Working but Poor: How are Families Faring?

This study used data from a cross sectional sample of families with children in New York City to describe the characteristics and well-being of working poor families and to compare them to nonworking poor and nonpoor families. Data were obtained through 20to 30-minute telephone surveys conducted in 1997 as part of the New York Social Indicators Survey with a random sample of 2,224 households in New York City and the surrounding Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area. The findings indicated that while working poor families were doing somewhat better than nonworking poor families, they continued to experience substantial levels of material hardship. Working poor families were also much less likely than nonworking poor families to receive food, housing, or health insurance assistance from the government. As welfare reform transforms the "welfare poor" into the "working poor," families may find themselves only marginally better off in terms of financial security and material well-being. Based on findings, it was concluded that policies to raise the floor under earnings and to increase the availability of other assistance could provide critical support for families who go to work but do not earn enough to escape poverty. (Contains 30 references.) (KB) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) .IAThis document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. Working But Poor: How Are Families Faring? Marcia K. Meyers Columbia University School of Social Work Judy M. Lee Columbia University School of Social Work For information contact: Revised August 2000 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Marcia K. Meyers Associate Professor Columbia University School of Social Work 622 W. 113th Street New York, NY 10025 212-854-3358 mkm36 @columbia.edu Data for this study were collected as part of the New York Social Indicators Study, Irwin Garfinkel and Marcia K. Meyers, Principal Investigators. Partial support for this research V't was provided by the Foundation for Child Development. We would like to thank Lee Chung, Chien-Chung Huang, and Christopher Herbst for their work in the preparation and analysis of data, and Andrew Gelman for assistance with sample weighting and CZ) analysis. 01) Co) BEST COPY AVAILABLE ABSTRACT In this paper we use data from a cross sectional sample of families with children in New York City to describe the characteristics and well-being of working-poor families, and to compare them to non-poor and non-working poor families. We find that while working-poor families were doing somewhat better than non-working poor families, they continued to experience substantial levels of material hardship. Working-poor families were also much less likely than non-working poor families to receive food, housing, or health insurance assistance from government. As welfare reform transforms the "welfare poor" into the "working poor," families may find themselves only marginally better off inIn this paper we use data from a cross sectional sample of families with children in New York City to describe the characteristics and well-being of working-poor families, and to compare them to non-poor and non-working poor families. We find that while working-poor families were doing somewhat better than non-working poor families, they continued to experience substantial levels of material hardship. Working-poor families were also much less likely than non-working poor families to receive food, housing, or health insurance assistance from government. As welfare reform transforms the "welfare poor" into the "working poor," families may find themselves only marginally better off in terms of financial security and material well-being. Policies to raise the floor under earnings and increase the availability of other assistance could provide critical support for families who go to work but do not earn enough to escape poverty.