Indicators of Welfare Dependence: Indicators 4 & 5.

INDICATOR 4. RECEIPT OF MEANS-TESTED ASSISTANCE AND LABOR FORCE ATTACHMENT

This indicator illustrates one aspect of the range of dependence by combining information on receipt of means-tested assistance and hours of employment.

In 1993, 44 percent of individuals who received AFDC, 56 percent of individuals who received Food Stamps, and 37 percent of individuals who received SSI were in families with at least one person in the labor force.
A much smaller percentage of individuals who received AFDC, compared to Food Stamps and SSI, were in families with at least one full-time worker.
As shown in Table IND 4, much smaller percentages of adults age 65 and over were in families with at least one full-time worker for all receipt categories.
Table IND 4 shows for all recipient groups, a somewhat larger percentage of Hispanics relative to non-Hispanic blacks were in families with at least one full-time worker.

Table IND 4. Percentage of Recipients in Families with Labor Force Participants, 1993

		No One in Labor Force	At Least One Person in the Labor Force (no one full time)	At Least One Full-Time Person in the Labor Force
AFDC:	All Recipients	55.6	25.9	18.5

	Non-Hispanic White	49.8	26.9	23.3
	Non-Hispanic Black	56.3	28.0	15.7
	Hispanic	62.4	20.6	17.0
	Children Age 0 - 5	56.3	22.6	21.1
	Children Age 6 - 10	59.1	25.8	15.2
	Children Age 11 - 15	59.7	28.1	12.1
	Women Age 16 - 64	54.2	25.8	20.0
	Men Age 16 - 64	41.1	37.9	20.9
	Adults Age 65 and over	69.5	23.8	6.7

FS:	All Recipients	43.6	26.1	30.3

	Non-Hispanic White	40.1	26.2	33.7
	Non-Hispanic Black	47.1	28.5	24.4
	Hispanic	44.4	22.9	32.7
	Children Age 0 - 5	43.1	24.2	32.7
	Children Age 6 - 10	46.3	26.1	27.6
	Children Age 11 - 15	41.5	28.8	29.7
	Women Age 16 - 64	43.5	27.1	29.4
	Men Age 16 - 64	29.0	31.8	39.2
	Adults Age 65 and over	83.7	6.4	10.0

SSI:	All Recipients	63.1	11.0	25.9

	Non-Hispanic White	60.6	12.6	26.8
	Non-Hispanic Black	65.2	12.1	22.7
	Hispanic	67.5	6.5	26.0
	Women Age 16 - 64	53.9	15.7	30.4
	Men Age 16 - 64	57.7	13.4	28.9
	Adults Age 65 and over	76.8	4.4	18.8

Note: Full-time labor force participants are defined as those who usually work 35 or more hours per week. Data on SSI recipiency for children is not available.

Source: Unpublished data from the SIPP, 1992 panel.

INDICATOR 5. PROGRAM SPELL DURATION

One critical aspect of dependence is how long individuals receive means-tested assistance. This indicator provides information on the length of individual spells.

Over one-quarter of AFDC (30 percent), Food Stamp (33 percent), and SSI spells (26 percent) were short spells lasting less than 4 months.
Over one-half of all AFDC (55 percent) and Food Stamp spells (58 percent) lasted less than one year. In contrast, only 35 percent of SSI spells ended within one year. The percentage of SSI spells that lasted 20 or more months is almost twice the percentage of AFDC and Food Stamps spells that lasted this long. As noted earlier, compared to AFDC and Food Stamps, SSI is designed to provide longer-term assistance.
As shown in Table IND 5, for AFDC and Food Stamp spells, non-Hispanic whites have larger percentages of short spells lasting less than 4 months and smaller percentages of longer spells lasting 20 or more months, compared to non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics.
Table IND 5 also shows that compared to adults age 16 to 64, children age 0 to 15 have a larger percentage of AFDC and Food Stamp spells lasting 20 or more months.

Table IND 5. Percent of All AFDC, Food Stamp and SSI Recipients with Various Spell Lengths, 1992 SIPP Panel

	Spells <4 Months	Spells <12 Months	Spells <20 Months	Spells 20+ Months
AFDC
All Recipients	30.4	55.1	65.6	34.4
Racial Categories
Non-Hispanic White	32.1	60.0	69.3	30.7
Non-Hispanic Black	22.5	45.7	58.2	41.8
Hispanic	38.6	56.8	NA	NA

Age Categories
Children Age 0 - 15	30.0	53.4	63.0	37.0
Adults Age 16 - 64	31.0	57.6	69.2	30.8

Food Stamps
All Recipients	33.4	58.3	68.5	31.5
Racial Categories
Non-Hispanic White	36.7	64.2	73.6	26.4
Non-Hispanic Black	28.0	47.8	59.7	40.3
Hispanic	31.6	54.3	65.5	34.6

Age Categories
Children Age 0 - 15	29.6	55.1	66.0	34.0
Adults Age 16 - 64	36.4	61.7	71.6	28.4
Adults Age 65 and over	21.4	31.4	NA	NA

SSI
All Recipients	25.7	34.6	39.4	60.6
Racial Categories
Non-Hispanic White	27.7	38.4	NA	NA
Non-Hispanic Black	19.4	23.0	NA	NA
Hispanic	20.4	NA	NA	NA

Age Categories
Adults Age 16 - 64	26.0	35.0	40.6	59.4
Adults Age 65 and over	25.6	32.9	NA	NA

Note: Spell length categories are not mutually exclusive. Spells separated by only 1 month are not considered separate spells. Due to the length of the observation period, actual spell lengths for spells that lasted more than 20 months cannot be observed. Data on SSI recipiency for children is not available.

Source: Unpublished data from the SIPP, 1992 Panel.

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