Family Well-Being

Family indicators typically include measures such as family structure, employment and poverty status, and benefit receipt. However, these indicators do not fully portray how families function as a unit and as part of society.

This guide serves three purposes: First, it assists state policymakers and others in understanding what the Medicaid statute and regulations require of states in terms of Medicaid eligibility, enrollment, redetermination, notice and appeal rights, and other program and policy areas.

Between 1996 and 2001, welfare cases declined nationally by 52 percent, while child-only cases declined by much less. Thus, while the number of child-only cases has fluctuated over time, their proportionate share of the TANF caseload has increased. Children in TANF child-only cases with relative caregivers occupy uncertain territory between the TANF and the child welfare service systems.

Prepared for: David NielsenOffice of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation(ASPE)U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Prepared for: Julia IsaacsU.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesOffice of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

By: Fredrik Andersson, Julia Lane, Erika McEntarfer   Research Brief (in PDF format) Executive Summary

This report summarizes what is known about the measurement of material hardship and its application to research with low-income families with children. It discusses challenges in defining and measuring material hardship, reviews how such measures have been in recent research, and presents analyses of data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP).

By Martha J. Zaslow, Sharon M. McGroder, and Kristin A. Moore