A Longitudinal Study of Domestic Violence Work Exemptions for Social Welfare Recipients: Support for Michigan Caseworker Training

Poster Abstract

Background and Purpose

Extensive literature indicates domestic violence and financial abuse are adverse determinants that negatively affect the health, wellbeing, and financial security of families. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) provides Family Independence Program (FIP) temporary cash assistance to eligible financially insecure families and necessitating economic self-sufficiency in a specified timeframe. This economic self-sufficiency requirement is depicted by FIP recipients meeting employment or training obligations, unless they received a work exemption, which is identified by the caseworker. There is a 3-month maximum work exemption for domestic violence survivors. Longitudinal research about FIP domestic violence work exemptions is lacking and the purpose of this quantitative study is to analyze one midwestern state’s FIP data between 2008 and 2021.

Methods

Between 2008 and 2021, state employed DHHS caseworkers collected quantitative data concerning FIP eligible cases. The research team utilized descriptive statistics via IBM SPSS to compare domestic violence work deferrals across time. Between 2008-2021, caseworkers reported 4,358,923 FIP applications were eligible (91.1%) out of 4,787,116 total FIP applications.

Results

Findings indicate FIP eligible cases and FIP work exemption cases followed a similar pattern over the years. FIP eligible cases decreased between 2008 (n=592280) and 2019 (n=100913), then cases increased slightly in 2020 (n=147825) before dropping again in 2021 (n=73329). Likewise, FIP work exemption cases decreased between 2008 (n=396509) and 2019 (n=83785), then cases rose in 2020 (n=121,978) before decreasing again in 2021 (n=59331). Although 70.9% of FIP eligible cases did receive a work exemption between 2008-2021, <1% of the exemption cases were because the recipient was a domestic violence survivor. Over the years, the number of eligible FIP work exemptions due to domestic violence ranged from zero cases to 7555 cases. Strikingly, there were 4196 domestic violence work deferral cases in 2020 compared to 1 case in 2021; while 52% of FIP work exemption reasons was due to “no reason was supplied by the caseworker” (from 2008-2021, n=1606272).

Discussion and Implications

Findings indicate DHHS had been slowly decreasing the number of eligible FIP cases, as well as the number of FIP work exemption cases until COVID-19. Although they both increased in response to COVID-19, this assistance was not maintained in 2021, and drastically decreased in 2021. This pattern suggests that social welfare policies have been phasing out cash assistance to recipients in favor of economic self-sufficiency programs, even in a post pandemic context. Caseworkers were ineffectively and inconsistently providing FIP recipients with domestic violence work exemptions, suggesting caseworkers are uninformed or biased about domestic violence and require training. Since policymakers, caseworkers, and social service organizations are in positions of authority over their constituents and clients, it is pertinent they understand domestic violence knowledge and its impact on families. Future research should identify Department of Health and Human Services' employer and caseworker knowledge and perceptions about economic abuse and domestic violence so social scientists can address stigmas, biases, and inaccurate information via empirical domestic violence training interventions.