U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Helping You Make Informed Decisions •1902-2002

Demographic Programs

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Work and Work-Related Activities of

Mothers Receiving Temporary Assistance

to Needy Families: 1996, 1998, and 2000

Household Economic Studies

P70-85

Issued May 2002

Current

Population

Reports

By Brian J. O’Hara

INTRODUCTION work activities of mothers who stated

they received TANF benefits between The Personal Responsibility and Work August and November of 1998.2 To place Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, the 1998 data in context, it is compared also known as the Welfare Reform Act, with SIPP data from 1996 and 2000 for dramatically changed the administration mothers receiving AFDC or TANF.3

of and requirements for welfare programs. One of the goals of welfare HIGHLIGHTS reform was to “end dependence of needy

parents upon government benefits by • From 1996 to 2000, the number of

promoting job preparation, work, and mothers participating in AFDC/TANF

marriage.”1 To help reach this goal, decreased by about 50 percent.

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families • The percentage of all AFDC/TANF (TANF) officially replaced Aid to Families mothers in the labor force is consiswith Dependent Children (AFDC) in 1997. tent over time. However, the mothers

Unlike AFDC benefits, TANF benefits are who have participated in the

tied to economic behavior, because the AFDC/TANF program in 1996, 1998,

program requires that most adult recipi- or 2000 experience much greater varients must “work” after 2 months of aid. ability in labor force attachment than

TANF broadly defines work as labor force

participation, such as working for the 2 SIPP is a longitudinal survey that follows the

community or state in order to receive same individuals over time. The survey is conducted

in waves of 4 months’ duration, with one-fourth of benefits (workfare), looking for employ- sample members interviewed in each month of a

ment or being employed. Work may also wave. Sample members are asked about activities

include work-related activities, such as during the 4 months prior to the interview, which is

known as the “reference period.” Individuals can

schooling, vocational training, general leave and enter the survey over time. The focus of

skill development, or other types of this report are the mothers who received TANF benefits on behalf of anyone within the nuclear family,

training. such as the children, or the children and mothers

during any month between August and November of

The data in this report provide insight 1998, when the Welfare Reform topical module was

administered. A person is considered “on” welfare if into the work and work-related activities there was any AFDC or TANF participation during a

of mothers receiving TANF benefits, and wave. 3 These data were collected during wave 1 (April - examine how well TANF mothers’ actions July 1996), wave 8 (August - December 1998) and

corresponded with the intent of Welfare wave 12 (December 1999 - March 2000) of the 1996

SIPP. In this report, 1996 refers to wave 1, 1998 refers Reform to end a needy mother’s long- to wave 8, and 2000 refers to wave 12. Please note

term dependence on government bene- that the population of mothers for Table 1, Table 2,

fits. Using data collected by the Survey and Figure 1 is different than for the rest of the tables

and figures. Table 1, Table 2, and Figure 1 take a

of Income and Program Participation cross-sectional look at all mothers in 1996, 1998, and

(SIPP), this report focuses on training and 2000. The remainder of the tables and figures refer to

the cohort of mothers in 1998. This is discussed in

the section “An important note on making longitudinal

1 Green Book 2000. comparisons.”
mothers who did not participate. 

• The percent of TANF mothers

participating in work-related

activities in 1998 does not vary

by race or ethnicity.

• TANF mothers who did not graduate from high school had comparatively poor work and workrelated outcomes in 1998. 

• The welfare office did not

require the majority of work and

work-related activities by mothers receiving TANF in 1998.

Mothers’ participation in

AFDC or TANF programs

decreased by over half 

AFDC/TANF participation dropped

by over half between 1996 and

2000 for all mothers. As Table 1

shows, slightly more than 8 percent of all mothers were AFDC

recipients in 1996; this proportion

fell to just less than 4 percent in

2000. This 50 percent reduction

confirms the dramatic decline in

welfare recipiency over the 4-year

period reported elsewhere.4

Labor force participation rates

are stable among AFDC/TANF

mothers

Figure 1 shows that the labor force

behavior for mothers receiving

AFDC in 1996 or TANF in 1998 and

2000 remained relatively stable.

Note, however, that after the 1996

Welfare Reform Act, the percentage

of TANF mothers who were looking

2 U.S. Census Bureau

4 Between the beginning of 1996 and

2000, the United States unemployment rate

dropped from 5.6 percent to 4.0 percent

(BLS 2002) indicating a strong economy.

