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As TANF programs nationwide continue to focus on employment, program administrators and staff have expressed great interest in identifying the assets and liabilities that TANF recipients bring to the labor market. Given the sharp reduction in the welfare rolls that occurred after the passage of PRWORA in 1996, program administrators, policymakers and researchers have made assumptions about the characteristics and circumstances of those individuals who remain on welfare. In this chapter, we take a closer look at the assets that the heads of single-parent TANF cases in Illinois may bring to a job. We also consider the prevalence of characteristics that may pose liabilities for employment.
The employment and earnings potential of individuals is strongly associated with their education, training, and work experience--the key elements of the human capital that individuals bring to the labor market. While TANF recipients generally have low levels of human capital, some have strengths that are applicable to work. In this section, we examine the assets that the heads of single-parent TANF cases in Illinois can bring to the labor market in terms of education, training, employment history, and experience with common job tasks.(1)
Fifty-six percent of TANF case heads have at least a high school diploma or its equivalent, and half of this group has some education beyond the high school level (Figure III.1). Still, the level of education among TANF clients in Illinois is low, even in comparison with welfare clients in other states. Recent surveys conducted in Michigan and Nebraska show rates of high school completion by TANF case heads of 69 and 78 percent, respectively, although the respondents to these surveys included some clients who had recently left welfare (Danziger et al. 2000; Ponza et al. 2002). During the past year, most heads of TANF cases in Illinois (74 percent) participated in a program to enhance their education, skills, job readiness, or work experience (Figure III.2). Specifically, 49 percent participated in an education or training program, 55 percent participated in a job preparation program (job readiness or job search), and 23 percent participated in a work experience program.
TANF recipients who are not employed are more likely than those who are employed to have participated in a job preparation or work experience program during the past year, presumably because they had more time to do so, perceived a greater financial return on the investment in their own human capital, and/or were required to participate under TANF rules. Another group of TANF recipients--those without a high school diploma or its equivalent--could also benefit from education and training, job preparation, and work experience to augment their human capital, but they are no more likely than high school graduates to have participated in such programs during the past year (results not shown).
While lacking in education, most TANF case heads in Illinois have recent paid work experience and the skills important for entry-level jobs. The majority of case heads (77 percent) worked at least one quarter in calendar years 2000 and 2001, and 12 percent were employed in all eight quarters (Figure III.3). Nearly half (45 percent) of all case heads have substantial recent work experience, having worked at least four quarters in 2000 and 2001. Only 3 percent of case heads have never worked for pay since their 18th birthday. While working, 72 percent of heads performed at least four of nine common job tasks, and they often performed those tasks frequently--daily or weekly rather than monthly (Table III.1). This prevalence of experience and skills suggests that many TANF case heads have the basic pre-requisites for entry-level employment.
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Any person may have a host of potential liabilities for employment. This is especially true for single parents receiving TANF, whose employment assets are modest and financial assets are few. In addition, the jobs available to them tend to have inflexible work schedules and offer sick or annual leave that is limited relative to their special needs or circumstances (Ross and Paulsell 1998a). These factors may make it particularly difficult for TANF recipients to overcome their employment liabilities. In this section, we examine two broad categories of liabilities for employment: personal challenges and logistical and situational challenges. Broadly speaking, personal challenges are individual characteristics, while logistical and situational challenges are family, logistical, or environmental circumstances.
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| Spoke with Customers In Person | 82 |
| Used Electronic Machines Other Than a Computer | 70 |
| Did Arithmetic | 64 |
| Read Instructions or Reports | 61 |
| Filled Out Forms | 61 |
| Spoke with Customers over the Phone | 55 |
| Monitored Gauges or Instruments | 46 |
| Used a Computer | 42 |
| Wrote Letters or Memos | 36 |
| Performed at Least Four of the Above Job Tasks | 72 |
| Source: 2001-02 survey of Illinois TANF cases. | |
Using information from the client survey, we examined six types of personal challenges, each measured over the year preceding the survey interview: (1) physical health, (2) mental health, (3) chemical dependence, (4) severe physical domestic violence, (5) possible learning disability, and (6) difficulty with English. We asked case heads a series of questions about their characteristics and/or behavior as part of itemized scales that indicate the presence or absence of the particular challenge. When possible, we used validated scales to determine, for example, the extent of mental health problems and chemical dependence. Validated scales allowed us to measure characteristics consistently across all recipients.(2) In addition, we used administrative data on the survey respondents from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority to examine a seventh type of personal challenge, which is the existence of a criminal record.
