. The 1997 restorations allow all documented immigrant children, irrespective of their citizenship status to receive food stamp benefits. Documented immigrants are not restricted from receiving public housing, rental subsidies, and school lunch subsidies (Brady et al., 2002). In the wake of reform, over half the states spend their own monies to replace some TANF, Medicaid, food stamps or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits previously provided by the federal government. Nebraska, one of the new destination states for immigrants included in the present study, uses its own funds to replace TANF cash assistance to qualified immigrant families with children during the five year time period (Tumlin & Zimmerman, 1999). In contrast, Nevada, the other state examined in the present study, does not provide state funded food stamps, SSI, TANF, or

Spatial Analyses of the Impact of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families on Child Neglect Caseloads During the Great Recession

Abstract Loss of market income to families is recognized as a major risk factor of child neglect. In the 2008 recession, some poor families replaced their market incomes with cash assistance from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Using secondary data for 42 contiguous jurisdictions and DC, we examined the relationship between increases in TANF caseloads and changes in substantiated child neglect cases in each of the contiguous jurisdiction’s 2008 recession. Key findings suggest that reductions in child neglect cases in the presence of increasing TANF caseloads were more profound in about half the states than any increases in child neglect cases found in the remainder of the states. Applying Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis tools, local spatial clusters were found in four neighboring states in the Midwest-South corridor suggesting that child neglect increases were similar and substantial across these four states. Our findings provide important information to stakeholders who may want to better target federal resources to specific geographic regions. Neighboring states experiencing large increases in child neglect during economic downturns may extend their collaborative efforts so they can develop strategies for improving services. Future research should explain the growth in child neglect with other variables aside from TANF caseloads.

Facing Time Limits

Abstract With reauthorization of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) on the horizon, policy makers need to have a sound understanding of the acts consequences for children and families. In contrast to earlier studies, the present study quantifies the impact of a 24-month state imposed welfare time limit on foster care placements. It also examines the impact of a “hardship” provision that temporarily excuses select families from meeting a two-year time limit on foster care placements in Nevada. In order to determine how these factors, in conjunction with other relevant welfare experiences and personal factors, affect parent-child separation, a multivariate logit model was tested. Key findings reveal that families who have more months counted toward their time limits also are more likely to have at least one child removed and placed in foster care. On the other hand, hardship families are not more likely to have their children placed in foster care than non-hardship families. The findings lend support to the notion of providing family-centered casework services to those identified to be at risk of approaching their welfare time limits. The findings also lend support to inter-agency collaboration between TANF and child welfare systems.