Who Receives Benefits? - Survey Of Program Dynamics For Evaluating Welfare Reform

Data from the 1996–1999 SIPP survey are being used as a baseline to examine the impact of welfare reform. The 1996 welfare reform act (PRWORA) directed the U.S. Census Bureau to examine changes following the elimination of

TABLE 6.4
Average monthly program participation rates for any means-tested programs by selected characteristics, 1996–99

	Program participation rates (in percent)
	Any means-tested programs1
Characteristic	1996	Standard error	1997	Standard error	1998	Standard error	1999	Standard error
Total number of recipients2	38,900	249	37,539	273	36,285	282	35,646	296
As percent of the population	14.7	0.2	14.0	0.2	13.5	0.2	13.1	0.2
Race and Hispanic origin3
White	11.2	0.2	10.6	0.2	10.1	0.2	9.8	0.2
Not of Hispanic origin	9.1	0.2	8.6	0.2	8.2	0.2	7.9	0.2
Black	34.1	0.6	33.3	0.7	31.7	0.7	30.7	0.8
Hispanic origin	27.7	0.7	25.5	0.7	23.4	0.8	23.0	0.8
Not of Hispanic origin	13.1	0.2	12.6	0.2	12.2	0.2	11.8	0.2
Age
Under 18 years	23.6	0.4	22.3	0.4	21.3	0.4	20.9	0.4
18 to 64 years	10.9	0.2	10.5	0.2	10.0	0.2	9.7	0.2
65 years and over	13.8	0.4	13.9	0.5	13.6	0.5	13.2	0.5
Sex
Men	12.8	0.2	12.3	0.2	11.8	0.2	11.5	0.2
Women	16.4	0.2	15.7	0.3	15.0	0.3	14.6	0.3
Educational attainment (people
18 years and over)
Less than 4 years of high school	28.2	0.6	28.0	0.6	26.7	0.6	26.4	0.7
High school graduate, no college	11.8	0.3	11.2	0.3	11.0	0.3	10.7	0.3
1 or more years of college	5.0	0.2	4.9	0.2	4.8	0.2	4.6	0.2
Disability status (people 15 to
64 years old)
With a work disability	35.0	0.8	35.3	0.9	35.1	0.9	34.9	1.0
With no work disability	8.3	0.2	8.2	0.2	7.9	0.2	7.8	0.2
Residence
Metropolitan	14.0	0.3	13.3	0.2	12.7	0.2	12.3	0.2
Central city	20.9	0.5	20.0	0.4	19.1	0.5	18.5	0.5
Noncentral city	9.7	0.3	9.2	0.3	8.8	0.3	8.5	0.3
Nonmetropolitan	17.6	0.6	17.0	0.5	16.4	0.5	16.2	0.5
Region
Northeast	14.4	0.4	14.4	0.4	13.8	0.4	13.4	0.4
Midwest	12.0	0.3	11.2	0.3	10.6	0.3	10.2	0.3
South	15.3	0.3	14.5	0.3	14.0	0.3	13.7	0.3
West	16.9	0.4	16.2	0.4	15.3	0.4	14.9	0.4
Family status
In families	14.7	0.2	14.0	0.2	13.4	0.2	13.0	0.2
In married-couple families	8.5	0.2	8.0	0.2	7.6	0.2	7.4	0.2
In families with a female house-
holder, no spouse present	41.2	0.6	39.7	0.6	37.9	0.6	37.1	0.7
In families with a male house-
holder, no spouse present	18.3	0.9	17.3	1.0	16.6	1.0	16.0	1.0
Unrelated Individuals	14.4	0.4	14.0	0.4	14.0	0.5	13.6	0.5
Employment and labor force
status (people 18 years and over)
Employed full-time	4.1	0.1	4.0	0.1	3.9	0.1	3.8	0.1
Employed part-time	11.0	0.4	10.8	0.4	10.4	0.4	10.0	0.4
Unemployed	27.6	1.3	28.2	1.5	26.4	1.7	26.0	1.7
Not in labor force	22.1	0.4	21.4	0.4	20.7	0.4	20.1	0.4
Marital status (people 18 years
and over)
Married	6.6	0.2	6.2	0.2	5.9	0.2	5.7	0.2
Separated, divorced, or widowed	19.8	0.5	19.0	0.5	18.3	0.5	17.6	0.5
Never married	16.6	0.4	16.2	0.4	15.6	0.5	15.3	0.5
Family income-to-poverty ratio
Under 1.00	51.6	0.6	50.2	0.7	49.0	0.7	48.7	0.8
1.00 and over	7.8	0.1	7.9	0.1	7.8	0.1	7.8	0.2
1Major means-tested programs include Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), General Assistance (GA), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), food stamps, Medicaid, and housing assistance.
2In thousands.
3People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
SOURCE: Gordon H. Lester and Jan Tin, "Table A-1. Average Monthly Program Participation Rates for Any Means-Tested Programs by Selected Characteristics: 1996–1999," in Dynamics of Economic Well-Being: Program Participation, 1996–1999: Who Gets Assistance? U.S. Census Bureau, January 2004 [Online] http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p70-94.pdf [accessed January 27, 2004]

FIGURE 6.1
Median length of poverty spells, in months, by program, January 1996–December 1999

the AFDC program and its replacement with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). During a six-year period (1996 through 2001) the Census Bureau interviewed a sample of households that participated in the SIPP surveys from 1992 to 1994. Once tabulation is complete, these surveys will provide information on the effect of the new law on the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of persons participating in public assistance programs. Changes in the composition and characteristics of AFDC/TANF recipients over time are examined in Chapter 10.