About one-quarter (26 percent) of case heads assess their general health as fair or poor (Figure III.4). Based on age-specific national norms, nearly half (47 percent) fall in the lowest quartile for physical functioning.(3) We used these two measures to create a summary indicator of a physical health problem. This indicator produces a conservative estimate of those with a physical health problem by identifying case heads who rate their general health as fair or poor and whose physical functioning lies in the lowest quartile. According to this indicator, 21 percent of TANF clients have a physical health problem.(4)
About 1 in every 10 TANF clients (12 percent) experienced psychological distress in the past 30 days (Figure III.5). Psychological distress was measured with a validated scale that scores client responses to questions about feelings of depression, hopelessness, restlessness, worthlessness, and nervousness. Scored responses closely replicate a diagnostic assessment of serious mental illness. In addition, during the past year, 23 percent of case heads had a major depressive episode that lasted for two or more consecutive weeks as measured by another validated scale. The two scales essentially measure the same thing--a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder--but they do so for intervals of different lengths.(5) We would expect the estimate of major depression to be higher than the estimate of psychological distress because the former is based on a scale that measures symptoms experienced over the past year, while the latter is based on a scale that measures symptoms experienced in the past month. The percentage of recipients with a major depressive episode is comparable to that among TANF recipients in Michigan at 25 percent (Danziger et al. 2000) but lower than the 33 percent found in Nebraska (Ponza et al. 2002).
We combined the two measures to classify TANF case heads as having a mental health problem if they experienced psychological distress in the past 30 days or a major depressive episode in the past year. Based on this classification scheme, one-quarter of TANF case heads have a mental health problem. They appear to experience mental health problems at a rate higher than in the general population. For example, preliminary estimates developed by the National Center for Health Statistics (2002) from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) indicate that 3 percent of women age 18 to 44 experienced serious psychological distress in the past 30 days, whereas this was true for 12 percent of the case heads in this study. An estimate from the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) indicates that 9 percent of adult females have serious mental illness (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 2002) compared to the 25 percent we found among TANF case heads in Illinois.(6)
More than one in every three TANF clients (36 percent) was arrested during the past six years, according to data from criminal records provided by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (Figure III.6). Although most such clients were arrested only once, multiple arrests are not uncommon. Sixteen percent of clients were arrested at least twice during the past six years.
Nearly one in every five TANF clients (18 percent) has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor in Illinois (Figure III.6).(7) Most were convicted of a misdemeanor only, while the remainder were convicted of at least one felony and may have also been convicted of a misdemeanor. The overall rate of convictions reported here is the same 19 percent rate reported by Losby et al. (2002) for short-term TANF recipients in Iowa. However, those researchers found higher conviction rates for long-term recipients: 22 percent for those who eventually left assistance and 45 percent for those who were never observed to leave.
During the past year, 13 percent of the female heads of single-parent TANF cases experienced severe physical violence at the hands of a domestic partner (Figure III.7). We modeled this measure on a modified version of the Conflict Tactics Scale used in the Michigan Women's Employment Study (WES). The measure of severe physical violence includes incidents of hitting, beating, choking, using or threatening use of a weapon, or forcing sexual activity. These actions have a higher probability of causing injury or more extreme intimidation than actions considered more moderate (e.g., pushing, grabbing, slapping, kicking, or biting). Danziger et al. (2000) report that the prevalence of severe physical domestic violence is much higher among TANF cases than among the population as whole, with rates of 15 percent found among Michigan TANF cases compared with about 3 percent documented among women nationally.
We did not observe differences between employed and not employed female case heads with regard to severe physical domestic violence in the past year, although a broader examination reveals a noteworthy pattern. Employed and not employed heads were equally likely to have experienced moderate or severe physical domestic violence during the past year (Figure III.8). However, the percentage of employed case heads experiencing moderate or severe violence before the past year is significantly higher than the percentage of not employed heads (26 percent versus 15 percent). Considered together, these two findings suggest that women who have escaped domestic violence have done so through employment.
