Session: From Welfare-to-Work: Family Policy Among Low-Income Families with Young Children (Society for Social Work and Research 15th Annual Conference: Emerging Horizons for Social Work Research)

Much of the ongoing discussion of the work-family balance debate has focused on professionals, particularly professional women with young children navigating work and family. Similarly, scholarship on the impact of work-friendly family policies has also concentrated on outcomes in employment among the middle-class. We know comparatively less about the impact of post-welfare reform policies designed to meet the needs of low-income families with young children. Thus, this symposium seeks to investigate policy areas that affect the balance between work and family in low-income households with young children. It is increasingly important for researchers and policy makers to understand how low-income families manage work and family in the midst of an ever-shrinking safety net. More specifically, the aftermath of welfare reform of 1996 and the substantial entry of single low income mothers into the labor market necessitates further investigation into how well the social safety is functioning for the most vulnerable working families.

The first paper employs six years of Current Population Survey data to examine the effect of an exemption from welfare work requirements for low-income mothers with infants on the probability of maternal employment. This study is able to exploit state-level variations in welfare policy and compare different groups of single-mothers to isolate the effects of particular policy and economic changes. Overall, the author finds that eligibility for an exemption from welfare work requirements is associated with a decline in maternal employment, all else equal. This paper offers insight into the use of welfare work exemptions as a sort of paid maternity leave for low-income women.

Advocates cite low-income families' lack of support during child birth as the primary reason to implement Paid Family Leave (PFL) programs. Yet, we know little about how substituting PFL benefits will impact resources for families utilizing welfare after a recent birth. The second paper employs Wisconsin administrative data to examine welfare entry and employment patterns among a cohort of new mothers who enter welfare. The benefit levels of three state PFLs are simulated and compared to those provided by welfare. The paper finds a substantial minority utilizes welfare for only a short time after child birth, returns to work quickly, and would receive less in PFL benefits which is largely due to Wisconsin's generous welfare benefit.

The third paper utilizes administrative data on the use of child care subsidies among families who received welfare in South Carolina. More specifically, this study focuses on whether the quality of care provided to young children is related to a mother's employment outcomes. The results show that using child care with a higher quality rating is significantly associated with a higher chance of remaining employed and a higher probability of working inconsistently. Using higher quality care was significantly associated with a 70 percent increase in mothers' earnings.

Taken together, these papers offer important and timely insight into how policies designed for low-income working families function as both work and family supports. This symposium will appeal to anyone interested in policy, Macro practice, poverty, or family studies.