However, there is little agreement whether

the decrease in welfare caseloads was due to

a strong economy or welfare reform (Bell

2001).

Table 1.

AFDC/TANF Participation of Mothers: 1996, 1998,

and 2000

(Numbers in thousands)

Recipiency status All mothers

Not on

AFDC/TANF

On

AFDC/ TANF

1996

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,129 34,095 3,034

Percent.............................. 100.0 91.8 8.2

Standard error .....................

1998

(X) 0.29 0.29

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,253 36,197 2,056

Percent.............................. 100.0 94.6 5.4

Standard error .....................

2000

(X) 0.27 0.27

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,568 37,059 1,509

Percent.............................. 100.0 96.1 3.9

Standard error ..................... (X) 0.25 0.25

X represents no standard error.

Notes: AFDC is the welfare program called Aid to Families of Dependent Children.

TANF is the welfare program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 panel.

Figure 1.

Mothers by Recipiency Status and Labor Force 

Participation: 1996, 1998, and 2000

Note: AFDC is the welfare program called Aid to Families of Dependent Children.

TANF is the welfare program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 panel.

Worked

Looked for work

Not in labor force

(In percent)

22.8 23.3 23.2

4.0 4.7 4.4

73.2 72.0 72.4

1996 1998 2000

Not on AFDC or TANF during time period

55.0 53.2

58.5

16.7 12.8 9.9

28.3

34.0 31.6

1996 1998 2000

On AFDC or TANF during time period
for employment in 2000 was

significantly lower than the percentage of AFDC mothers who

were looking for employment in

1996. 

On the other hand, when the labor

force participation of mothers

receiving AFDC or TANF is

compared with mothers who are

not recipients, the differences are

significant. In each time period, the

percentage of mothers who were

not receiving AFDC or TANF and

working was at least twice as high

as that of AFDC or TANF recipients

who were working. A recipient was

also at least twice as likely to be

out of the labor force and at least

twice as likely to be looking for

work than a nonrecipient. 

For mothers who worked, the average monthly earnings significantly

differed between recipients and

nonrecipients. Table 2 shows that

the median monthly earnings

ranged from $1,554 to $1,666 for

nonrecipients and from $472 to

$738 for recipients.5 The median

earned income of recipients and

nonrecipients increased significantly from 1996 to 1998, but did not

increase significantly between

1998 and 2000.

Of the cohort of mothers from

1998, Table 3 shows that about 

U.S. Census Bureau 3

5 The median dollar amounts are inflation

adjusted to 2000 dollars. Derived from the

average CPI-U, adjustment factors of 1.087

(1996) and 1.034 (1998) were applied to obtain

real earnings in 2000 dollars. In August of

1996, legislation was passed to increase the

minimum wage from $4.25 to $5.15. The

change was fully implemented on September 1,

1997. Because minimum wages tend to affect

low-income populations, part of the earnings

growth is due to this increase. 

3.8 million (10 percent) of all

mothers were on AFDC or TANF

during one or more of the interview periods in 1996, 1998, and

2000. About 5 percent of mothers

were on AFDC or TANF during only

one of the interview periods, compared with about 3 percent for

mothers who were on AFDC or

TANF for more than one time period.6 Table 3 also shows that over 

8 million (22 percent) of all mothers who were interviewed in 1998

(wave 8), were not interviewed in

either 1996 (wave 1) or in 2000

(wave 12).

6 About 2 percent of this cohort were on

AFDC or TANF during 1996, 1998, or 2000

but were missing an interview. Therefore

they could not be categorized as “only one

time” or “more than one time” on welfare.

Table 2.

Average Monthly Earnings of Working Mothers: 1996, 1998, and 2000

Recipiency status

Number of

mothers with

earnings in

interview

period

(thousands)

Percent of

mothers

who work

Earnings (2000 dollars)

Mean

Standard error

(mean) Median

Standard error

(median)

Not on AFDC or TANF

In 1996 ................................ 24,949 73.2 1,947 25 1,554 20

In 1998 ................................ 26,053 72.0 2,029 32 1,648 17

In 2000 ................................