Past survey findings on the incidence of problems associated with the use of chemicals (drugs and alcohol) among TANF recipients vary considerably depending on the measurement methodology. The evidence generally indicates that the incidence of chemical dependence is lower than the incidence of chemical abuse, the former being the more severe. For example, using a validated short scale that accurately diagnoses dependence, Danziger et al. (2000) report that 3 percent of Michigan TANF recipients are dependent on alcohol and 3 percent on drugs.(8) In contrast, based on the widely used CAGE Drug and Alcohol Abuse screener, Ponza et al. (2002) report that 17 percent of TANF recipients in Nebraska have a problem with chemical abuse. We used the same methodology as the Michigan study and found that rates of chemical dependence among Illinois TANF recipients are 2 percent for alcohol, 2 percent for drugs, or 3 percent for either (Figure III.7).(9) These rates are not unlike those in the general population. The 2001 NHSDA found rates of 1.6 percent for drug dependence, 2.4 percent for alcohol dependence, and 3.6 percent for any chemical dependence among all individuals age 12 or older (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 2002).(10)
We used the Washington State Learning Needs Screening Tool to assess the possible presence of a learning disability among the heads of single-parent TANF cases in Illinois. The tool revealed that 12 percent of case heads showed signs of a learning disability (Figure III.7), which is comparable to the 15 percent found by Ponza et al. (2002) among TANF recipients in Nebraska.
Only 2 percent of the TANF recipients in Illinois have difficulty speaking, reading, or writing English because it is not their native language (Figure III.7).
For TANF case heads, liabilities for employment stem not only from personal challenges but also from the logistical and situational challenges presented by the people who rely on them for support and by their environment in general. We examined seven types of logistical and situational challenges to employment: (1) health or special needs of family members or friends, (2) presence of a very young child, (3) transportation, (4) child care, (5) housing, (6) discrimination, and (7) neighborhood conditions. Our measures of these challenges are based predominantly on the self-reports of TANF case heads.
Many case heads are caring for family members or friends with special needs that arise primarily from health problems. One in every three TANF case heads has a child with a health problem, behavioral problem, or other special need (Figure III.9). Among these case heads, about half (53 percent) have a child whose condition limits his or her activities, and about one-quarter (27 percent) have a child who receives SSI benefits (Table III.2).
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| Type of Health or Behavioral Problem or Special Needa | |
| Medical problem | 42 |
| Learning problem | 35 |
| Asthma | 34 |
| Behavior problem | 24 |
| Depression or other mental health problem | 2 |
| Other problems | 6 |
| Child Is Limited in Activities | 53 |
| Child Receives SSI Benefits | 27 |
| Source: 2001-02 survey of Illinois TANF cases. Subgroup: TANF recipients with a child who has a health problem or special need. a Percentages do not sum to 100 due to cases with multiple children/problems/needs. |
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Moreover, TANF clients may have responsibilities for persons other than their children that may likewise constitute liabilities for employment. The heads of slightly over 1 in every 10 TANF cases (12 percent) are caring for an elderly, sick, or disabled family member or friend. When these broader responsibilities are considered along with the responsibilities for children, we observe that 35 percent of TANF case heads are caring for either a child, another family member, or a friend with a health problem or other special need (Figure III.9).
Under TANF, states have some flexibility to determine who is required to participate in work or work-related activities. Illinois has decided to exempt from these requirements case heads caring for an infant (i.e., a child under age one). Twenty-eight percent of recipients have an infant in their household. An additional 8 percent are pregnant. Taken together, 36 percent of case heads in Illinois are either pregnant or caring for an infant (Figure III.10). This situation presents unique employment challenges, as employers may be reluctant to hire pregnant women, and child care is often expensive and difficult to find for infants. In addition, recipients may decide to remain unemployed during pregnancy because of health concerns, or they may prefer to remain home while their child is very young.
