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The
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About the Illinois Families Study
Contact Information:
Institute for Policy Research
847-491-8712
Northwestern News on the World Wide Web: http://www.northwestern.edu/univ-relations/media/
CONTACT: Wendy
Leopold at (847) 491-4890 or at w-leopold@northwestern.edu
FOR RELEASE: Immediate
INDEPENDENT
REPORT SEES PROGRESS FOR STATE'S WELFARE FAMILIES AFTER REFORM
EVANSTON, Ill.--- Welfare recipients in Illinois are surprisingly upbeat
about their lives after sweeping reforms of the welfare system compelled
them to find jobs and move toward self-sufficiency, a new report from
researchers at four Illinois universities shows.
More than half of the former recipients are working and report job satisfaction
and improved financial situations. Nearly all expect to be working within
a year. A sizable portion report stable housing conditions and satisfaction
with their neighborhoods. And nearly all approve of the reforms.
These are the major findings from the first phase of the Illinois Families Study, an independently funded six-year panel study by researchers from Northwestern University, Northern Illinois University, Roosevelt University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Despite these positive findings, however, many current and former recipients worry about having enough money in the future. They continue to struggle with low wages, few employer-sponsored benefits, confusion about the new welfare rules, and services and education programs that many find unsatisfactory or inaccessible.
"My administration will use this study to help plot the future of welfare reform," said Illinois Gov. George Ryan. "It is an excellent roadmap to what we"ve done right and what we have to do in the future to keep men, women, and children on the road to healthy and productive lives."
The study represents a one-of-a-kind partnership between universities and the state of Illinois that was mandated by the legislature in 1997. Funded by five foundations, the study"s goal is to discover how Illinois families have been faring since the state began the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program and other welfare reforms.
The study will provide information to the legislators, the Governor"s office, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), and advocacy organizations that they can use to assess the progress of welfare reform and improve policymaking," according to Dan. A Lewis. Lewis, professor of education and social policy at Northwestern University and faculty fellow at the University'sInstitute for Policy Research, is the Illinois Families Study's principal investigator.
Working closely with IDHS,
researchers interviewed a random sample of 1,362 TANF recipients from
nine Illinois counties between November 1999 and September 2000.
The nine counties cover three geographic regions that represent 75 percent of the state TANF caseload. They include Cook County to the north, and eight downstate counties that include Peoria and its six rural ring counties (Tazewell, Fulton, Knox, Marshall, Woodford, and Stark), and St. Clair in the south.
One of the clearest findings is that health insurance is an extremely important resource for both current and former TANF recipients. It is more highly valued than any other benefit potentially available to welfare recipients and is associated with positive employment outcomes. Most families had health insurance, although significant gaps remain and employer-sponsored coverage is rare. Of those interviewed, 76 percent had Medicaid coverage, and 7 percent received employer-sponsored coverage.
If money and medical coverage were the same, nearly all respondents (95 percent) said they would prefer to work rather than receive welfare. In fact, most respondents approved of reforms like work requirements and improved work supports. More than half (60 percent) were positive about imposing time limits.
At the same time, however, training and education programs may not be adequate. Many who requested this kind of help did not receive it, and those who participated in job search and job training programs gave them mixed reviews.
Many respondents found the specifics of welfare rules confusing. More than one-third did not know there were time limits on TANF benefits. Some were unclear about their eligibility for Medicaid and Food Stamps. Nearly 30 percent of respondents did not know it was possible to continue getting Food Stamps while holding a job, and 23 percent did not know it was possible to continue getting Medicaid while employed.
Caseworkers, in general, got positive marks from the recipients. Three-fourths of respondents reported that their most recent welfare worker treated them with dignity and respect, and more than two-thirds said their worker explained the rules.
The interviewees most frequently cited TANF service delivery as the area in greatest need of improvement. Some would like to see more respectful caseworkers, better explanation of the rules, more convenient office hours, and greater consideration of individual differences and needs. Revising the TANF rules and providing better access to training and education also were cited often as areas in need of improvement.
The study found that more than two-thirds of respondents had worked in the past year though only half (53 percent) were employed at the time of the interview. Coupled with the low wages and lack of job benefits, "these findings indicate that merely getting a job cannot be equated with self-sufficiency," the report concluded.
Although Illinois TANF policy allows some families, depending on income, to continue getting benefits while working, many study respondents voiced frustration in working at low-paying jobs.
"It"s hard to find a job with enough money to take care of your children, rent, light, gas," one respondent said. "Most of the jobs pay $6 hourly and they may give you 12 hours weekly. What can you do with that?"More than half of the sample said they would like to work more hours if their employer would allow it.
Other findings:
Workforce participation. Among the 53 percent currently employed, 38 percent had full-time jobs. The average work week for respondents was 33 hours. The median hourly wage was $7.00, and median monthly earnings were $960. A third of working respondents had to commute one hour or more (including drop-offs for childcare) to their job.
Experiences with welfare. More than half (55 percent) of respondents were still on TANF and 23 percent were combining work with TANF at the time of the interview. Of those who left the TANF rolls, 42 percent said they left because they had found jobs or because their earnings were too high. Others reported that they lost their benefits because they missed appointments or failed to file paperwork (27 percent), failed to meet work requirements (8 percent), reached a time limit (2 percent), worker error (3 percent), or other reasons (18 percent). At some point during the previous 12 months, 41 percent of respondents lost Food Stamps or Medicaid, and 18 percent lost both.
Health and well-being. Though 25 percent of respondents reported a period when they were uninsured during the previous 12 months, 83 percent had health insurance, and 88 percent of their children had coverage (84 percent on Medicard or KidCare). One-fifth of respondents said they were in "poor" or "fair" health. Twenty-two percent had been physically abused at some point in their lives, and 16 percent had one or more symptoms of depression.
Housing and Neighborhoods. Overall, the study showed the respondents" housing was relatively stable. Three-quarters had lived in the same residence over the past 12 months. Only 7 percent reported they had been homeless or living precariously (e.g., in a car, abandoned building, homeless shelter). Most respondents (68 percent) were "somewhat" or "very satisfied" that their neighborhood was a good place to live and raise children.
Future reports from the Illinois Families Study will take a closer look at these initial findings to provide a better understanding of their complex nature. Further work will draw upon state administrative data, follow-up surveys, and in-depth interviews to explore workforce attachment, service use, and child wellbeing. The researchers also plan to break down their findings by geographic region, which may explain some of the variation in the data.
"We hope the General Assembly, with our help, and that of IDHS and advocates, can use this information to better sculpt procedures and policies that will benefit the poor," Lewis said.
Other investigators are Paul Kleppner, executive director of the Office for Social Policy and Research, and research professor of political science and history at Northern Illinois University; James H. Lewis, executive director of the Institute for Metropolitan Affairs and assistant professor of public affairs at Roosevelt University; and Stephanie Riger, professor of psychology and women"s studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The report was funded by The Joyce Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Woods Fund of Chicago, The Polk Bros. Foundation, and The Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The summary report may be downloaded from the Web at www.jcpr.org or requested from the Institute for Policy Research (phone 847-491-3395). Copies of the technical report may be ordered from IPR for $15 per copy.
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