Who Receives Benefits? - Use Over A Period Of Time

The Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), conducted periodically by the U.S. Census Bureau, is a longitudinal (over a period of time) survey of the same households that measures changes in their economic activity. Among the many areas covered in the 1996–1999 survey, the bureau studied the use of major means-tested programs: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), General Assistance, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, Food Stamps, and housing assistance. In "Dynamics of Economic Well-Being: Program Participation, 1996 to 1999: Who Gets Assistance?" (Current Population Reports, January 2004), the Census Bureau released information on the characteristics of recipients of means-tested programs and the length of time for which they received benefits between 1996 and 1999.

Education Levels of Welfare Recipients

The SIPP found a strong correlation between a low level of education and receipt of welfare benefits. (See Table 6.3.) Adults who did not graduate from high school received benefits for the greatest median duration of time.

• Those who did not finish high school—7.3 months
• Those who were high school graduates—5.9 months
• Those with one or more years of college—3.9 months

Employment Status of Welfare Recipients

More than one-quarter (26 percent) of the unemployed and almost one-fifth (20.1 percent) of those individuals not in the labor force received welfare assistance in an average month in 1999. However, only 3.8 percent of full-time employees and 10 percent of part-time workers received these benefits that year. (See Table 6.4.) In addition to receiving means-tested benefits, unemployed workers may also be eligible for unemployment compensation. In 2002, as reported by the Bureau of Labor, Division of Actuarial Services, only 44 percent of those covered by unemployment insurance were receiving unemployment compensation in an average month.

Duration of Program Spells

The length of time people received assistance, referred to as a "spell," differed by program. The average number of months for receiving any means-tested assistance between January 1996 and December 1999 was seven months. The spell length for AFDC/general assistance (5.6 months) was shorter than that for food stamps (5.9 months) and Medicaid (7.5 months). The spell length for SSI was longest (11.2 months). (See Figure 6.1.) People in families maintained by a female householder had longer spells (7.6 months) than married-couple families (5.7 months). (See Table 6.3.)