During the past year, approximately half (48 percent) of TANF clients with a child younger than 13 used child care other than that provided by a parent, and nearly one-third (31 percent) experienced child care problems during the same period (Table III.3). Among the latter, the predominant concerns are the unreliability and limited availability of providers--38 and 30 percent, respectively--rather than the cost of care (15 percent). Clients with a preschool-age child are much more likely than those with a school-age child to have encountered unreliable providers (43 percent versus 10 percent).(11) Because many welfare-reliant families live in communities with high rates of crime and drug use, child care arrangements with a caregiver who can be trusted are very highly valued by parents. For preschool-age children, particularly infants, the need for a trustworthy caregiver often leads to a preference for relatives and friends as caregivers (Ross and Paulsell 1998b). However, child care provided by relatives and friends tends to be highly informal and therefore the least reliable type of arrangement. It is possible that many TANF recipients in Illinois prefer informal care but find that they cannot depend on it as a support of steady employment.(12)
| TANF Heads with a Child Less Than 13 Years | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Less Than 6 Years | 6 to 12 Years | All | |
| Used Child Care During the Past Year | 47 | 52 | 48 |
| Child Care Problem Interfered with Work, School, or Training | 32 | 23 | 31 |
| Specific Problems for Those Who Used Child Care and Experienced Problemsa | |||
| Provider unreliable | 43 | 10*** | 38 |
| No provider available | 30 | 27 | 30 |
| Cost | 13 | 25 | 15 |
| Sick or disabled child | 12 | 27 | 15 |
| Worry about child neglect/abuse | 8 | 0 | 7 |
| Too far from home or work | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Subsidy late, so lost provider | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Other problems | 19 | 23 | 20 |
| Source: 2001-02 survey of Illinois TANF cases. */**/*** Difference between cases based on child's age is statistically significant at the .10/.05/.01 level. a Percentages do not sum to 100 due to cases with multiple problems. |
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The heads of TANF cases in Illinois rely heavily on public transit to get to work or work-related activities. It is the primary mode of transportation for 61 percent of case heads. This figure is not surprising, given that 81 percent of the state's single-parent TANF cases reside in Cook County, which has an extensive public transit system. Nevertheless, nearly one-quarter (22 percent) of case heads statewide drive themselves to work or work-related activities.
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| Primary Mode of Transportation to Work or Work- Related Activity | |
| Bus or other public transit | 61 |
| Drives self | 22 |
| Gets a ride | 10 |
| Walks | 5 |
| Other | 3 |
| Does Not Have a Valid Driver 's License | 51 |
| Does Not Own or Have Access to a Car | 62 |
| Self- Reported Transportation Problem | 21 |
| Source: 2001-02 survey of Illinois TANF cases. | |
A case head's specific circumstances influence whether the transportation options available pose a barrier to employment. For example, depending on access to public transportation, the absence of a driver's license or a car may represent a major challenge for some individuals but less of a challenge, if any, for others. So, rather than base an overall measure of transportation as a liability for employment on the number and type of options available, we based it on self-reports by TANF clients of whether transportation was, at any time over the past year, such a problem that it adversely affected their ability to work or participate in work-related activities. According to this measure, transportation posed a problem for employment for 21 percent of TANF clients (Table III.4).
Unstable housing can be a liability for employment because it can disrupt family life and act as a source of stress for the family head. One in every five TANF recipients moved two or more times during the past year, and 1 in every 20 was evicted during the same period (Figure III.11). We have combined these two measures in a summary measure of unstable housing. The measure indicates that 23 percent of all TANF recipients have unstable housing as a consequence of either having moved at least twice during the past year or having been evicted during the same period.
Most TANF recipients do not perceive discrimination to be a problem. Among TANF case heads who ever worked for pay, 11 percent believe that a potential employer refused to interview or hire them during the past year because of their status as a welfare recipient (Figure III.12). And 10 percent believe that they were discriminated against because of some personal physical characteristic. Smaller percentages believe that they experienced discrimination because of their race/ethnicity or gender. If we combine these categories, 20 percent of TANF recipients who have ever worked for pay believe that a potential employer discriminated against them during the past year for some reason.
Almost all Illinois TANF recipients (93 percent, results not shown) live in counties where the unemployment rate in 2001 was less than 6 percent. The rate reflects the fact that 81 percent of all Illinois TANF recipients live in Cook County, which had an unemployment rate of 5.9 percent in 2001. By comparison, the national unemployment rate in 2001 was about a point lower, at 4.8 percent.(13) TANF recipients also live in neighborhoods with high concentrations of racial and ethnic minorities. Figure III.13 shows that, on average, they live in five-digit zip code areas where 61 percent of residents are African American, 22 percent are white, and 14 percent are Hispanic of any race. (14) They also live in neighborhoods where most of the residents are of their own race and ethnicity. On average, both African American and white TANF recipients live in neighborhoods where 71 percent of the residents are of their own race and ethnicity.
