Work

Dual-System Families: Cash Assistance Sequences of Households Involved With Child Welfare

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: Dual-system families, those involved with the child welfare system and receiving public cash assistance, may be more vulnerable than families only connected to either of the two systems. This study advances our understanding of the heterogeneous and dynamic cash assistance histories of dual-system families in the post-welfare reform era. With merged administrative data from [state name removed] over the period 1998 to 2009, we use cluster analysis to group month-to-month sequences of cash assistance use among households over the 37-month period surrounding child removal. Close to two thirds of families who received any assistance either had a short spell of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or lost TANF. Smaller percentages had steady support. Families who lose assistance are less likely than average to reunify while those who connect to benefits are more likely, suggesting coordination between systems may serve dual-system families well.

Source: Journal of Public Child Welfare

DOI: 10.1080/15548732.2016.1205542

Authors: JiYoung Kang, Jennifer L. Romich, Jennifer L. Hook, JoAnn S. Lee, Maureen Marcenko

Institutions: University of Washington, University of Southern California, George Mason University

Language: English

Topic: Child Welfare and Adoption

Subfield: Safety Research

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: No poverty

Open Access status: green

Funder: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development