Yoonsook Ha

Do High Child Support Orders Discourage Child Support Payments

This article examines the relationships among child support orders, child support payments, and the compliance rate (payments compared to orders). It uses administrative data from Wisconsin, examining 3 years of orders and payments by fathers who had their first order for child support to a particular mother in 2000. Using fixed‐effects models that attempt to control for unobserved factors, the authors find that the burden of orders (i.e., the proportion of earnings owed for child support) is positively associated with the size of payments but negatively associated with compliance. An alternative method yields the same conclusions. Policy implications are discussed.

The Regularity of Child Support and Its Contribution to the Regularity of Income

The declining availability of public assistance and increasing reliance on child support as a key income source for single-parent families raise questions about the adequacy and consistency of support. Using detailed Wisconsin administrative records for custodial mothers who obtained a new child support order in 2000, this study examines the regularity of child support receipt and its contribution to the regularity of total income among custodial-mother families over a 5-year period. Findings suggest variation in levels of regularity; among mothers who receive support in a given year, slightly less than half consistently receive a regular amount. The characteristics of those with any receipt of child support are found to differ on some measures from those of mothers with regular receipt. The findings also show that child support generally increases the regularity of the mothers’ total family income, especially that for mothers in low-income families.

Stability of Child‐Care Subsidy Use and Earnings of Low‐Income Families

This article explores the duration and effect of child‐care subsidy use among low‐income working mothers in Wisconsin. Using an event‐history model, the study finds that mothers are likely to cycle on and off subsidy systems and that their subsidy spells tend to end relatively quickly. Results from a Tobit model with a lagged dependent variable suggest that long‐term use of child‐care subsidies is associated with increases in mothers’ earnings.

Longitudinal Trajectories of Food Insecurity Among Children of Immigrants

Although research consistently points to higher rates of food insecurity (FI) among children of immigrants (COI), this is the first study to examine longitudinal trajectories of FI for this group. We used growth curve modeling and data from the 1998 Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten Cohort to compare trajectories of FI for COI and children of U.S.-born parents. After controlling for socioeconomic status and participation in nutrition programs, first- and second-generation COI had significantly higher initial and ongoing rates of FI compared to children of U.S.-born parents. Additional analyses found that all differences between COI and children of U.S.-born parents occurred for families in poverty. We find that COI from poor families have higher rates of FI, with some differences among COI by immigrant generation. Policymakers may need to focus on avenues other than public assistance to reduce FI among COI living in poverty.

Representations of homelessness, home environments, and authority in the context of runaway behaviors reported by foster care youth residing in an emergency shelter

ABSTRACT Between 31 and 46% of youth with histories of foster care placement were homeless at least once. Studies of the incidence of runaway behavior have identified a host of risk factors associated with running away from foster care placement, but less is known about the internalized processes of these individuals at risk for running away or the contextual experience surrounding it. This study is designed to investigate the representations made by individuals who have engaged in running away to uncover and explore thematic patterns. Accordingly, a secondary analysis was performed on data from four group interviews (n = 15) collected from youth under the care of one child protective services (CPS) agency-operated emergency shelter setting, using thematic content analysis by two independent reviewers. Codes were networked and themes that emerged were discussed through a framework of power dynamics. Themes around the participants’ perceptions of homelessness, lack of control, and their resistance to authority were all identified as contributory to the theme of running away. The act of running away is, therefore, framed as a threshold event representing a multifaceted phenomenon combining perceptions of self-identity, conflict, and power in the home.

Are Strong Work-First Welfare Policies Aligned With Generous Child Care Provisions? What States Are Doing and the Implications for Social Work

Welfare reform devolved authority to states in designing and implementing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and child care subsidy programs, thereby creating substantial variation in both programs across states. TANF and child care subsidy programs are, in theory, designed to work together to support employment among low-income families, yet we have little information on how these two programs collectively impact work and family life among the target population. This study examines the intensity of TANF work requirements and generosity of child care subsidy provisions across states and the interaction of the two programs. Overall, we find that states with stringent work requirements do not typically provide generous child care subsidies. This article discusses the implications for families, policy, and social work practice in light of our findings.