Many TANF recipients believe that their neighborhoods have serious problems associated with unemployment, illicit drug activity, other crime, or poorly maintained properties.(15) The rates of perception of serious problems range from a high of 42 percent for illicit drug activity to a low of 17 percent for poorly maintained properties (Figure III.14). At least one of these neighborhood conditions is perceived to be a serious problem by 55 percent of TANF recipients.
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This section discusses findings from an analysis of whether employment rates for the heads of single-parent TANF cases in Illinois differ systematically for those with and those without the various assets and liabilities outlined in this chapter. For purposes of the analysis, employment is defined as working 30 or more hours per week on a current paid job. The definition is consistent with federally mandated work requirements under PRWORA.
Of the three hypothesized assets for employment introduced in this chapter and summarized in Table III.5, substantial recent work experience appears to confer a labor market advantage to the heads of single-parent TANF cases in Illinois. It has a significant positive association with current paid employment, but the same is not true for possession of a high school diploma or experience in performing common job tasks.
| % Working 30+ Hours/Week | ||
|---|---|---|
| With Asset | Without Asset | |
| High School Diploma/GED or More | 32 | 26 |
| Substantial Recent Work Experience | 41 | 22*** |
| Has Performed at Least Four Common Job Tasks | 30 | 28 |
| Source: 2001-02 survey of Illinois TANF cases and
Illinois administrative data. */**/*** Difference between cases with/without asset is statistically significant at the .10/.05/.01 level. |
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TANF case heads who were employed in at least four of the seven last quarters are much more likely than those without such recent work experience to be working for pay at least 30 hours per week (41 percent versus 22 percent, respectively, as shown in Table III.5). (16) This finding suggests that interventions that are designed to increase human capital through work experience may facilitate the transition to paid work among unemployed TANF recipients. Employment rates for case heads with and without a high school diploma or its equivalent are similar, as are employment rates for case heads with or without experience with common job tasks.
This chapter has introduced eight personal challenges that may constitute liabilities for employment (Table III.6). Our analysis reveals that most of these challenges are not, in fact, significantly associated with current paid employment among TANF case heads, although we observed several exceptions to this pattern. Case heads with personal health problems, either physical or mental, or a record of multiple arrests are much less likely than those not facing these challenges to be working 30 or more hours per week.
About one-fifth of TANF case heads have a physical health problem (Figure III.4), and one-fourth have a mental health problem (Figure III.5). These individuals are about half as likely as those without these problems to be employed at least 30 hours per week. The employment rate for case heads with a physical health problem or with a mental health problem is 18 percent, compared with 33 percent for heads without these problems (Table III.6). These findings substantiate the notion that personal physical and mental health problems are serious employment liabilities for the heads of single-parent TANF cases in Illinois.
An extensive record of recent arrests, rather than a criminal conviction, has a strong negative association with current employment among TANF clients. We initially expected that many of the 18 percent of clients convicted of a felony or criminal misdemeanor (Figure III.6) would have difficulty finding work because potential employers can learn of convictions through criminal background checks. However, clients with and without criminal convictions are equally likely to be employed at least 30 hours per week (Table III.6)). This finding suggests that employers either are not conducting criminal background checks or are not using the information obtained through such checks when making hiring decisions. It may also reflect an effort by Illinois TANF caseworkers to direct ex-offenders to employers who do not discriminate on the basis of a criminal record.
Most employers in Illinois cannot access official state records on arrests; nevertheless, the 16 percent of TANF clients with a record of two or more arrests during the past five years (Figure III.6) are much less likely to be employed than are clients with no arrests or only one arrest. Only one in every five clients with multiple arrests is employed at least 30 hours per week, compared with one in every three clients without multiple arrests (Table III.6). This finding, when combined with the finding on convictions, suggests that the underlying characteristics, circumstances, or behavior of TANF clients with multiple arrests, rather than the responses of employers to their public criminal records, may be a serious liability for employment. TANF case heads who face other personal challenges, such as domestic violence or chemical dependence, are employed at about the same rate as heads who do not face such challenges. Apparently, TANF clients find ways to deal with these challenges such that they do not adversely affect employment.