On AFDC or TANF

26,825 72.4 2,086 33 1,666 22

In 1996 ................................ 860 28.3 806 195 472 40

In 1998 ................................ 700 34.0 885 75 724 66

In 2000 ................................ 477 31.6 894 75 738 76

Notes: Interview periods: interview 1 was used for the 1996 period, interview 8 for 1998, and interview 12 for 2000.

AFDC is the welfare program called Aid to Families of Dependent Children.

TANF is the welfare program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 panel.
By using the 1998 cohort of mothers who were in all three interview

periods, a different perspective

emerges on labor force participation. In Table 4, the cohort of mothers that existed in 1998 is divided

into two groups: mothers who did

not receive AFDC/TANF during

1996, 1998, or 2000, and mothers

who received it at some time during

those years. Of the mothers who

were nonrecipients of AFDC or

TANF, 61 percent were continuously

attached to the labor force, compared with 29 percent of recipients

who were continuously attached. Of

the mothers who were nonrecipients, about 12 percent were

4 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 3.

AFDC/TANF Participation of Mothers Across Time Periods: 1996, 1998, and 2000

Recipiency status Number

(thousands) Percent

Standard error

(percent)

All mothers in 1998...............................................................

Not on AFDC/TANF at any time ..................................................

Not on AFDC/TANF in any year and was in sample for 1996, 1998, and 20001 ......

Not on AFDC/TANF in any year, but was out of sample in either 1996 or 20001

......

On AFDC/TANF at any time .....................................................

On AFDC/TANF in only 1 year .................................................

In 1996 only ...............................................................

In 1998 only ...............................................................

In 2000 only ...............................................................

On AFDC/TANF in more than 1 year............................................

In 1996 and 1998 only ......................................................

In 1996 and 2000 only ......................................................

In 1998 and 2000 only ......................................................

In 1996 and 1998 and 2000 .................................................

On AFDC/TANF in at least 1 year, but was out of sample in either 1996 or 20001 ....

38,029

34,232

26,617

7,615

3,797

1,801

1,300

311

189

1,289

458

101

170

560

708

100.0

90.0

70.0

20.0

10.0

4.7

3.4

0.8

0.5

3.4

1.2

0.3

0.4

1.5

1.9

(X)

0.36

0.55

0.48

0.36

0.25

0.22

0.14

0.08

0.22

0.13

0.06

0.08

0.14

0.16

X represents no standard error.

1

To be in sample means that the mother was interviewed in 1996, 1998, and 2000. To be out of sample means that the mother was not interviewed in 1996

or 2000.

Notes: This table represents the cohort of mothers that were in sample during interview 8, which occurred in 1998.

AFDC is the welfare program called Aid to Families of Dependent Children.

TANF is the welfare program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 panel.

Table 4.

Labor Force Participation of 1998 Mothers by Receipt of

AFDC/TANF Across Time Periods: 1996, 1998, and 2000

Labor force participation of mothers Number

(thousands) Percent

Standard

error

(percent)

Not on AFDC or TANF during 1996, 1998, or 2000

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,617 100.0 (X)

Continuously attached to the labor force ......... 16,105 60.5 0.70

Continuously out of the labor force.............. 3,256 12.2 0.47

In and out of the labor force.................... 7,256 27.3 0.64

Was on AFDC or TANF during 1996, 1998, or 2000

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,090 100.0 (X)

Continuously attached to the labor force ......... 890 28.8 1.91

Continuously out of the labor force.............. 784 25.4 1.83

In and out of the labor force.................... 1,416 45.8 2.10

X represents no standard error.

Notes: This is the cohort of 1998 mothers that were in sample all interview periods.

AFDC is the welfare program called Aid to Families of Dependent Children.

TANF is the welfare program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 panel.
continuously out of the labor force, Figure 1 shows that the percentage

compared with 25 percent of recipi- of labor force participation of welents who were continuously out. fare mothers is relatively constant,

Mothers who moved in and out of mothers who participated in welfare

the labor force constituted 27 per- during 1996, 1998, or 2000 are

cent of all nonrecipients and 46 per- more likely to be moving in and out

cent of all recipients. Even though of the labor force.

