Taylor & Francis

The present article reviews evidence related to the prevalence of substance use disorders among welfare recipients, the relationship of substance use to welfare receipt and identifies several key strategies states are using to address substance use disorders as barriers to employment among TANF recipients. The article identifies promising approaches and develops recommendations for future research and policy related to substance abuse and other barriers to employment. (Author abstract)

This paper examines an attempt by the State of Florida to devise a mechanism for determining the level of drug use among TANF recipients and to determine the extent to which such use affects employment, earnings and use of government services by TANF beneficiaries. Data from tests administered by substance abuse testing providers were combined with information from Medicaid, Food Stamp, cash assistance and Unemployment Insurance files to examine differences between the two groups.

Contingency management (CM) has been found to be effective in increasing treatment retention in various outpatient substance user treatment populations; however, the costs of established CM protocols often exceed the financial resources of community-based, nonprofit treatment programs.

This study investigates whether race or ethnicity is a factor that affects the chances of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients receiving three transitional supportive services—child-care subsidy, transitional Medicaid, and transportation/rent assistance—as well as being sanctioned. A sample of 676 adult parents who left TANF in 1998 or 1999 was analyzed with logistic regressions, using a national data set, The National Survey of America's Families (NASF) 1999.

This qualitative study explores the personal challenges and the adjustments to the TANF requirements experienced by a sample of 21 ethnically diverse women who were TANF recipients in an urban western metropolitan area. As other research has found, personal challenges for those on TANF, such as domestic violence, mental health and health problems and learning disabilities are prevalent and create barriers to employment. This study identifies the complexity of the relationship between personal challenges and the work first TANF policy environment.

This study asserts that the type of work activity in which a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participant engages affects the likelihood of employment and post-program earnings. Using a Heckman selection model on administrative data from Louisiana's Social Service office and unemployment insurance wage data (N=15,816) and controlling for individual and parish characteristics, the study reveals that two work activities, on-the-job training and unsubsidized employment, are associated with an increased probability of employment.

The high-risk infants who initially enrolled in the Abecedarian Project, a longitudinal prospective study of the benefits of early childhood educational intervention within a child care setting, were followed up as young adults (age 21 years). One hundred-eleven infants were in the original sample; 104 took part in the follow up. Treatment was provided in 2 phases: during preschool and in the primary grades. Participants received either both phases, 1, but not both, or neither. Assignment to groups was random.

Hunger mitigation in the United States has traditionally blended a variety of “emergency resources,” from both the public and private sectors, yet the long-term use of these programs, food pantries in particular, is becoming commonplace. Still, there is little information on long-term (24+ months) pantry use. This article examines the differences, particularly in food security status and use of federal support programs, between traditional, short-term emergency pantry users and an emerging population of long-term users.

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Immigrants suffer disproportionately from disasters because they have limited capacity to prepare for, respond to, or recover from a disaster. Unfortunately, planners and emergency managers are often inadequately trained or educated about the unique sociocultural needs and assets among immigrant groups. Hurricane Katrina exposed challenges to long-term recovery among Southeast Asian immigrants in Bayou La Batre (AL).

Using detailed administrative data for the 2003 to 2010 period, the authors contrast Florida's and Oregon's dramatically different participation dynamics, assessing the expansion and extension of benefits before, during, and after the Great Recession. State differences in how Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has been administered help explain differences in SNAP use.