| % Working 30+ Hours/Week | ||
|---|---|---|
| With Liability | w/o Liability | |
| Personal Challenges | ||
| Physical health problem | 18 | 33** |
| Mental health problem | 18 | 33*** |
| Criminal conviction | 29 | 30 |
| Multiple arrests | 19 | 32** |
| Severe physical domestic violence in past year a | 27 | 30 |
| Chemical dependence | 26 | 30 |
| Difficulty with English | 33 | 29 |
| Potential learning disability | 23 | 31 |
| Logistical and Situational Challenges | ||
| Child or other family member or friend with a health problem or special need | 31 | 29 |
| Pregnant or child under one year old | 22 | 33** |
| Child care problem | 15 | 36*** |
| Transportation problem | 20 | 32** |
| Unstable housing | 20 | 33** |
| Discrimination by potential employer b | 27 | 32 |
| One or more serious neighborhood problems | 26 | 30 |
| Source: 2001-02 survey of Illinois TANF cases and
Illinois administrative data. */**/*** Difference between cases with/without liability is statistically significant at the .10/.05/.01 level. a Cases with a female head. b Cases with a head who has ever worked for pay. |
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Some basic infrastructure must be in place in order for individuals to obtain and maintain employment. This chapter has introduced seven logistical and situational challenges faced by some TANF case heads that may represent weaknesses in that infrastructure (see the bottom part of Table III.6). Here we present statistical evidence that four of the challenges are associated with lower rates of employment.
The challenges of pregnancy and caring for an infant, along with child care challenges are associated with lower rates of employment. Only 15 percent of TANF clients with a child care problem and 22 percent of clients who are pregnant or caring for an infant are employed 30 hours or more per week (Table III.6).
Among TANF case heads who, during the past year, had a transportation problem (21 percent, Table III.4) or experienced unstable housing (23 percent, Figure III.11), only one in five is employed at least 30 hours per week. In contrast, one in three heads who did not face these challenges is employed (Table III.6). Thus, reliable transportation and housing do appear to be critical to the employment of TANF recipients.
Many TANF case heads perceive problems with child care, their physical health, and transportation as liabilities for employment. Twenty to 30 percent of heads blame these problems for impeding their participation in work or work-related activities during the past year (Table III.7). Notably, the findings in Table III.6 also indicate that these three problems are serious liabilities. At the same time, few case heads perceive problems with housing, their mental health, and the existence of a criminal record as liabilities for employment, although our findings indicate otherwise.
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| Child Care Problema | 29 |
| Physical Health Problem | 25 |
| Transportation Problem | 21 |
| Child 's Health or Behavioral Problem or Special Need | 12 |
| Housing Problem | 12 |
| Problem in Relationship with Spouse or Partnerb | 7 |
| Mental Health Problem | 7 |
| Alcohol or Drug Problem | 1 |
| Other Problemc | 9 |
| Any of the Above Problems | 61 |
| Source: 2001-02 survey of Illinois TANF cases. a Cases in which the head has a child under 15 years old. b Cases with a female head. c Caring for an elderly, disabled, or sick family member or friend; difficulty with English; criminal record. |
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Most heads of single-parent TANF cases in Illinois can bring some significant human capital assetsto the labor market. About three-fourths of them have had paid employment at some time during the past eight calendar quarters and nearly half were employed in at least four quarters (Table III.8). Three of every four TANF case heads are also familiar with at least four common job tasks. On the other hand, case heads have relatively weak educational backgrounds; a little more than half have a high school diploma or a GED.
In addition to limited education, TANF case heads have other liabilities that may present personal or logistical and situational challenges. The latter are more prevalent than the former. Over half of TANF case heads perceive serious problems in their neighborhood, problems that may influence comfort levels with travel outside the home and with child care. Caring for a family member or friend with a health problem or special need, being pregnant or caring for an infant in the household, and having a child care problem are also common logistical and situational challenges faced by TANF cases, each affecting about one-third of the case heads. The most prevalent personal challenges are poor physical and mental health, affecting one-fifth and one-quarter of TANF case heads, respectively.