The plurality of mothers 

who receive TANF in 1998 

are Black

Figure 2 shows that Black mothers

represented a higher share of

recipients of TANF benefits than

non-Hispanic Whites, people of

other race,7 or Hispanics (who may

be of any race). Black mothers constituted 38 percent of total recipients of TANF benefits. NonHispanic Whites were 31 percent of

TANF recipients, people of other

race were 9 percent, and Hispanics

constituted 25 percent of TANF

recipients. 

Blacks, people of other race, and

Hispanics were overrepresented in

the population of mothers receiving TANF benefits. Black mothers

were 13 percent of mothers who

did not receive TANF benefits, people of other race constituted 5 percent, and Hispanics were 13 percent of those who did not receive

benefits. For each of these groups,

the proportion receiving TANF benefits was significantly larger than

the proportion of mothers who did

not receive benefits. 

U.S. Census Bureau 5

7 Other race includes American Indians

and Alaskan Natives, Asians and Pacific

Islanders.

Figure 2.

Mothers by Receipt of TANF and Race 

and Hispanic Origin: 1998

AFDC is the welfare program called Aid to Families of Dependent Children.

TANF is the welfare program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

1

 Other race consists of: American Indians and Alaskan Natives, Asians and Pacific Islanders.

2

 Hispanics may be of any race.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 panel.

(In percent)

69.4

13.4

5.0

13.1

Hispanic Other race1 2 Non-Hispanic White Black

31.3

38.2

8.5

25.3

Hispanic Other race1 2 Non-Hispanic White Black

Mothers not on TANF

Mothers on TANF
Mothers with less education

have a greater chance of

receiving TANF in 1998

The educational attainment of

mothers receiving TANF in 1998

differs substantially from that of

nonrecipients. Figure 3 shows that

42 percent of TANF mothers did

not graduate from high school

compared with only 13 percent of

non-TANF mothers who did not

graduate. While similar proportions

of recipients and nonrecipients

were high school graduates with

no further schooling (36 and 

32 percent, respectively), only

about 23 percent of TANF mothers

had at least 1 year of college, compared with 56 percent of non-TANF

mothers. 

6 U.S. Census Bureau

Figure 3.

Mothers by Receipt of TANF and Educational 

Attainment: 1998

TANF is the welfare program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 panel.

(In percent)

12.5

31.5

55.9

1 year of college

or more

High school graduate

(diploma or GED)

Did not graduate

high school

41.5

35.9

22.6

1 year of college

or more

High school graduate

(diploma or GED)

Did not graduate

high school

Mothers not on TANF

Mothers on TANF
Participation in work and

work-related activities is

similar across racial and

ethnic groups for TANF

mothers in 1998

For non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks,

and people of other races who

received TANF benefits, there is no

statistically significant difference in

their work and work-related activities in 1998. However, there is a

significant difference in labor force

participation between non-Hispanic

Whites and Hispanics who received

TANF benefits (46 and 32 percent,

respectively). Table 5 also shows

that the proportions of mothers

who are participating in a training

program are statistically similar

across all groups. 

TANF mothers without 

high school diplomas have

comparatively poor work 

and work-related outcomes 

in 1998

In 1998, TANF mothers without a

high school degree were significantly less likely to receive training

or participate in the labor force

than other TANF mothers. Table 6

shows that about 64 percent of

TANF mothers without a high

school degree did not participate

in either work or work-related

activities. For TANF mothers with

at least a high school diploma,

slightly less than half were not

working, looking for employment,

or participating in training programs. There are no significant differences between TANF mothers

with just a high school degree and

TANF mothers with some college.

U.S. Census Bureau 7

Table 5.

Work and Work-Related Activities of TANF Mothers by

Race and Hispanic Origin: 1998

(Numbers in thousands)

Activity status All mothers In training

In the

labor force Neither

Non-Hispanic White

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Percent ...............

Standard error .......

Black

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Percent ...............

Standard error .......

1 Other race

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Percent ...............

Standard error .......

Hispanic2

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Percent ...............

Standard error .......

635

100.0

(X)

774

100.0

(X)

173

100.0

(X)

513

100.0

(X)

116

18.2

3.58

92

11.8

2.02

29

16.7

4.08

57

11.1

2.26

295

46.4

4.63

300

38.7

3.05

65

37.3

5.3

162

31.6

3.34

300

47.3

4.64

437

56.4

3.11

86

49.8

5.48

329

64.2

3.44

X represents no standard error.

