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Public Assistance Use Among Two-Parent Families: An Analysis of TANF and Food Stamp Program Eligibility and Participation - Research Brief
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States increasingly are focusing on the TANF goals relating to promoting and supporting healthy marriage. To understand how state policies may affect marriage, it is useful to first examine the extent to which existing public assistance programs provide benefits to both married-parent and single-parent families. Specifically, this recent study by Mathematica Policy Research examines patterns of married- and single-parent families' eligibility and participation in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and the Food Stamp Program (FSP). Results are based on data from the 2001 Current Population Survey as well as microsimulation results from the TRIM3 and MATH models. Four key findings of the study are described below, and a full copy of the report can be accessed at http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/05/2parent-part/.
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Low-income married-parent families are less likely than single-parent families to be eligible for public assistance programs, and once eligible, are less likely to participate
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FSP and TANF caseloads have declined over time, for married- and single-parent families
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Differences between married- and single-parent family participation rates persisted even within demographic and economic subgroups
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Cohabiting family outcomes generally fell between those for single and married parents
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