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| Human Capital Assets | |
| Recent work experience | 77 |
| Performed at least four common job tasks | 72 |
| High school diploma, GED, or more | 56 |
| Substantial recent work experience | 45 |
| Personal Liabilities | |
| Mental health problem | 25 |
| Physical health problem | 21 |
| Criminal conviction | 18 |
| Multiple arrests | 16 |
| Severe physical domestic violence in past yeara | 13 |
| Signs of a learning disability | 12 |
| Chemical dependence | 3 |
| Difficulty with English | 2 |
| Logistical and Situational Liabilities | |
| One or more serious neighborhood problems | 55 |
| Pregnant or child under age one in household | 36 |
| Child/family member/friend with health problem or special need | 35 |
| Child care problem | 31 |
| Unstable housing | 23 |
| Transportation problem | 21 |
| Discrimination by potential employerb | 20 |
| Source: 2001-02 survey of Illinois TANF cases and
Illinois administrative data. aCases with a female head. b Cases that have ever worked for pay. |
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1. An attempt was made through this study to also include a measure of work norms among the employment assets examined. The Illinois survey instrument included an experimental module on work norms from which we developed an exploratory measure based on understanding 3 of 5 work norms. The measure was not validated and preliminary findings suggested that further work is necessary. Therefore, we do not present a discussion of work norms in this report, but refer the reader to Table D.10 for further information.
2. Of the five challenges discussed, only difficulty with English is not based on a tested scale or assessment tool. This challenge is based on a single self-report question in the survey.
3. The measure of physical functioning is a scale based on self-reported ability to perform vigorous activities such as running or lifting heavy objects, moderate activities such as moving a table, and daily physical activities such as carrying groceries, climbing stairs, walking, and bending and kneeling. Appendix B provides more information on the physical functioning scale.
4. The summary indicator of a physical health problem is identical to that used in the Women's Employment Study (WES) of the University of Michigan. In the WES, 19 percent of the study subjects had a physical health problem (Danziger et al. 2000).
5. Serious psychological distress was measured using the K6 Psychological Distress Symptom Scale. The probability of major depression was determined using the methodology of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short Form (CIDI-SF). Both screening tools have been validated through methodological studies that determined that the scores from the screeners accurately diagnosis mental disorders. Refer to Appendix B for further information.
6. The NHSDA uses the K6 but asks respondents about symptoms during the one month in the past 12 months when he or she was the most depressed, anxious, or emotionally stressed. Because both the K6 and the CIDI-SF are short screening tools that measure mental illness, it is the timeframe that is important for purposes of comparison.
7. The data on arrests and convictions cover the full survey sample of 532 TANF cases and their heads, including both respondents and nonrespondents. Note that the time periods for the data on arrests and convictions differ. The data on arrests are limited to the five years preceding the selection of the study's survey sample in November 2001, plus the nine months that elapsed until the criminal data were extracted in September 2002. For expositional convenience, we refer to the data on arrests as covering a six-year period. The data on convictions are not time-limited; any convictions in the state of Illinois before September 2002 should be represented in the data (convictions in other states are not recorded).
8. Danziger et al. (2000) do not report a rate of dependence for either alcohol or drugs.
9. The probability of alcohol dependence and drug dependence was determined by following the methodology of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short Form (CIDI- SF). Refer to Appendix B for further information.
10. The NHSDA uses a broader battery of questions to assess dependence than the short scale used in this study of Illinois TANF recipients. However, both approaches are designed to measure dependence based on the criteria specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV).
11. In the analysis, a TANF client with a child younger than 6 years of age and a child between 6 and 12 years of age was classified as having a child in the younger age category but not in the older age category.
12. The Illinois Families Study (Lewis 2002) found consistently high rates (just over 40 percent) of informal child care arrangements in two annual surveys of a longitudinal panel study of individuals who received TANF in 1998. These results include individuals who were both on and off TANF at the time of the follow-up surveys, but still suggest the child care preferences of current TANF recipients.
13. Unemployment statistics are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.
14. Aggregate statistics on race and ethnicity at the level of the five-digit zip code are readily available from the Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce. Consequently, we adopted the five-digit zip code area as the definition of "neighborhood " in this analysis. The racial and ethnic categories are mutually exclusive. All Hispanic individuals, regardless of their race, are included in the "Hispanic " category. Thus, the categories "African American" and "white" do not include anyone of Hispanic ethnicity.
15. The definition of "neighborhood " in this analysis is not the five-digit zip code area. Rather, it is the survey respondent's perception of the area "right around" where he or she lives. The term "serious problem" refers to a neighborhood condition that is reported by the survey respondent to be a "big problem" as opposed to "somewhat of a problem" or "not a problem at all."
16. The fourth quarter of 2001, as the study quarter, was omitted from this analysis.
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