1

Other race consists of: American Indians and Alaskan Natives, Asians and Pacific Islanders.

2

Hispanics may be of any race.

Notes: TANF is the welfare program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

Categories are not mutually exclusive across work and work-related activties.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 panel.

Table 6.

Work and Work-Related Activities of TANF Mothers by

Educational Attainment: 1998

(Numbers in thousands)

In the

Activity status All In labor

mothers training force Neither

Did not graduate high school

Total TANF mothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 842 67 280 542

Percent ........................... 100.0 8.0 33.2 64.3

Standard error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) 1.73 3.00 3.05

High school graduate (diploma or GED)

Total TANF mothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 728 123 314 352

Percent ........................... 100.0 16.9 43.2 48.4

Standard error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) 2.57 3.40 3.43

1 year of college or more

Total TANF mothers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 87 218 215

Percent ........................... 100.0 19.0 47.4 46.8

Standard error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (X) 3.39 4.31 4.31

X represents no standard error.

Notes: TANF is the welfare program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

Categories are not mutually exclusive across work and work-related activties.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 panel.
Common types of training in

1998 include help to find

employment

The types of training fell into three

general categories: finding employment, skills training, and traditional

educational programs. Table 7

shows TANF mothers who are

receiving training. Nearly threefourths of TANF mothers who

received training participated in job

skills training, such as computer,

clerical, machinery, and other vocational/job specific training.

However, 62 percent of these mothers received training in how to find

employment, which included help in

resume writing, practice in interviewing, self-esteem building,

advice on how to dress, and how to

use job listings to find work. The

least prevalent form of training was

participation in educational programs (40 percent),8 such as obtaining a G.E.D., taking college courses,

literacy training, and taking courses

in English as a second language.

The majority of work

activities in 1998 were

voluntary choices

Local welfare offices often require

mothers receiving TANF to participate in some form of work activity.

In a Community Work Experience

Program (CWEP), or “workfare,”9 the

8 U.S. Census Bureau

8 Individual states decide which types of

training count as “work-related behavior.”

Many states do not allow education programs to count as work-related activities. 9 Not all states require workfare participation.

state requires a mother to work for sometimes receive government

her benefits, so the mother typical- subsidies to help them work or

ly receives her benefits in place of find work. As Table 9 shows, the

pay. In this case, the mother works most prevalent type of subsidy is

the number of hours determined for child care: 23 percent of TANF

by her benefit divided by the mini- mothers who were involved in the

mum wage. This work activity is labor force or were training

always required. received this type of subsidy.

Nineteen percent of TANF mothers However, the majority of the TANF received some other type of sub- mothers who participated in the sidy, which included subsidies for labor force did so voluntarily. As training, transportation, and direct Table 8 shows, about 55 percent of subsidies to an employer. However, mothers who were looking for over two-thirds (69 percent) of work did so voluntarily compared mothers who were in the labor with 45 percent who said that the force or training received no subsi- welfare office required them to dies. look for work. Of the mothers who

worked, 68 percent did so volun- Some TANF mothers must

tarily and 32 percent said they fulfill additional requirements

were required by the welfare office to receive benefits in 1998

to work. As Table 10 shows, 58 percent of

all mothers receiving TANF were TANF mothers who worked or

required by the local welfare office had work-related activities in

1998 often received a subsidy to report on their own behavior

that was not directly related to TANF mothers involved in work work. Of these mothers, 54 per- and work-related activities cent had to regularly go into the

Table 7.

Type of Training for TANF Mothers: 1998

Types of training Number

(thousands) Percent

Standard error

(percent)

Total TANF mothers in training .............

Training in how to find employment .......

Job skills/Job training ...................

Traditional education programs...........

278

173

205

111

100.0

62.4

74.0

39.9

(X)

5.38

4.87

5.44

X represents no standard error.

Notes: TANF is the welfare program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

Categories are not mutually exclusive.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 panel.
welfare office to make a report on

current income and any family or

address changes; about 11 percent

had to report other activities, such

as paternity tests, drug tests,

requirements to live with responsible adults, and other unspecified

requirements. Forty-two percent of

all mothers on TANF had no regular obligations to the welfare office

in order to receive benefits.

