The Effects of a Time-Limited Welfare Program on Children: The Moderating Role of Parents' Risk of Welfare Dependency

• Published in: Child development Vol. 74; no. 3; pp. 851 - 874
• Main Authors: Morris, Pamela, Bloom, Dan, Kemple, James, Hendra, Richard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, USA and Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.05.2003; Blackwell Publishers; Blackwell; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult; Age Differences; Age groups; Aid to Families with Dependent Children; At Risk Persons; Behavior Problems; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child Behavior - psychology; Child care; Child development; Child Health; Child welfare; Child, Preschool; Children; Children & youth; Comparative Analysis; Dependency; Depression (Psychology); Developmental psychology; Empirical Articles; Employed Parents; Employment; Expulsion; Family Environment; Family Income; Family studies; Female; Florida; Followup Studies; FTP; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Grade Repetition; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Low income families; Male; Motivation; Parent Child Relationship; Parent Role; Parent-Child Relations; Parenting; Parents; Policy; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Public assistance programs; Public Policy; School age children; Social Behavior; Social impact; Social Welfare; Suspension; Time Factors; U.S.A; Welfare; Welfare Recipients; Welfare Reform; Welfare Services; Welfare state; Welfare to Work Programs; Well Being; Florida; United States; North America; America; Human; Preschool age; Parental behavior; Poverty; Emotion emotionality; Preadolescent; Parent child relation; School age; Social behavior; Welfare; Employment; Adolescent; Family environment; Economic assistance; Child; Social behavior disorder; Psychological well being
• ISSN: 0009-3920; 1467-8624
• DOI: 10.1111/1467-8624.00572

This study examined the effect of a time-limited welfare program on school-age children using data on almost 3,000 children (ages 5-17 at the four year follow up-point) from the random assignment evaluation of Florida's Family Transition Program (FTP). FTP was one of the first welfare reform initiatives to impose a time limit on the receipt of cash assistance, and it combined the time limit with a rich array of mandatory services. The effects of FTP on children were moderated by families' risk of long-term welfare dependency. Contrary to predictions laid out at the outset, there were few effects of FTP on middle childhood and adolescent children for children of parents most likely to be long-term welfare dependent (those most likely to hit the time limit). However, consistent negative effects on this same age group of children were found for children of parents least likely to be long-term welfare dependent-parents who had the largest employment gains-and effects of FTP were most strongly negative for the oldest adolescent children. The findings suggest a different theoretical model for movements into employment than the one suggested in the previous literature for job loss. The findings are discussed in terms of their contribution to research and policy.