As Table 11 shows, about 10 percent of mothers on TANF either

expected their TANF benefits to be

cancelled soon or actually had

them cancelled during the months

the interview covered

(August/November 1998). Eightyeight percent of the mothers

receiving TANF benefits did not

have an expectation that their benefits would be cancelled.

Under TANF, many states experimented with their delivery of welfare benefits by issuing a debit

card to be used at an ATM

U.S. Census Bureau 9

Table 8.

Types of Labor Force Participation of TANF Mothers by Welfare Office Requirements:

1998

(Numbers in thousands)

Labor force activities

Workfare Looking for work Worked

Number Percent

Standard

error

(percent) Number Percent

Standard

error

(percent) Number Percent

Standard

error

(percent)

Total mothers receiving TANF in the

labor force............................

Not required by welfare office to participate in a work activity................

Required by welfare office .............

116

–

116

100.0

–

100.0

(X)

–

(X)

351

194

157

100.0

55.3

44.7

(X)

6.22

6.22

569

389

180

100.0

68.4

31.6

(X)

4.57

4.57

X represents no standard error.

– represents zero because workfare is always required.

Notes: TANF is the welfare program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

Labor force categories are not mutually exclusive.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 panel.

Table 9.

Subsidies for Work and Work-Related Activities: 1998

Number Standard error Type of subsidy (thousands) Percent (percent)

Total mothers receiving TANF in the

labor force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 881 100.0 (X)

Child care subsidy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 22.8 3.31

Other subsidy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 18.6 3.07

No subsidy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605 68.6 3.66

X represents no standard error.

Notes: TANF is the welfare program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

Categories are not mutually exclusive.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 panel.

Table 10.

Nonwork Requirements Made by the Welfare Office: 1998

Number Standard error Nonwork requirements (thousands) Percent (percent)

Total mothers receiving TANF .............. 2,029 100.0 (X)

Nonwork requirements .................. 1,171 57.7 2.57

Asked about income regularly .......... 1,097 54.1 2.59

Other requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 11.4 1.65

Does not have nonwork requirements . . . . . 858 42.3 2.57

X represents no standard error.

Notes: TANF is the welfare program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

Categories are not mutually exclusive.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 panel.
machine. Table 12 shows that 

20 percent of TANF mothers

received their payments in this

way.

An important note on making

longitudinal comparisons 

The primary sample for most of

this study is the SIPP sample members present during August

through November of 1998 who

also answered questions on SIPP’s

Welfare Reform Topical Module.

However, the analysis was not

wholly restricted to this group. To

place welfare reform in context,

some tables use estimates based

on cross-sectional views, while

others only consider the mothers

from 1998. For instance, Tables 1

and 2 and Figure 1 are concerned

with mothers in general, so a

cross-sectional “snapshot” of all

welfare mothers is more appropriate. Tables 3 and 4 give a past and

a future context to the 1998

cohort of mothers that is the focus

of the analysis. 

This difference in the sample

examined between Tables 1 and 2

and Figure 1 with the rest of the

analysis causes slightly different

results, because two populations

are defined for 1998. The population used in Tables 1 and 2 and

Figure 1 comes from the main

(core) SIPP survey, and includes

any mother who was part of the

interview period for waves 1, 8,

and 12. All subsequent tables and

figures, beginning with Table 3 and

Figure 2, use the population that

includes any mother who was

interviewed for wave 8, as well as

the welfare reform topical module.

The latter population has about

225,000 fewer mothers (and

27,000 fewer TANF mothers).

In surveys, each person interviewed represents multiple people

in the population. SIPP represents

the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. For SIPP, each person interview represents, on

average, 2,000 to 4,000 people.

Sample weights are used to inflate

the number of people interviewed

to equal the number of people in

the population. The sample

weights used in this report represent the U.S. civilian population as

of the last reference month of the

eighth interview for Table 3 and

beyond. This affects the interpretation of Tables 3 and 4. For

instance, Table 3 does not say that

there were 38 million mothers in

1996, 1998, and 2000. Instead it

shows that of the 38 million mothers who were interviewed in 1998,

8 million were not interviewed in

1996 or in 2000. It also shows

that, of this cohort, 3 percent were

on AFDC or TANF in 1996, but not

in 1998 or in 2000.

The design of this report also

caused people to be reported as

“missing” for Tables 3 and 4. If a

person was interviewed in 1998,

but was not interviewed in 1996 or

in 2000, then the person is considered “out of sample” or “missing”

for that time period. Other

research suggests that poor families10 and families on welfare11 tend

to leave surveys more often than

other families. Because poor mothers are more likely to receive welfare, it is likely that this report

underestimates the number of

10 U.S. Census Bureau

10 Huggins and Winters 1995. 11 Hernandez 1998 finds that longitudinal

weights correct much of this differential loss

in the Survey of Program Dynamics.

Table 11.

Cancellation of TANF Benefits: 1998

Benefit cancellation

Number

(thousands) Percent

Standard

error

(percent)

Total mothers receiving TANF ...................

No expectation of benefits being cancelled......

Benefits cancelled in the last 4 months or the

mother expects them to be cancelled soon ....

Does not know or not reported ................

2,029

1,791

199

40

100.0

88.2

9.8

2.0

(X)

1.67

1.55

0.72

X represents no standard error.

Note: TANF is the welfare program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 panel.

Table 12.

Use of Debit Cards in the Administration of Payments to

TANF Mothers: 1998

ATM use Number

(thousands) Percent

Standard error

(percent)

Total mothers receiving TANF ..............

ATM card not used .....................

ATM card used .........................

Does not know or not reported ...........

2,029

1,580

403

46

100.0

77.9

19.8

2.3

(X)

2.16

2.07

0.78

X represents no standard error.

Note: TANF is the welfare program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1996 panel.
TANF mothers. Thus, future work weighting procedure partially Material and Data on Programs

with longitudinally weighted files corrects for bias because of under- Within the Jurisdiction of the

may show slightly different results. coverage, but how it affects differ- Committee on Ways and Means.

ent variables in the survey is not U.S. Government Printing Office.

ACCURACY AND precisely known. Moreover, biases Washington, DC: 2001.

RELIABILITY OF THE DATA may also be present when people Hernandez, Donald J., “The Survey who are missed in the survey differ This report is one of a series that of Program Dynamics: Sample from those interviewed in ways presents information of current Retention, the Accuracy of Change other than the categories used in policy interest. Statistics from sam- Estimates, and Implications for weighting (age, race, sex, and ple surveys are subject to sampling Assessing Welfare Reform, Research Hispanic origin). All of these con- and nonsampling error. All compar- Brief,” Internal Census Bureau mem- siderations affect comparisons isons presented in this report have orandum. November 4, 1998. across different surveys or data taken sampling error into account

sources. Huggins, Vicki J. and Frank Winters and meet the Census Bureau’s

“Income and Poverty Time Series standards for significance. For further information on statisti- Data From the Survey of Income Nonsampling errors in surveys may cal standards and the computation and Program Participation,” paper be attributed to a variety of and use of standard errors, contact presented at the annual meeting of sources, such as how the survey John Boies, Demographic Statistical the American Statistical was designed, how respondents Methods Division, at 301-457- Association, August 1995. interpret questions, how able and 4182, John.L.Boies@census.gov.

willing respondents are to provide Comments from data users: correct answers, and how accurate- REFERENCES

ly answers are coded and classi- The Census Bureau welcomes the

Bell, Stephen H., “Why are Welfare fied. The Census Bureau employs comments and advice of data

Caseloads Falling?” Working Paper quality control procedures through- users. If you have suggestions or

DP 01-02. Urban Institute, March out the production process, includ- comments, please write to:

2001. ing the overall design of surveys, Daniel Weinberg testing the wording of questions, Bureau of Labor Statistics Chief, Housing and Household reviewing the work of interviewers “Unemployment Rate — Civilian Economic Statistics Division

and coders, and conducting statis- Labor Force,” published March U.S. Census Bureau

tical review of reports. 2002; http://data.bls.gov/servlet Washington, DC 20233-8500

/SurveyOutputServlet?series_id= The SIPP employs ratio estimation, or contact: LFS21000000. whereby sample estimates are Brian O’Hara

adjusted to independent estimates Committee on Ways and Means, Modeling and Outreach Branch

of the national population by age, U.S. House of Representatives. 301-457-3185

race, sex, and Hispanic origin. This 2000 Green Book: Background Brian.J.OHara@census.gov

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